A repair counter asks for your passcode and most people hand it over without thinking. It's a reasonable request on the surface: the technician wants to check the new screen or camera works. But that code opens almost everything on your phone, and the phone may sit on a shelf for days. Here's what to do before you hand it over, what your phone can do to help, and what the passcode still gives away.
What Your Passcode Actually Opens
Your passcode isn't just the lock screen. It opens your photos, messages, email, notes and most apps, and on most phones it also opens your saved passwords. Whoever has it can do anything you can do on that phone.
That doesn't mean the shop is out to get you. It means you're trusting everyone who touches the phone while it's there, for as long as it's there. The steps below shrink how much that trust has to cover.
Step 1: Back Up First
Apple, Samsung and Google all say the same thing: back up before any repair. Apple warns that your device might have been erased when you get it back. Google says that if a repair replaces a part that affects storage, the technician has to delete your data even in Repair mode.
Check the backup actually finished. On an iPhone, Apple suggests confirming iCloud has finished syncing before you go. And remember anything that only lives on the phone, including files inside a vault app, goes with it if the phone is wiped.
Step 2: Use Your Phone's Repair Mode, If It Has One
Samsung Galaxy: Maintenance mode. On phones and tablets running One UI 5 or higher, go to Settings > Device care > Maintenance mode (called Battery and device care on some models) and tap Turn on. It's also in the Samsung Members app under the Support tab. The phone restarts into a separate, restricted space that hides your photos, videos, contacts and messages. You need a screen lock and some free space (Samsung lists 1.5GB on 64GB models, 500MB on larger ones). To leave, tap the Maintenance mode notification, choose Exit and enter your lock code. Anything created while it was on is deleted.
Google Pixel: Repair mode. Pixel phones on the Android 14 December 2023 update or later, with at least 2 GB free, can use it. Go to Settings > System > Repair mode, follow the prompts, enter your PIN and let the phone restart. It starts a clean copy of Android in a separate secure partition. Google's own instruction: don't share your PIN, password or pattern with the technician. When you exit, any changes made during the repair are removed.
Other Android phones. Look in Settings for a repair or maintenance option before you go. If there isn't one, the steps below are what you have.
iPhone: no repair mode that hides your data. Apple's guidance is to never give your passcode or Apple Account password to anyone. Apple says neither Apple nor its Authorized Service Providers will ask for them, though for some software support you might be asked to enter the passcode yourself. Apple advises staying present while a technician has access to your device. For Find My:
- iOS 27 or later: open the Find My app, select your iPhone, tap More, then Repair or Trade In. For eligible repairs, Find My stays on throughout.
- iOS 26 or earlier: turn off Find My in Settings > [your name] > Find My, and turn it back on when you get the phone back.
Step 3: If the Shop Still Wants Your Passcode
Independent shops often ask so they can test the repair. Ask what they need it for, then pick the option that gives away the least:
- Enter it yourself while the technician watches, and stay while they test.
- Test together at pickup instead of leaving the code behind.
- Use a temporary passcode if you really have to leave it. Change it before drop-off and change it back as soon as you get the phone home.
Even with a temporary code, everything on the phone opens for whoever has it. That's the part a repair mode or a second lock is for.
Where a Vault Fits
Most "private" spaces on a phone open with the same screen lock as the phone itself. Google Photos' Locked Folder works that way, so anyone with your passcode gets that too (Is Google Photos' Locked Folder Encrypted? covers why). That's a gate, not a lock. A real lock has its own key.
Vaultine is that kind of lock. Files are encrypted on-device with AES-256 and open only with Vaultine's own PIN, separate from your phone's passcode. Hand the shop your phone code and the vault stays shut. If someone opens the app and asks you to unlock it, a Decoy Vault opens a second, harmless vault with a different PIN. It works the same on iPhone and Android, plus Mac and Windows, and a 12-word recovery phrase covers a forgotten PIN.
One thing a vault can't do is survive a wipe on its own. If the shop erases the phone, files that only exist in a vault on that phone go with it. Vaultine's optional Dropbox sync uploads only encrypted data, so turn it on, or keep a copy elsewhere, before the repair.
The Short Version
Before any repair: back up and check it finished. On a Samsung Galaxy, turn on Maintenance mode. On a Pixel, turn on Repair mode. On an iPhone, follow Apple's advice: don't hand over the passcode, enter it yourself if asked and stay present, and set up Find My for the repair. If the shop still needs a code, use a temporary one and change it back. Anything you can't afford to have seen belongs behind a lock that the phone passcode doesn't open. For what's at stake if the phone never comes back, see What Happens to Your Data When Your Phone Is Stolen.
Try it free with up to 10 files at vaultine.app.
