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Google Remotely Changed the Settings on a Bunch of Phones Running Android 9 Pie (theverge.com) 91

Posted by msmash from the wait-what dept.
Last week, a mix of people who own Google Pixel phones and other devices running Android 9 Pie noticed that the software's Battery Saver feature had been switched on -- seemingly all by itself. And oddly, this was happening when the phones were near a full charge, not when the battery was low. From a report: Initially it was assumed that this was some kind of minor bug in the latest version of Android, which was only released a few weeks ago. Some users thought they might've just enabled Battery Saver without realizing. But it was actually Google at fault. The company posted a message on Reddit last night acknowledging "an internal experiment to test battery saving features that was mistakenly rolled out to more users than intended." So Google had remotely -- and accidentally -- changed a phone setting for a bunch of real-world customers. Several staffers at The Verge experienced the issue. "We have now rolled battery saver settings back to default. Please configure to your liking," the Pixel team wrote on Reddit before apologizing for the error.
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Google Remotely Changed the Settings on a Bunch of Phones Running Android 9 Pie More

Google Remotely Changed the Settings on a Bunch of Phones Running Android 9 Pie

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  • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday September 17, 2018 @06:41AM (#57326888)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Welcome to 2018 (Score:4, Insightful)

      by mrops ( 927562 ) on Monday September 17, 2018 @09:47AM (#57327492)

      Google writes the OS for the phones that drives all the hardware. I think this one is blown out of proportion. Yes, I would rather not have them change settings like this, it was a mistake, they admitted and that is more important. Apple, Samsung and Microsoft have same capability on their front, even Tesla can do the same for their cars.

      If you really want to stop this, install one of many open source initiative in the Android world and take control of your device, maybe pursue your elected official to regulate such updates. In the mean time, they have the capability to do whatever they want remotely, welcome to 2018.

      • I'm getting pretty fed up with Google for lots of reasons. But at least they apologized. I can't recall a whole lot of apologies from Microsoft, Apple ("You're holding it wrong"), et. al. for their screwups.

        • Doing something shitty that people didn't know for sure they could do without user authorization isn't fixed with an "oops, our bad." And whataboutism doesn't make it any better either.

          Google, et. al. should not be able to arbitrarily change settings on my device without my consent to accept an update. Period. Anything else is unacceptable. What if they "accidentally" re-enable data collection and disable privacy settings on "a wider set of users than they intended" as their next screwup? Will that be

          • What if they "accidentally" re-enable data collection and disable privacy settings on "a wider set of users than they intended" as their next screwup?

            Man, forget whataboutism here we have whatifism.

            Complain about Google changing the privacy settings on your phone when it actually happens. I don't know about you, but my life hasn't run out of problems where I need to imagine new ones because they haven't been proved impossible.

            But anyway, what happens if they disable privacy settings on your phone? A huge backlash and tremendous negative press. That's why I "trust" them not to do it. They like money. They like their stock price. They are going to do as li

            • You missed the point.

              They should not have the capability to change settings on my device without my consent. Period.

              I don't care about the why or why not of a singular event of using the capability. I care about the capability existing at all.

              • They should not have the capability to change settings on my device without my consent. Period.

                Are you complaining that the software installed on your phone for the purpose of changing settings has changed the settings? Obviously there has to be software on your phone with the capability to change the settings. That's what makes them settings.

                You are acting like there's some master console at Google HQ with your name and all your device's settings. Where are you getting that info? This was a bug. Their software had a bug that incorrectly changed the setting. Software has bugs. Get used to it.

          • Google, et. al. should not be able to arbitrarily change settings on my device without my consent to accept an update. Period. Anything else is unacceptable. What if they "accidentally" re-enable data collection and disable privacy settings on "a wider set of users than they intended" as their next screwup? Will that be fixed with "oops, our bad" as well?

            What you mean like Microsoft and Windows 10 does with every update?

  • Next Week's Headlines (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mentil ( 1748130 ) on Monday September 17, 2018 @06:43AM (#57326896)

    In other news, Android users are mysteriously finding their Location Services and Google history settings turned to the 'on' position, even if they had previously manually turned them off. /s

    • Re:Next Week's Headlines (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Rei ( 128717 ) on Monday September 17, 2018 @07:49AM (#57327036) Homepage

      I actually like both. I use the Sony Lifelogger app, although wish there was a better one out there (that one is too focused on fitness and they nerfed the timeline several years ago).

      What I really want from Google is a way to set a percentage charge limit. There's no point to putting excess wear on my battery on days when I'm not going to need a 100% charge. The rate of reactions with the electrolyte (and deposition of deposits on the anode) is proportional to the voltage; the lower the voltage you store your battery at, the lower the rate of degradation. I've seen an app to let you impose charge limits but it requires root and doesn't work on all phones.

