Before Protesting, Enable This Feature – Lockdown Mode: Explained

Across the globe, we’re seeing a number of protests being held to support the basic human rights of people. Protests have contributed a lot towards the privileges we have today. And if you too are looking to protest for a good cause, you might want to protect your smartphone first. These days, information stored on a smartphone can legally be used against you in court. And since some protests often turn into riots which lead to looting or arson, the chances of being arrests during a protest is high.

Fortunately, you can take one major step to protect your smartphone from being used against you. Not only will enable this feature to protect you from legal action, but it will also prevent others from getting into your phone in case it’s stolen. This feature is called ‘Lockdown Mode’. And it’s available on all Android smartphones that are sold today. Moreover, a similar feature is available on iOS devices.

What is Lockdown Mode?

Enabling the Lockdown Mode on your phone will disable Biometric access. It means that you will not be able to gain access to your phone by facial recognition or fingerprints. To access your phone when the Lockdown Mode is enabled, you will have to enter the Pin, Passcode, Pattern which you set. Once you unlock your phone with either of the aforementioned options, the biometric unlock options will return. In this guide, we will show you how to enable Lockdown mode on your Android phone or iPhone.

For phones running Samsung One UI

To enable Lockdown Mode on Samsung devices running One UI, you can follow the steps below.

1. Go to Settings and select Lock screen.
2. Tap on Secure lock settings and enter your pin, pattern, or password to proceed.
3. At the bottom of the list, you will see an option labeled as Show Lockdown option. Tap on it to toggle on the feature.
4. Once you have enabled the Show Lockdown option, you can long-press the Power key and tap on Lockdown mode.

Your phone will be locked instantly and the biometric unlock options will be disabled.

For phones running on Android 10 (Stock)

Users who own smartphones running basically stock Android such as Nokia and Motorola phones can follow these steps to enable the feature.

1. Go to Settings and tap on Display.
2. Select the Lockscreen Display option.
3. Now toggle on the option labeled as ‘Show lockdown option‘.
4. To use the feature, press and hold the Power key and then select Lockdown from the power menu.

For phones running on Android 9 Pie (Stock)

The lockdown mode option in stock Android 9 is located under a different setting label than Android 10. Here are the steps to enable the feature on your phone running on stock Android 9.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap on the Security & location option and then select Lock screen preferences.
3. Now toggle on the Show lockdown option setting.
4. To enable the feature, press and hold the Power Key and select Lockdown.

For phones running Realme UI

This feature isn’t known as Lockdown Mode on devices running Realme UI. Instead, the feature is called Secure Lock. Furthermore, you do not need to dive into any settings or menus to enable it. To disable the biometric access, simply long-press on the Power Key until the Power menu shows up. Then tap on the Secure Lock option.

For LG and OnePlus Phones

The steps to enable the feature on LG and OnePlus phones are similar.

1. Launch the Settings and go to Security & lock screen (OnePlus) or Lock screen & security (LG).
2. Now select the Screen Lock option.
3. Toggle on the switch beside the Show lockdown option label.
4. Long press the Power key to bring up the power menu and then tap on Lockdown to enable the feature.

Well, these are the steps to enable Lockdown Mode on various Android smartphones. While the steps to enable the feature are a tad different on Android phones, using the Lockdown Mode on any Android phone requires you to bring up the power menu.

Steps to enable Lockdown Mode on iPhones

The easiest way to disable the facial recognition or touch ID on iPhones is to use the Power Key and Volume button combination. You need to press and hold the Power Key and any of the Volume buttons consecutively for a few seconds. Users who have the iPhone 5S – iPhone 7 have to press the power key five times. You will get haptic feedback and the following options will pop-up on screen: Power off, Medical ID, and Emergency SOS.

Select any one of the options or simply tap Cancel. Now you will be required to input the passcode on the lockscreen. Once you enter the passcode and unlock the phone, the biometric authentication will be enabled again.