I will start by acknowledging my own part to play. I was not aware it was required to tell the phone it wasn't LOST anymore via the web account BEFORE I uninstalled the application. Didn't honestly know the lockout occurred for that reason (was random while driving home late at night, thought I'd just input the PIN and be done with it).
What has happened:
-Had tried Avast Mobile Security MUCH earlier than now, decided to just use it on PC, so I uninstalled it from my phone.
-Decided about a month ago (Christmas 2017) to ditch Avast Free for PC and go with MSE for Win7. At that time, what is apparently a feature of Anti-Theft activates, sending my friend texts with links included to inform him of the phone's location, and presumably allow him to issue SMS commands. Why it happened THEN, couldn't tell you (doesn't make sense why not sooner, if at all).
-I attempt to re-install Avast Mobile Security, presuming the old installation (including Anti-Theft) would be UNINSTALLED to make room. This does not apparently occur, as my Avast Account listed BOTH this latest installation AND a followup uninstall/reinstall cycle. Basically, there can be several instances of Avast Mobile Security on the same phone. Why this is allowed, couldn't tell ya. They can also have differing statuses, such as one being LOST and another active and FOUND.
-Somehow, my Avast Account couldn't send the FOUND signal to my phone for the first instance (LOCKED), something about "can't connect to phone"...because of course it couldn't, it was LOCKED.
What I've tried:
-Several re-installations and uninstalls. Didn't work.
-Using the Avast Account to tell my phone he's FOUND, as well as trying to contact my own phone via a separate instance of Mobile Security (on the same phone) with the Avast Account. Neither attempt worked.
-Factory reset and restoring old data (don't know for sure, but I'm confident the oldest one (2015) doesn't have Avast anything hidden away inside it). Also didn't work.
-Prayer. XD
The Future:
-If no response by, say, 2-3pm CST (US) Sunday (1/28/18), I'll presume no one has a solution to either the LOCKED problem (must be solved first!) or the prior Anti-Theft texts. I will proceed to acquire a newer phone and number (this is 5yrs old) and request my friend block the text messages. I don't know what else can be done about that. (FYI, most local phone stores close at 6pm CST...so I'm not waiting forever, need this fixed ASAP!)
-AVOID ANY MOBILE DEVICE THEFT SERVICES LIKE THE PLAGUE!
What I roll with:
LG-LS970 with Jelly Bean Android
My preferred outcome:
-I get my damn phone back (or whatever actually tells the damn phone it's FOUND so it unlocks data, calling, and texting)
-These text messages, a very much secondary request, get stopped. While I admit it's bad I waited a month to try and solve this, the original notice given was just days before Christmas, so yeah I forgot about it. Doesn't explain why the hell it's happening at that time any better (I had removed the mobile Avast, idk, maybe close to a year prior to the PC removal).
Sorry for the long words and attitude, but I've been trying to fix this for several hours now and I knew I'd need to replace my phone at some point. I'd rather not have it forced by Avast, but if it's necessary, then it's necessary. You've served me well, LS970 (00)7
