Aurora was in our area. My neighbour and I always go to Crescent Beach where it's dark and we get a good view of the North Shore mountains and wait for the light display. I pulled up the Aurora app in the car on the way down and it said "update". So, I "updated". Then I watched one by one everything disappeared. When it was over I had no phone, no camera, no flashlight and my screen was full of apps that I've never downloaded! I shut my phone off!
Clouds rolled in so we didn't see a light show but it was a lovely night to watch the waves come in. It wasn't as crowded as it has been and the by-laws officer was having fun trying to get people to move their cars who parked in the lot that closes at 8. It was 10 and we never park in that lot in fear of getting locked in.
When I got home I started my phone. It still looked "different". I know my photos are backed up and that is the only thing I prize so I did a factory reset that cleared my phone of everything.
Then I tried to sign on with my Google password and I don't have a tablet so I couldn't do the secondary verification as my phone didn't have text or a phone active. I signed in as Cec on my phone and loaded all his apps and then deleted what I didn't want. Then I signed in to Samsung. I wondered if signing into Samsung first would have been better, but I don't know if that would have worked.
One by one, my apps loaded. The phone worked, text worked, my emails came to life! All in I was up until 4 AM, because I don't like anything to get the best of me. I subscribe to the Geek Squad but I really wanted to fix it myself, which I did.
If anyone sent me anything that I haven't answered, send it again. I am happy this didn't happen when I was travelling as I wouldn't have known all my passwords! The Aurora app is gone and I will never download it again. It was good for about 18 months. I have a security app now that I didn't have before. I don't know if the security app would have stopped the episode yesterday, but I'm thrilled to have my phone back with all the data and pictures it had before!
