How to avoid entering Pin or password on each profile switch in GrapheneOS?

brook

GrapheneOS position support for multiple profile as a cool features for many situations.
The limit of profiles is much higher than in upstream Android.

But in my case, almost any switch between profiles require to enter password or PIN, finger print is not working, even if I came from one profile to another and right back. Why? It destroys the experience of having several profiles, as it's hard to enter password on small android keyboard each time when I want to check something in the Instant Messenger in another profile.

Is it possible somehow to make multiple profiles work at least a bit mot convenient, without password checks on every switch?

Work Profile current works way better in this regard, it does not require entering password on each application switch, while it's also a separate user in the system.

Xtreix

brook In the main profil, go in settings > system > users > the profile you created > enable "Allow running in background".

Then, once in this secondary profile, do not "end session" by pressing the power on/off button, slide from top to bottom, press the “profile” icon on the bottom right and choose the owner profile if you wish to return to the owner profile, without switching off the secondary profile, it will then ask you to enter only your fingerprint if you return to the secondary profile, or the fingerprint + the second factor PIN if you have configured it.

Note that by doing this, the data in the other profiles is not at rest, and you increase battery consumption.

brook Work Profile current works way better in this regard, it does not require entering password on each application switch, while it's also a separate user in the system.

It's not as isolated as the system-wide user, recently GrapheneOS has enabled users to put data to rest when they leave Private space, as they would with “end session” for a secondary profile, in which case you have to re-enter your PIN.

PS : There's no point in writing in big, bold letters - it doesn't make the text more legible, but gives the impression that it's an absolute emergency.

GrapheneOSuser74

brook How to avoid entering Pin or password on each profile switch in GrapheneOS?

This is a kind of glitch of the OS. To avoid entering pin after switching profiles each time you need to set the same amount of fingerprints for the each profiles. Also you need allow profiles to run in background.
There are some articles about this problem, you can check them.
P.S I had to set 2 fingerprints for all my profiles.

brook

Xtreix In the main profil, go in settings > system > users > the profile you created > enable "Allow running in background".

Then, once in this secondary profile, do not "end session" by pressing the power on/off button, slide from top to bottom, press the “profile” icon on the bottom right and choose the owner profile if you wish to return to the owner profile, without switching off the secondary profile, it will then ask you to enter only your fingerprint if you return to the secondary profile, or the fingerprint + the second factor PIN if you have configured it.

Yeah, thank you for detailed advice, I was using everything exactly like that and still get unavoidable PIN/password request on almost each profile change.

chinook

Xtreix he said he's switching between profiles, not ending the sessions. I have exactly the same behaviour on mine, also have 2FA unlocking enabled, and I consider the fingerprint some sort of a joke, because it NEVER works, I always have to provide 2FA pin.

Your lecturing would come off a bit better if it wasn't non-sequitur.

brook

GrapheneOSuser74 omg, thanks a lot. I will try that!

I was sure it's intentional uncomfortable behavior of GrapheneOS ("for my safety"), but I am happy that it is just a long-standing bug of GrapheneOS that can eventually be fixed.

GrapheneOSuser74

brook Does this method work?

Xtreix

brook I was using everything exactly like that and still get unavoidable PIN/password request on almost each profile change.

Weird, it worked correctly in my test in a secondary profile with fingerprint unlocking, probably a bug, I'd like to add that in my test, when switching to the secondary profile, you have to wait about 1 second for the lock icon to change to the fingerprint lock icon. If you press the icon immediately, it will ask you for your PIN, but all I had to do was give up and just use my fingerprint.

brook

GrapheneOSuser74 Yes, it seems to be working. I had 1-4 fingerprints in different profiles, but now I changed the number to 2 in some of profiles and now I can switch between them without entering password/PIN each time. Now it looks like having several profiles have more sense.

So, it's definitely a bug in GrapheneOS.

Xtreix I'd like to add that in my test, when switching to the secondary profile, you have to wait about 1 second for the lock icon to change to the fingerprint lock icon. If you press the icon immediately, it will ask you for your PIN, but all I had to do was give up and just use my fingerprint.

I also confirm this minor issue.

matchboxbananasynergy

brook So, it's definitely a bug in GrapheneOS.

To be clear, it's a bug in AOSP that GrapheneOS inherits, rather than a GrapheneOS-specific one.

brook

matchboxbananasynergy To be clear, it's a bug in AOSP that GrapheneOS inherits, rather than a GrapheneOS-specific one.

Yes, probably.
Note, that AOSP have strict limitation on users number (like 3 except Owner?), while GrapheneOS this limit is increased (to 32 in total?) and this feature is advised to be used for many use cases. Some people even advice to have main profile not in Owner user. So, for GrapheneOS users fixing such bug would be more important than for AOSP users, who mostly do not care.

I was sure this "asking for password on each profile switch" was intended (the same was as having annoying 48-hour lock-timer), but luckily it is not, just a bug.