LOCKED/BLOCKED PHONE

[Faithless]

So my step-son gave me his old phone and asked me to get the screen repaired as he wants to use this phone for testing apps (he is learning to make apps etc) but the phone when you power it on comes up with the following message

Security Error: This phone has been flashed with unathorized software & is locked. Call your mobile operator for additional support. Please note that repair/return for this issue may have additional cost.

This phone has NOT been flashed, it was working fine until he cracked the screen and its been sitting in a drawer turned off since then.

[BandOfBrothers]

Just for clarification @Faithless  has the phone started displaying this message before any repair work has been carried out to the screen or after repair work ?

If no repair work has been carried out yet then something may have glitched in the phone when he dropped it causing the crack or your son has rooted the phone to perhaps aid him in creating apps etc as rooting allows a person to get to the phones core files.

The message your seeing is usually a direct result of rooting.

A phone is covered by a 24 month manufacturing warranty if supplied originally by Vodafone as long as it's not been dropped and damaged or rooted or had water damage.

Unfortunately as it has a damaged screen Vodafone would ask for that to be replaced first at a cost to your son before they would carry out any work.

If the phones out of warranty then another option could be to use a trusted Highstreet Store that advertises they repair phones but that wouldn't guarantee the 2nd issue of that pop up message would be resolved. 

I wish you all the best with this situation. 

[hrym]

I agree with @BandOfBrothers .   On top of that, it may be that the cost of repairs is greater than buying a basic phone for testing purposes, so get a quote before proceeding.  If the phone has been flashed (or even if it's reporting that it has been), you may find that the warranty is invalid, so going with a 3rd party repair would be an option but, yes, the error message may not go away.

[Faithless]

The phone has NOT been rooted or flashed in anyway and as I understand it the phone worked with the cracked screen. The message only appeared after the phone was rebooted due to him not being able to get an app to open.

It would probably be cheaper to just buy a replacement handset than to get the screen repaired but this is not the point.

[hrym]

As this has happened after the screen damage, it's reasonable to assume (until disproved, at least) that the damage has introduced an electrical fault that is triggering the message.  In electronic devices, it's not unknown for incorrct error messages to appear, especially in contradictory conditions (ie an electric fault).

A third party repairer might be able to clear the fault without repairing the screen, but the cost would still be likely to outweigh the value of the device.  On the other hand, you could ask for an opinion without committing to work.  My guess would be that they'll warn you that the issue could recur even if cleared unless the screen is repaired.

I think we're back to buying a budget device (with sufficient specifications to do the required job) as the most cost-effective option.