PSA: Samsung My Knox issue might wipe some of your data, Samsung working on a fix

A current problem with Samsung’s My Knox security app could cause some devices to lose data, Samsung has announced. The South Korean manufacturer began notifying users of the issue earlier today via email, stating that it was related to one of its battery saving features and a recent software update.

The problem seems to be triggered when enabling “Maximum power saving mode” on devices which have been updated to Android Nougat. Samsung has suggested that users don’t activate the power-saving feature while it investigates the situation and that they backup My Knox data periodically.

Here is the list of devices that Samsung says may be affected by the issue:

• Galaxy S6
• Galaxy S6 Edge
• Galaxy S6 Edge plus
• Galaxy S6 Active
• Galaxy Note 5
• Galaxy J3 Pop

The company also said that any data lost through this can’t be recovered.

Samsung My Knox is an encrypted digital environment where you can place apps and documents for “secure” access to them. This allows you to protect your work email or personal files on your Samsung smartphone, as well as remotely find, lock, or wipe your device if it’s stolen.

For an app that prides itself on protection, this does not reflect well on Samsung: like, ensuring your data is safe is one of the promises of the app. But I mean, sure, My Knox could definitely stop others accessing your files — if you fall foul to this error, literally nobody will be able to access them. Ever.

In early June, Samsung said that it was discontinuing My Knox at the end of 2017 and advised users to begin using its Secure Folder app instead. Hopefully, most people have already taken that course of action. For any stragglers, now could be the time.

Samsung says it’s working to address the issue now and will release a patch to prevent further problems. We’ll let you know when it has.