Asking for my Google Account?

[MikeCheck]

I recently got a Samsung SM-A530W phone. I just ported my phone over from Rogers (where I was using an old flip phone). This Samsung is my first smart phone.

I charged it up put in the Public Mobile nano SIM card. It is working.  When I turned it on the Android OS said it was erasing....what it was erasing, I don't know.

Anyway, when it finished erasing, the first screen that came up was

>start

Then..

>connect wifi

Then..

>end user agreement

Then...

>checking for updates

Then...

 A Google page that was titled "Verifying Your Account"

On this page, it says: "This device was reset. To continue, sign in with a Google account that was previously synced on this device".

Email or phone....

I don't understand this. Why is it asking for a Google account, and why a previous Google account?

I did try to enter my own Google account, but it didn't recognize it.

It won't let me go any further.

Please Help...

[MikeCheck]

Okay, I found out from a cell phone repair store that the problem was that Google locks itself to the phone even after an attempted factory reset so that you can't complete the reset process without logging in to your Google account. This is a reset protection default that's built in. So in order to complete the reset process, I had to go across the city to get my brother to login to his Google account on the phone itself. He had forgotten that he had started using his Google account with the phone, and he hadn't bothered to factory reset it before giving it to me, which was a few weeks ago and I was playing with it before I decided to put a Public Mobile SIM card in it. When I did, that's when the phone automatically started to reset itself. And at one point, I even thought the PM SIM card had done something weird to the phone. Anyway, when my brother logged into his Google account on the phone, it finally completed the reset.

I thought maybe it was something simple I wasn't doing, so I thought I'd ask on here. But it's a Google thing. After that nonsense, I thought of just avoiding Google on the phone, but without Google the phone is quite limited and there are hardly any apps one can download. So I bit the bullet and signed into the phone with my own Google account.

[gblackma]

Did you ask him if he put his Google account on the phone? And did he register it with Samsung Using said Google account?  Ask him to take it off his Samsung account. This may correct the loop @MikeCheck . 

[JoyLuck]

@MikeCheck 

Your post was most likely removed by the spam filter. It has happened to me too.

[MikeCheck]

No, I had posted another reply that outlined my attempt to do a reset. I quoted a passage from the Samsung manual for this phone.

I talked to my brother and he said he won the phone at a Christmas office party. He only used it to play with some apps. He didn't put a SIM card in it. The phone came with a PIN number to open it.

Anyway, I managed to get it to accept my Google account email and password, after I re-verified my Google password online. But now when the phone accepts my login, it then automatically reverts back to the same login screen... and I'm in an infinite loop.

[Carniam]

@MikeCheck your previous post is on page 1. Doesn’t look like you have much of an option then to contact your brother. Good thing it’s family and not some stranger off the internet

[MikeCheck]

What happened to my previous post?

I outlined my attempt to do a factory reset.

I cannot access any device settings. There are no icons anywhere, there is no home button visible, there is no way to get out of or move past the screens I mentioned.

I will have to contact my brother.

[Danchvn]

@MikeCheck  Did you receive the phone used from somebody else? If they are someone you can get in touch with again see if they will be willing to try to sign in with their Google account. If they can they can then remove their Google Account from the phone (Go to Settings -> Clouds and Accounts ->. After that do another factory reset and hopefully things will be good.

Good Luck.

[will13am]

---

@MikeCheck wrote:

Yes, this was a used phone I received from my brother.

There seems to be no 'new user' on any screen.  There are no icons on any screen that I can tap to allow me to get out of any of those 4 screens previously mentioned. I can't seem to do anything without entering the requested Google account info.

I will try to reset the phone.

Thanks.

---

Since this was from a family member, the solution is simple.  Get your brother to add back the google account that was on the phone, then remove the account.  Then you can add your google account if you have one.  The reason why android phones behave this way is to deter phone theft.  

[computergeek541]

---

@gpixel wrote:

@MikeCheck this is part of the android setup process. if you want, you can actually skip the sign in and use the phone that way. with no account. the good thing about registering your email is google save's all your previous apps, how you like your home page etc. google is probably asking for the old user account. usually with a factory reset it deletes everything.. there should be and option to bypass the previous users account. try and see if you can click on "new user" and register your email or try and skip it

---

When a phone has been factory reset in an unsual and unexpected manner, it's my belief that the phone assumes that it was done remotely by the Google account setting lost phone option. This results in the FRP function being activated that @will13am mentioned.  It cannot be skipped.

[computergeek541]

---

@gblackma wrote:

@MikeCheck  you may have to do a factory reset and start over. 

