Encryption bug

[quirkius]

My phone is encrypted but after a recent power down and power up (not restart) it failed to ask for my password to decrypt the phone.

I suspect this may be because I disabled the Xperia Keyboard. I've now renabled the Xperia Keyboard and will test this when it's convenient to switch my phone off.

My big concern is How was the phone able to start up and work without decrypting the memory contents? Is this "encryption" just a facade with no real encryption behind it?!

It'd be great if someone could look into this.

[quirkius]

It was not the disabled Xperia Keyboard - I've since renabled the Input Method and powered down/up and my phone skips the prompt for password to decrypt. How does Android decrypt the phone without my password or is not really encrypted?

Screenshots of the Security settings below:

[Hampus]

Hi,

Have you setup any screen lock on your phone such as PIN or password via Settings > Security > Screen lock? When you encrypt the storage, it's not required to use PIN, pattern or password but keep in mind that doing so reduces protection provided by encryption.

[quirkius]

Yes, I'm using a 6 digit pin, have been using a pin ever since I got the phone (> 1year). I encrypted the phone roughly 6 months ago and there has never been a problem. I do have the latest Android update for the phone and it has always prompted me for the password to decrypt, the few times I've had to power down/up, even since the 5.1.1 upgrade.

[quirkius]

Hi

Scratch that last assertion about it working since the 5.1.1 upgrade - I've just check my Z3 Tablet Compact which is also encrypted (or supposed to be). Powered down & up, and the "lock" image (which I only noticed after encryption) is shown during startup but the prompt for pin or password is never seen.

[Hampus]

That sounds very strange. I have encrypted a Z3 Compact here and I cannot replicate this behaviour. Are you by any chance familiar with ADB and can provide log files?

[quirkius]

Hi

It's been a while since I've played with the Android SDK and ADB. I will look into it and get back to you.

Many thanks

[quirkius]

Hello

I've cleared the log, restarted the phone and have collected the log file. It's just over 500kb - how would you like me to get it to you?

Thanks

[Hampus]

You could upload it to Google Drive or any other cloud storage and share the link to me via PM. 

[Hampus]

Hi again,

May I ask how you have updated your phone? When we check our logs regarding software updates for your IMEI, we cannot see that you have made any software updates with our tools. Have you used any third party programs to update the phone?

Have you tried to re-install the Xperia Keyboard? You can go to Settings > Apps > Swipe to the tab "All" > Xperia Keyboard > Uninstall updates. Go to Google Play store, search for Xperia Keyboard and update the application again.