What just happened? Are you one of the many millions of people who own a Galaxy smartphone? If so, you might have received a strange notification last night via Samsung’s Find My Mobile app—I did. The message simply showed a “1” with another “1” underneath it, which led to some users believing they’d been hacked. But Samsung has confirmed it was an accident.
Social media was flooded with messages from Samsung users confused by the notification. As the name suggests, the Find My Mobile app is used to locate a lost Samsung device. It can also unlock a phone or tablet, back up data to Samsung Cloud, delete data from a device, and block access to Samsung Pay.
It appears that any Samsung device with the Find My Mobile app installed was affected, from the recently announced Galaxy S20 and Z Flip to the company’s line of tablets. Tapping on the alert did nothing other than close it.
Samsung was quick to assure bewildered users that they had nothing to worry about. The firm tweeted that the notification was a message sent unintentionally during internal testing, and it did not affect devices. Samsung apologized for any inconvenience, adding that it would work to prevent similar incidents occurring in the future.
Recently, a notification about “Find My Mobile 1” occurred on a limited number of Galaxy devices. This was sent unintentionally during an internal test and there is no effect on your device. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers. ^LF
— Samsung Help UK (@SamsungHelpUK) February 20, 2020
While the notification may have worried a few users and woke some up in the middle of the night, it never caused any issues with the affected devices. Samsung doubtlessly won’t be happy about the incident, though, especially as it’s currently trying to promote the Galaxy S20 and Z Flip and doesn't want any distractions.
Image credit: Framesira via Shutterstock
