Samsung offers a handyMaintenance modeon thebest Galaxy phones. The feature ensures you don’t have to factory reset your phone before submitting it for repair. Instead, all your data is safely locked, and the device enters a special Maintenance mode where Samsung technicians can do all their testing and run any diagnostic apps or tools as required. Taking a cue from Samsung, Google plans to introduce a similar mode to Pixel phones with the upcomingAndroid 14 QPR1 release.
Android Authorityspotted “Repair Mode” references in the Settings menu of the first beta of the December 2023Pixel Feature Drop. References to the feature indicate it will offer a “secure environment for device repair,” similar to Samsung’s Maintenance mode. You’ll seemingly also need an unreleased repair mode app from Google to enter the mode (via9to5Google).
The report is light on other details, but the feature should allow you to submit your Pixel phone to an official repair center without worrying about your private or sensitive data leaking. The mode should create a temporary profile where technicians can perform diagnostic tests without touching the primary profile. Obviously, this mode is only useful as long as your Pixel phone does not require a motherboard replacement. In that case, the feature won’t be useful, and you’ll lose all your stored data. Ideally, you shouldalways back up your Android phonebefore handing it over for repairs.
You might think a repair mode is not necessary. But over the years, there have been multiple instances of Pixel users claiming their private data was leaked while their phone was submitted for repair. The last time this happened was in December 2021, whenGoogle’s investigation revealed the repair technicianswere not to be blamed for account hijacking and stealing nudes.
Interestingly, Mishaal Rahman believes under the hood, Google’s repair mode might be different from Samsung’s Maintenance mode. Instead of creating a new user profile, Google might use the Dynamic System Updates (DSU) feature, which debuted in Android 10, to boot a Generic System Image (GSI). Google has made several improvements to DSU in Android 14 to make this possible. Additionally, the company recently submitted a patch in AOSP to ensure the RMA tools used in its service center can determine when a Pixel is in Repair Mode to not factory reset it.
We will likely see more about repair mode on Pixel phones in future Android 14 QPR betas. It is also unclear whether the feature will make its way to all compatible Pixel phones or onlyPixel 6and newer models.
