Android: Why this photo is bricking some phones

guest · Jun 2, 2020

Android: Why this photo is bricking some phones
June 2, 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52891650

Several brands seem to be affected, including Samsung and Google's Pixel.
The bug makes the screen turn on and off continuously. In some cases a factory reset is required.

Tech journalist Bogdan Petrovan at Android Authority said the bug did not affect his Huawei 20 Pro but it did cause a Google Pixel 2 to malfunction.

"After setting the image in question as a wallpaper, the phone immediately crashed. It attempted to reboot, but the screen would constantly turn on and off, making it impossible to pass the security screen," he noted.
It appears to affect some but not all devices running the latest version of the Android operating system, Android 10.
Click to expand...

There has not yet been an official reason given for the bug but developer Dylan Roussel, who writes at 9to5Google tweeted his theory.

Ken Munro and Dave Lodge from security firm Pen Test partners also analysed it for the BBC.

"As digital photographs have improved in quality, phones need to check what the image 'colour space' is to work out how to display it properly," they said.
"The phone crashes because it doesn't know how to deal with it correctly, and the software developers probably hadn't considered this might happen."
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guest · Jun 2, 2020

Setting this image as wallpaper could soft-brick your phone
May 31, 2020 (Updated: June 1, 2020)
https://www.androidauthority.com/image-wallpaper-crash-soft-brick-1124505/

Update, June 1, 06:15AM EST: We have an in-depth explanation on the likely reasons behind the wallpaper crash issue here.

Update, May 31, 12:30PM EST: An issue with a very similar description has been reported in Google’s Android issue tracker back in 2018. At the time, Google developers said they were unable to reproduce the issue and closed it out (Hat tip: inverimus on Reddit). We’ve reached out to Google for clarification.

According to several users on Reddit and Twitter, as well as Partha Sarathi Tripathy in our comments section, the issue is caused by the color profile of the image, which exceeds the bounds of what Android can handle, causing a crash.
Looking at user reports, it looks like devices from Google, Samsung, OnePlus, Nokia, Xiaomi are affected, though not all models behave the same.
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Wallpaper crash explained: Here’s how a simple image can soft-brick phones

How can a simple image crash an Android phone to the point that it becomes unusable?
It’s a question that came out frequently over the past 24 hours, as news of a “cursed wallpaper” spread around the web.
We asked a developer what’s going on
It’s a weird problem that has the potential to become a wider issue, especially if trolls get involved. It’s easy to envision unsavory characters boobytrapping wallpapers and sending them to unsuspecting users as a “prank.”
So, what’s going on?
[...]
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There’s good news, and there’s bad news
The bad news is the issue is now out in the open, and you can bet that some people will use it for mischief. More concerningly, this bug (or a very similar one) appears to have been an issue for at least a couple of years, with no visible action from Google.
Also bad news: if you fall victim to a prank (or your own curiosity), there’s no easy, pain-free method to undo it. At least factory reset remains as a last resort, but we still wouldn’t recommend trying it on your own device.

The good news is this seems to be a straightforward bug, rather than malware or anything more nefarious. We say “seems” because we haven’t heard from Google back for confirmation. Also good news: this bug will not be an issue once Android 11 lands later this year.
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guest · Jun 10, 2020

'How my photo ended up breaking Android phones'
June 9, 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52978884

He shared the snap on photo platform Flickr and thought no more about it.
However, a glitch meant that when the image was set as wallpaper, it caused some Android phones to fail.

He grabbed the shot on his Nikon camera, and later did a small edit using the editing software Lightroom.
And that's where the bug crept in.
Lightroom gives three colour-mode options for exporting the finished result - and the one he picked is the one that seems to confuse some Android handsets.
Click to expand...

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