      Even better than just a percentage charge limit would be scheduled charges, preferably with different schedules for different times of day. So e.g. for nighttime charges, to charge to 60% as soon as it's plugged in, then to wait until 20 minutes before my alarm to charge to a target percentage - but for daytime charges, to charge immediately to the target percentage.

      • https://play.google.com/store/... [google.com]

        Not as good as what you're asking for, but a decent stopgap. I admit I've been having problems with it on Pie. Just now got an update, we'll see if it's fixed.

        There are others, I picked this because it was versatile and let me choose music for my alarm. YMMV.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Gr8Apes ( 679165 )

        I actually like both. I use the Sony Lifelogger app, although wish there was a better one out there (that one is too focused on fitness and they nerfed the timeline several years ago).

        If there's a company more evil than tech company 'x', it's Sony, hands down. They hate their customers and actively work to screw them over. Why support them?

        What I really want from Google is a way to set a percentage charge limit. There's no point to putting excess wear on my battery on days when I'm not going to need a 100% charge.

        Well, there's a reason Android phones have "better" battery life than comparable iphones. There's also a reason most Android phones have user replaceable batteries. :)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Rei ( 128717 )

          They hate their customers and actively work to screw them over. Why support them?

          I probably won't after the Xperia XV2 series. With the XV3 they're moving to an AMOLED display; their use of LCD displays has been one of the main reasons I've stuck with them. I hate AMOLED; looks nice and pretty when you buy it, but after a year or two the color balance gets messed up and the whites end up off-white. Not an issue I guess if you swap phones every year, but as someone who doesn't, it's really annoying. Beyo

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by Gr8Apes ( 679165 )

            They hate their customers and actively work to screw them over. Why support them?

            Companies "doing evil" is really pretty close to the bottom of the list of my concerns when shopping for a smartphone.

            Generally, I'd agree. But Sony has been consistently very anti-consumer in their actions and activities, with things like the CD rootkit being truly notable as such activity was never legal.

    • In other news, Android users are mysteriously finding their Location Services and Google history settings turned to the 'on' position, even if they had previously manually turned them off. /s

      Location settings are not under Location Services or Google history. They're in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'.

    • In other news, Android users are mysteriously finding their Location Services and Google history settings turned to the 'on' position, even if they had previously manually turned them off. /s

      Just in case anyone is confused, this did not happen.

    • I had to think it through before reluctantly leaving Location Services on. I use traffic on Google Maps all the time. The only way Maps can show which roads are backed up is by the location data sent from phones of people sitting in traffic. So if it weren't for people having it on, there'd be no way to see the current amount of traffic via Google Maps. If I turned it off, I'd essentially be like a leecher for a torrent. Or someone who expects to receive blood from the hospital when injured, but never

  • Who needs a backdoor? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by meist3r ( 1061628 ) on Monday September 17, 2018 @06:46AM (#57326908)
    If I have the keys to the entire apartment complex! No seriously, there was a light on in your bedroom. I HAD to come in and turn that off.

  • Google, the Big Brother (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SigmundFloyd ( 994648 ) on Monday September 17, 2018 @07:00AM (#57326944)

    If they can do that, it doesn't seem too far fetched that they could also turn on the phone's cameras and microphones at will.

    • Not too far fetched at all, rather more slamdunkfetched. Anything you'd hate Google to be able to do remotely to your device?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      That's why i sit naked on my phone when i'm not using it. If they want to go there, that's their choice.

    • If they can do that, it doesn't seem too far fetched that they could also turn on the phone's cameras and microphones at will.

      Why stop your worrying there? They can also send a fleet of self driving cars to ram into your house in them middle of the night.

      You know why Google won't turn on your camera remotely? They like money. They like their stock price. They are a services company. IF they did that, there'd be a huge public backlash. They need people to keep using their services.

  • Isn't is awesome how Google has complete control over your "property"?

    • Isn't is awesome how Google has complete control over your "property"?

      Yes, an operating system you choose to run on your property generally has control over the hardware. In other news, Microsoft has control over my gaming PC, and Linux has control over my work PC.

  • Google, please sack all employees who
    use twitter and reddit, and not GPlus.

    https://plus.google.com/104629... [google.com]

  • Any word on how it was done? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Monday September 17, 2018 @07:26AM (#57326998) Journal
    Is there any information on how the settings change was made?

    Obviously, OS updates could change settings(sometimes by legitimate necessity since an OS update can add new settings that need a default of some kind, remove features that used to have settings but no longer need them; or modify a feature enough that there isn't a clear answer for what 'preserving' the old setting would mean); so if it was done by pushing out an OS update with the wrong settings that would be sloppy but not fundamentally sinister.

    If, however, Google has sent MDM-like remote control(probably in Google Play Services somewhere), and they used that to toggle the setting things get rather less innocent.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Luthair ( 847766 )
      Maybe the Settings application was updated.

