How do you unlock a missionary phone

[rparrott98]

I purchased a samsung J7 for my niece for her mission she got sick in the MTC and only stayed 3 weeks. We spent almost $300 for the phone and can’t use it because we were told there is a lock on it, I guess from the church missionary app? How do we get the phone unlocked so we can use it now that she’s back home?

[scgallafent]

The instructions for missionary tablets are here:
https://missionary.lds.org/content/dam/mportal/missionary/pdfs/mobile-device/Tablets_and_Departing_Missionaries.pdf

I suspect the missionary phones are handled the same way. If she has been home for 10 days, you should probably contact the support team listed in that document.

[russellhltn]

Has her mission been terminated, or just put on hold? If it's just on hold, that might explain why it's still locked.

[jeffwasden]

I have a similar issue. My daughter came home from the MTC after her first epileptic seizure. The phone (Samsung Note 8) is locked in missionary mode and wont respond to a hard factory reset. I have contacted the IT administrator several times at the missionary department but still no luck. This has been going on for over 5 months. We are trying to sell the phone, but need to get it unlocked first. Any suggestions?

[travisstraw]

Same issue, this is a serious problem that shouldn't be this difficult to solve. Where are the instructions on how to do this!

Doing a factory reset on a phone even after a missionary returns from completing their mission is a nightmare for parents. If they want to sell the phone and try and recapture some money by selling the phone or have a sibling use the phone it's such a headache that it's almost not worth putting in the time to try and figure it out.

This is so sad because many members can barely make their mission payments and to then be unable to re-coop any money from the phone that they don't even plan on using is sad. Many missionaries are forced into buying expensive bicycles as well when they don't even use them on their mission. WE NEED TO DO BETTER!!! THESE FAITHFUL MEMBERS DESERVE BETTER!

[russellhltn]

Where are the instructions on how to do this!

I would contact the mission office for instructions.

[HerrimanCoder]

The missionary department doesn't know; they directed me to call 801-240-3500 (GSM?). And so far they don't know either. They are looking into it. I agree there really should be standard/public instructions for doing this. In my case I'm trying to unlock my daughter-in-law's Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet so she can give it to my daughter for personal use with her kids. It seems the church does some kind of special firmware mods on all phones and tables so they cannot be factory reset. I can think of some reasons why they would want to do this, but cannot think of any reasons why it can't be unlocked/reset somehow, maybe with special instructions.

[james.gurr@missionary.org]

From ServiceNow article:

The following instructions allow you to perform a factory data reset on your Samsung smartphone. It is critical that you save any data you want to keep prior to completing these steps--if you proceed without backing up data, it will be lost.

• Ensure that you are in a location with Wi-Fi or can connect to cellular data.

• Connect the device to power or have at least 20% battery capacity.

• Backup data or it will be lost – for more information see KB0075554
  • Sync Area Book.
  • Back up WhatsApp – other critical apps?
  • Back up other important information.
    If you backed up any data to a SD card please remove it before you perform the factory data reset, or any files on the microSD card will also be erased.

• Remove All Google and Samsung Accounts see KB0061650.

Important- do not proceed if there is still a Google or Samsung Account for which you do not know the password. You may be locked out of the phone after doing the Factory Data reset. If you need help, please Report a Problem and provide as much detail as possible and include your device's Serial Number.
Perform factory data reset

• Open the device's settings app.

• Select General Management.

• Choose Reset.

• Select Factory data reset and follow any prompts.

Please Note: Mission Presidents will be alerted of devices that are not registered in MaaS360 or have recently been registered in MaaS360.

A video as well:
Church Protections 2.0 Setup Preparation (Removing Accounts and Factory Data Reset)- Video

[BrianEdwards]

@james.gurr, I'm unfamiliar with ServiceNow, and when trying the above links I am unable to access them (although I am invited to play "Breakout", always a nice distraction!). Who has access to these articles and videos at ServiceNow?

Also, since you're familiar with these issues, what would you suggest is the proper process for a member who has these types of questions? Per @HerrimanCoder, it doesn't seem like the support personnel that members can access, are aware of the info that you've provided. Is there a different process one should follow with a question like this?

[james.gurr@missionary.org]

@james.gurr, I'm unfamiliar with ServiceNow, and when trying the above links I am unable to access them (although I am invited to play "Breakout", always a nice distraction!). Who has access to these articles and videos at ServiceNow?

So ServiceNow is accessible to any missionary serving for guides, tips, and troubleshoot. It's essentially the "help me site" for all missionaries.

Also, since you're familiar with these issues, what would you suggest is the proper process for a member who has these types of questions? Per @HerrimanCoder, it doesn't seem like the support personnel that members can access, are aware of the info that you've provided. Is there a different process one should follow with a question like this?

I mean the support articles are all you really need. I'm not entirely sure, but I would think Church employees should have access to that. In any case, removing Maas 360 should just requires a factory reset. They might send a code as well, not too sure though.