Google is working on a repair mode for Android

It’s standard procedure to factory reset your phone before sending it in for repair – this keeps your personal data safe by removing any PIN/fingerprint/etc. blockages that may prevent the technician from starting the phone and testing it to verify that the repair was successful.

There’s a better way: Samsung’s Maintenance Mode from last year and the upcoming Repair Mode for the Google Pixel (should be in the Pixel’s December Feature Drop). But these are manufacturer-specific features: Google is now rolling out a native Android solution that will be available to all manufacturers.

A description of the repair mode in the AOSP source code

This is called “Repair Mode”, judging by the code that has been pushed into the AOSP repository, spotted by Mishaal Rahman. The way it will work is that you will enable the mode using your preferred authentication method and then you will have to use the same authentication to disable it after you get your phone back from the store.

While Repair Mode is active, the phone will appear to be performing a fresh installation of the operating system with a new user account with no data. Your account and actual data will remain on the device, but will be locked and inaccessible.

Manufacturers will have the option to disable repair mode if they prefer to use their in-house version. This will be an advantage for those who have not yet developed such a modality.

The feature isn’t finished yet – Repair Mode is already built into the Android 14 QPR1 beta builds for the Pixel, but there should be an app that walks you through the process of enabling the mode and that isn’t ready yet.

Repair mode in settings

Google bases the repair mode on the Dynamic System Updates feature. Normally, this allows you to download a new Android image and run it as a guest OS without overwriting the current installation. It’s a great way to run and test a generic system image (GSI). For repair mode, however, DSU will simply boot the original operating system image, but with a new user account configured.

This will give the repair technician access to the phone’s hardware to test what works and what doesn’t, just like on a phone restored to factory settings. However, restoring your data when you get your phone back will be much easier than dealing with Android’s backup system.