3 Steps to Identify a Mobile Phone When Disconnected.

Work Tips
2024-10-28

For forensic investigators, sometimes they need to disconnect from the network when accessing mobile device data, which limits their ability to log into a computer via a Wi-Fi connection to back up apps data. Due to various factors, it may not be successfully identified by forensic tools such as SPF Pro.

SPF Pro is an all-in-one mobile forensic system developed by SalvationDATA. It supports fast multi-channel identification technology and model material analysis capabilities of mobile phones, featuring strong compatibility. It also allows data upload to the ministry, province, and city big data analysis platform through BCP, XML, and other standard data formats. This article is talking about how to identify the mobile phone by troubleshooting.

Process

Step 1. Start SPF Pro, create a new case, and enter the device selection interface.

Step 2. At this point, the phone is connected, but it cannot be detected. If the phone can be detected but USB debugging is not enabled, it will display a phone model and MTP mode. If USB debugging is enabled, it will show a phone model and an Android robot. If the screen shows the image above, it means the phone is not identifyd.

Step 3. Troubleshooting

  1. Replace the data cable.Some USB cables are only for charging and do not support data transfer. Replace the cable with one that can transmit data.
  2. Replace the USB port on the computer.There may be a power supply issue with the computer’s USB port, preventing it from identifying the phone.
  3. If you are using SPF Pro on a tower computer, try connecting to a different port on the motherboard.USB ports on the front may be loose or malfunctioning, leading to identification issues.
  4. Change the computer to see if the file system can identifythe phone. A driver issue on the current computer may prevent recognition. Try connecting the phone to another computer to determine if the problem lies with the phone.
  5. Check the Device Manager to see if the drivers are affecting recognition.Screen mirroring software drivers may interfere with our software’s ability to identify the phone. Open Device Manager and look for drivers labeled Android or ADB. Uninstall these drivers to see if the phone can be identifyd successfully.

Notes

  1. When SPF Pro cannot identifythe phone or fails to extract the desired data, it’s often necessary to use corresponding backup tools.
  2. Ask the client if the device can connect to the internet, as some backup tools require Wi-Fi, and backing up via WeChat on the computer also requires internet access.