What is the point of having a Lock Screen code?

[Windows Central Question]

Lock Screen code

I'm sure (I hope) someone else has also noticed this, but:

What's the point of having a code in the Lock Screen, if I can effectively bypass it by simply pulling down the menu from the upper screen?

Just go to Settings -> Lock Screen -> Remove code (or something)

I've tried it.

I have a Lumia 640 LTE, and I hope this is not universal to all Lumias... It's just sad.
I kinda felt safe to leave it anywhere unnatended, but now I'm sure anyone can just steal whatever is in there. It's not security at all

 

[Miguel Ferreira5]

Re: Lock Screen code

It was me. Posted as a guest, forgot to login

Lumia 640 LTE Windows 10 (I'm not sure the version, if you can tell me where to check it, I will)

 

[RumoredNow]

Re: Lock Screen code

I have my 640 encrypted so a PIN is mandatory.

If, when locked, I swipe down on action center only certain things can be accessed. Flashlight, WiFi toggle, Camera.

Anything that does work, like camera, is segregated and I can't access anything else from there. The only pictures I can see are the ones I take that ad hoc session. If I try and see all pics it demands a PIN.

If it is settings, All Settings or just long tap WiFi to get into WiFi settings... I need a PIN.

DO you have PIN enabled? Or are you basing these observations on a phone with no PIN required?

 

[Miguel Ferreira5]

Re: Lock Screen code

I thought I only had to set a PIN to my Lock Screen, and I was set.
How do I encrypt it?

What I meant is: I can remove my PIN to Lock Screen, by simply accessing All Settings->Lock Screen, etc... in the action center (and I don't even need to type it in, just press Remove)

 

[Miguel Ferreira5]

Re: Lock Screen code

I've done it, thanks a lot.

 

[Saijin_Naib]

I can't access anything through the action center except toggles without putting in my PIN, and my L640 is NOT encrypted.

 

[Pete]

Re: Lock Screen code

What I meant is: I can remove my PIN to Lock Screen, by simply accessing All Settings->Lock Screen, etc... in the action center (and I don't even need to type it in, just press Remove)

This shouldn't happen, regardless of the encryption.

What is your "require sign-in" time period set to; it's possible that you were still signed into your phone when the lock PIN pad was shown incorrectly and just didn't notice.

If you're sure there's a problem, I'd love to see a video of this happening - it's not an issue I've seen reported before.

 

[Lee Power]

Re: Lock Screen code

Are we 100% sure the phone is protected by a pin code? Some people on here get confused by SIM pins & PHONE pins.

 

[KimRM]

Re: Lock Screen code

Are we 100% sure the phone is protected by a pin code? Some people on here get confused by SIM pins & PHONE pins.

Yeah, must be SIM pin. I checked and can't access All Settings when phone is locked with lockscreen PIN. Latest redstone build.

 

[Ten Four]

Unless it is another W10 bug.

 

[pankaj981]

It's not a bug, Microsoft would not release any build that could compromise basic security. It's most likely the lockscreen timeout still set to the default 15 mins in lockscreen settings (see Pete's answer above).

 

[Ten Four]

Actually, I've often wondered if I actually do need a PIN for my lockscreen. I don't do banking on my phone, so the only thing that might be problematic if stolen would be my email accounts. If the phone were lost or stolen I could pretty quickly change passwords on those from almost anywhere with Internet access. Otherwise, there is nothing that needs to be "protected." A thief would have to be both fast and know what they are doing in order to get into my email before I could. Even if they managed that it would take some doing in order to use any information there because any other accounts with things of value have their own logins and passwords that are not in my email or stored on the phone.

 

[Pete]

Actually, I've often wondered if I actually do need a PIN for my lockscreen. I don't do banking on my phone, so the only thing that might be problematic if stolen would be my email accounts. If the phone were lost or stolen I could pretty quickly change passwords on those from almost anywhere with Internet access. Otherwise, there is nothing that needs to be "protected." A thief would have to be both fast and know what they are doing in order to get into my email before I could. Even if they managed that it would take some doing in order to use any information there because any other accounts with things of value have their own logins and passwords that are not in my email or stored on the phone.

Don't forget that a thief may well use your phone as a phone and call their friends/relatives abroad using your account. Its then up to you to get that money back from your service provider.

 

[Ten Four]

Don't forget that a thief may well use your phone as a phone and call their friends/relatives abroad using your account. Its then up to you to get that money back from your service provider.

Sure, that's possible, but my service is prepaid with unlimited minutes only in the USA, no international calls, and 1 GB of data. So, potentially I might lose an entire month of service for $29 and maybe the use of that phone number if I had to cancel it. Again, if I could get to my computer I could log in and cancel the service.

 

[Krystianpants]

Windows mobile is highly customizable. When you have a pin you can do the following:

*Not show notifications on lock screen. The banners will be private.
*Not allow you to pull down the action center all the way until unlocked. So when you try it just pulls down to show the action buttons but won't go any lower concealing all your messages. The action buttons will prompt for pin if they are important. Like you can't turn on Cellular data. You can turn wifi on/off though.

There settings are all under notification center. Play around with them and see.