Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Stephen Rose
CEO Render Networks


For a limited number of Galaxy devices running One UI 5 or later, South Korean tech giant Samsung has unveiled a new Maintenance Mode. When consumers submit their device to someone for repair, Maintenance Mode is a privacy feature that enables them to block their personal information, including images, messages, and contacts.
Here’s How To Enable the Maintenance Mode
Go to Settings, tap on Battery and device care, then choose Maintenance Mode to enable this privacy function. For the mode to be fully configured, a reboot is necessary. After then, access to all personal data will be limited. In addition, Samsung advises that you backup your data before starting the Maintenance Mode.
When a user puts their phone in maintenance mode, a new user account is created so that the repair person may utilise the basic features of the phone without having access to the user’s personal information. All data and accounts created while a user was in Maintenance Mode, including those created while using apps downloaded from the Galaxy Store, will be automatically removed when the user exits the Maintenance Mode.
Seungwon Shin, VP and Head of Security Team at Mobile eXperience Business, stated in a blog post that, “Our whole lives are on our phones, from credit card information to family photos. With Maintenance Mode, we are giving extra reassurance that Galaxy users can keep their privacy, even if they hand their phone to someone.”
The Galaxy S21 series’ Maintenance Mode, according to Samsung, was initially introduced in China in September 2022 after being tested on the device in Korea in July 2022. In the upcoming months, a select group of Galaxy devices running One UI 5 will gradually receive this privacy feature (Android 13 operating system). The distribution is anticipated to continue until 2023 and to shortly include more Galaxy devices.