Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Android 15’s Theft Detection Lock is misfiring for some customers.
- The characteristic is activating by itself, locking customers out of their units.
- The very core of how the characteristic works could also be guilty for the glitch.
Android 15’s Theft Detection Lock has been elevating some eyebrows currently. Stories are rising that the characteristic steadily prompts by itself although no theft has occurred.
Launched as part of Google’s broader effort to reinforce safety with Android 15, the Theft Detection Lock makes use of AI and another parameters to detect if a telephone is forcefully taken from its consumer. If somebody snatches the system and flees — whether or not on foot, by bicycle, or in a car — the system robotically locks the telephone. Theft Detection Lock can be triggered when a tool goes offline, one thing thieves generally do to stop monitoring.
Nevertheless, customers on Reddit are reporting that the characteristic seems to be a bit too keen as of late. A number of folks have described situations through which their telephones locked unexpectedly, although the units had been of their possession.
“It’s occurred to me once I ran out of labor,” one consumer shared.
“I used to be sitting on the bus when the auto theft detect triggered and locked my telephone,” one other consumer wrote.
One particular person described jogging throughout the road and being stunned when their telephone locked mid-run, solely to obtain a theft notification moments later. “I used to be relieved and impressed,” they stated, noting that whereas the system works, it might be a little bit too delicate.
Theft Detection Lock primarily depends on a telephone’s accelerometer to sense sudden actions.
At Android Authority, we needed to simulate a number of theft makes an attempt throughout early exams earlier than the Theft Detection Lock was activated on our check system. This means Google might have elevated the sensitivity of the detection algorithm since launch.
Google beforehand informed us that Theft Detection Lock primarily depends on a telephone’s accelerometer to sense sudden actions or modifications in route, which may clarify the false triggers throughout actions like operating or commuting.
Regardless of the glitches, most customers don’t appear overly annoyed. Nonetheless, sudden lockouts don’t look nice, and Google ought to work on refining the characteristic to make it extra dependable.
