Samsung’s new One UI 9 policy forces a factory reset after a 13th failed PIN, password or pattern attempt on supported Galaxy phones.
The system starts timed lockouts after 5 failed tries, escalating from 1 minute to 24 hours after the 12th miss to deter brute-force attacks.
Samsung says One UI 9 will show remaining attempts near the warning threshold, and repeating the same wrong credential will not count as multiple failures.
The stricter rule currently applies only to devices shipping with One UI 9 preloaded—so far the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8—not older phones updated later.
The change raises the stakes for users relying on biometrics, because Android still requires the backup credential after restarts or roughly every 72 hours.