Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+ got an update that locks users out randomly

The latest update that many Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ received and applied turns out to be a tricky one: it comes with a severe bug that locks out the users out of their devices. The good news is that not all updated handsets are affected by this problem, so we are talking about a rather random issue.

For those unlucky enough to install the update and have their devices affected by the bug, this is what happens: after finishing the update, the handset restarts, and then asks for a PIN code (even when there was no PIN setup). No matter what the user enters, the handset will restart. And again. And again. And so on.

This problem was already reported quite a few times on Reddit and on Samsung's support forum. Sadly, the solution of the Samsung Care Ambassador known as Rydah — a Factory reset and nothing else — is not exactly what one would expect after buying a premium device.

As noticed by multiple users, the above is definitely not a solution since it wipes all personal data from the phone. The worst part of the story is that Samsung had recently decided to remove the ability to remote unlock using Find My Mobile and now released this bugged update that causes a problem which could have been avoided by using exactly that capability. Remains to see if Samsung will decide to address this properly with a password bypass remote unlock via tech support or will move on as if the "solution" mentioned earlier was enough.