---

The problem here is that the phone did a factory reset by itself. Samsung devices are known to do that. This serves as a important reminder to always have things backed up. Performing a factory reset through the recovery menu will result in the same isse for the user once the phone boots back up.

[computergeek541]

---

@MikeCheck wrote:

I recently got a Samsung SM-A530W phone. I just ported my phone over from Rogers (where I was using an old flip phone). This Samsung is my first smart phone.

I charged it up put in the Public Mobile nano SIM card. It is working.  When I turned it on the Android OS said it was erasing....what it was erasing, I don't know.

Anyway, when it finished erasing, the first screen that came up was

>start

Then..

>connect wifi

Then..

>end user agreement

Then...

>checking for updates

Then...

 A Google page that was titled "Verifying Your Account"

On this page, it says: "This device was reset. To continue, sign in with a Google account that was previously synced on this device".

Email or phone....

I don't understand this. Why is it asking for a Google account, and why a previous Google account?

I did try to enter my own Google account, but it didn't recognize it.

It won't let me go any further.

Please Help...

---

This definitely should not have happened. I have that exact same phone and inserted other carriers' sim card before and it didn't reset, nor should it. 

Samsung phones have a customization process that causes a factory reset when the first ever sim card is inserted and the phone is turned on. This is only supposed to happen once.  However, for unkown reasons, switching sim cards sometimes triggers this when it shouldn't. 

[MikeCheck]

Nope. No go.

The Home button is a soft button on the screen. With the power off, there is no Home button. I tried just holding the hard buttons (power button and the volume up button). When it vibrated, I let go of the power button

An Android splash screen came up and it said, "downloading updates...."

Then it had a big yellow triangle sign with an exclamation point inside it. Below that it says, "no command"

I wasn't sure at what point I was supposed to let go of the volume up button since the instructions don't say.

Anyway, I've tried different combinations of holding different buttons, one combination produced a safe mode. Another combination brought up a screen for installing a new OS. Nothing brought me to any other screen where I could factory reset.

In the online manual for this phone it says for a factory reset...

"Resetting the device If the methods above do not solve your problem, perform a factory data reset. Launch the Settings app and tap General management→Reset→Factory data reset→RESET→DELETE ALL. Before performing the factory data reset, remember to make backup copies of all important data stored in the device. If you registered a Google account to the device, you must sign in to the same Google account after resetting the device"

I can't launch the settings app because there are no apps on the phone. If there are, I can't find them. Every time the phone restarts it brings up the same screens, which I can't get out of. There is no Samsung shell or home screen or anything.

[MikeCheck]

Yes, this was a used phone I received from my brother.

There seems to be no 'new user' on any screen.  There are no icons on any screen that I can tap to allow me to get out of any of those 4 screens previously mentioned. I can't seem to do anything without entering the requested Google account info.

I will try to reset the phone.

Thanks.

[Luddite]

---

@will13am wrote:

@MikeCheck , is this a used phone?  It seems like the phone was previously used and had a google account added to the phone.  The A8 will likely have factory reset protection.  You might need to follow these steps to try and remove the old account setup on the phone.  

https://www.lifewire.com/bypass-google-account-verification-on-android-devices-4582588

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And there I thought only iPhones were annoying in this way. 🤣

[will13am]

@MikeCheck , is this a used phone?  It seems like the phone was previously used and had a google account added to the phone.  The A8 will likely have factory reset protection.  You might need to follow these steps to try and remove the old account setup on the phone.  

https://www.lifewire.com/bypass-google-account-verification-on-android-devices-4582588

[gblackma]

@MikeCheck  you may have to do a factory reset and start over. 

How to reset a Samsung SM-A530W Galaxy A8 to factory settings

1. The phone must be turned off
2. Press and hold both the volume up button, home button and power button
2b. For some software version you must press and hold both the volume up button, volume down button and power button
3. At the time the logo vibrates or appears, release only the power button
4. In a few seconds you will see a menu called android recovery
5. Select wipe data / factory reset, you can move through the menu up and down by pressing the volume button
6. Select Yes - delete ALL user data and press the power button to confirm

7. The device will be formatted in seconds, select reboot system now to restart
8. Ready! your phone is flashed

[gpixel]

@MikeCheck this is part of the android setup process. if you want, you can actually skip the sign in and use the phone that way. with no account. the good thing about registering your email is google save's all your previous apps, how you like your home page etc. google is probably asking for the old user account. usually with a factory reset it deletes everything.. there should be and option to bypass the previous users account. try and see if you can click on "new user" and register your email or try and skip it