Data connection off

[adymld]

Hello,
I recently installed avast! Anti-theft on my Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus (GT-I9105P) not rooted. I decided not to install the entire mobile safety package in order to benefit from the app’s stealth feature.
The issue I’m having is that when I try to locate my phone using the avast! Portal, it only works if the Wi-Fi or mobile data are ON. The GPS turned ON alone is not enough. From what I gather, it is not possible to activate Wi-Fi or data connection remotely unless you are in rooted mode which I am not – I don’t want to void the warranty. So, if a thief turns off Wi-Fi, mobile data and GPS right after he steals the phone then you can’t locate the device anymore. Am I right in assuming this? Is there another way to locate the phone?
Thank you,
Best wishes.

[Werner]

Hello,

>So, if a thief turns off Wi-Fi, mobile data and GPS right after he steals the phone then you can’t locate the device anymore.

this is correct.

Werner

[adymld]

Is Avast planning on doing something to solve this issue?
Thx.

[Werner]

Well, without any connection or GPS it's difficult.

however, there are workarounds.

In the advanced settings, you can select the option to “Automatically enable GPS” if GPS is
not already enabled in the main phone settings.
 
Note however that while “on-demand” GPS updates will always work if Anti-Theft was
installed rooted, there are some restrictions on non-rooted phones. On non-rooted phones
the auto-enabling only works from Android 1.6 up to Android 2.2. For Android 2.3 and later,
it is not possible to auto-enable GPS and therefore it is not possible to use the SMS
Command to obtain GPS Updates.

you can also force the data connection to become active and stay open:

Force data connection on
By enabling this option, you can force the phone’s data connection to remain
open thus ensuring it remains reachable via the internet for as long as
possible.

however, this will only become active if:
- the thief changes the SIM card
- or you send a SMS to the phone marking it as "LOST"
(the sms command is "<your avast! PIN> lost")

[adymld]

Solution 1 is N/A because my phone runs android 4.1.2
Solution 2 works for non-rooted phones as well? Provided one of the two conditions you mentioned is met.