    • Re:Any word on how it was done? (Score:5, Informative)

      by koick ( 770435 ) on Monday September 17, 2018 @11:23AM (#57328044)
      I have a rooted Pixel 2 running Android 9 Pie on Project Fi network. Since my phone is rooted, I don't take OTA updates and instead update them manually from the factory images they provide every month (under developer options, I even have 'automatic system updates' turned off). My device had its battery saver activated last week. Like others, I guess thought it was a bug, and simply turned off battery saver. Yeah, I'd guess that command they sent came through Google Play Services. Their ability to do this doesn't give me much comfort, but then again I'm not that surprised.
      • Most likely, this was an update to the Settings app.

        • Most likely, this was an update to the Settings app.

          You seem to have missed where they said:

          "..., I even have 'automatic system updates' turned off..."

          • Most likely, this was an update to the Settings app.

            You seem to have missed where they said:

            "..., I even have 'automatic system updates' turned off..."

            The Settings app gets updated from the Play store like any other app. Well, like any other pre-installed app.

  • The problem with auto installs (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    This is the problem with auto updates. Not even one notification that something is being updated or changed. At the very least the end owner of said device should at least be notified what was updated. Without having to sift through blogs or forums to find answers.

  • I have automatic updating turned off (all of it, Apps & OS). I have manual updating set for Wifi only.

    Explain to me then why over the last year I have caught Instant Apps updating on 4G LTE at least 3 times. Those are the times I was looking at my phone and found it was doing this. I managed to catch a screenshot a couple times. How many more times is Google forcing updates which I have explicitly opted out of?
  • This happened to me. I've never used battery saver; when the power icon changed, I had to look it up.

    It was in close proximity with the 9-Pie upgrade. First unsettling bit was that I assumed it was a new setting, e.g. that power saver had more granular options, and my previous selection was mapped to this. This has happened with other things before; after all, when behavior changes, it changes, right?

    Second was how quickly I forgot. Not only did I forget something seemed odd, but I forgot when they fi

  • The story indicated they rolled everyone back to the default.

    What about people who had actually turned on power saver themselves, did they have to go back and turn it on again?

    It seems like flipping it either direction without the user knowing is bad.

    • What about people who had actually turned on power saver themselves, did they have to go back and turn it on again?

      It seems they just blanket turned it off for everyone. When I noticed the problem (battery saver on at 99%), I changed it back to the default of 15%. I just checked now and found it turned off completely.

      • Yikes. Well, at least you just have to set it back once and they probably won't be making that mistake again for a long while...

      • Well that explains why I've not seen my P2 turning on Battery Saver (I'd configured 25% both initially and after the Google screwup). Like others it had been switched on at 99% and I thought I'd done it somehow - random touches or something. Could they not think of maybe popping up a notification on the affected device? They seem to be happy to pop up 230987 others for useless crap, I don't see how a "Hey, Battery Saver has been turned off by Google due to a system fault, click to change your settings" woul
  • They're sneaking into your house at night when you're asleep and going through your underwear drawer, touching each and every one, and making little notes about them.
    That's about how creeped out you should be if you own an Android phone -- or ANY smartphone.
    You were warned, more than once, and you ignored it. Now you see the consequences of your lack of action: you bought and paid for a phone, but it's not YOURS, never was, never will be. Google will go through your underwear drawer whenver they feel lik

    • They're sneaking into your house at night when you're asleep and going through your underwear drawer

      Seriously dude. A bug that changed a battery setting is same as going through your underwear drawer?

      you bought and paid for a phone, but it's not YOURS, never was, never will be

      The phone is yours. You choose to run Google apps on it. You are free to uninstall those apps. You may not like the experience. It's your choice though. Life rarely comes without compromises.

      • If they can change settings on your phone without your permission then you're not in control of it, plain and simple. You own it, you should have complete control over it. Clearly you don't.

        • If they can change settings on your phone without your permission then you're not in control of it, plain and simple. You own it, you should have complete control over it. Clearly you don't.

          I don't know if you are trolling or if you are technically illiterate. If you don't like that software has control over some aspects of a computing device, you are supremely confused about the nature of computing. I suggest you do not dig much deeper into this topic or you panties are really going to get in a bunch.

          • Nah, I think you're the one who doesn't know what he's talking about -- or you're just in denial.

            He actually believes he has control over his smartphone

            Hilarious.

  • SQL (Score:2)

    by ghoul ( 157158 )

    Someone ran an update query with the where clause missing. And they fixed it by running another update query.
    This is why you have History tables so you can fix mistakes by going back to the last setting not the default setting.
    Given Google's open plan offices and high noise level its only natural that its difficult to concentrate and this kind of stuff happens.
    You should trust your data to Microsoft. They have offices for everyone

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