In any case I wasn't gonna let a bricked phone deter me from going to Batam for my 3D2N vacay. So on the ferry we went (thank goodness for physical tickets and passports!). On the 55-min ride me and my friend joked that this is going to be a forced digital detox.
At first I thought yea, likely have to be, as I was under the impression that I was using an eSim and to gain access to it I had to scan the telco email again to set it up. Then I realized that I cannot remember my Gmail password because I am so reliant on having my phone (I saved all my passwords on a sheet on my Google drive) so I cannot even access anything much less my Gmail. We found a Samsung service centre in Batam that opens on Mon so initially I thought yea let me make it through all of Sun and get it fixed on Mon.
However, as we got off the ferry and made it to our hotel and then to lunch, I had a sudden realization that I should have a physical sim! So I opened the tray with an earring (thank goodness) at lunch. Indeed I have not one but two sim cards inside. So now my hopes were renewed - perhaps I can get a budget phone, even secondhand, so I can add the sim card inside and roam and at least get to Google Maps and entertainment (ebooks, YouTube). But this also made me realize how reliant and addicted to a phone I was. More of the reliance - it feels weird to be traveling and not take photos of food and places!
Anyway, we managed to find a HP shop that sells budget phones in a more rundown mall to the one that we were at. I told the guy my budget is under 4M rupiah, or $300 sgd and he immediately shared the Samsung A17 phone options with me. Either 128gb or 256gb and 4G or 5G. In the end I chose the absolute cheapest of all and got it at $255 sgd including a free screen protector, charger and case. Good deal, also thanks to the extremely favourable exchange rates.
We then spent like 30 mins at the shop just trying to set it up but in the end we had to use a new Gmail account for the phone to run cos I was stuck in some loop with my old Gmail account. It gave me the option of inputting a code sent to my Gmail that I cannot access, 🙄 or to my Hotmail backup email (that I also cannot access or even login via my friend's phone because of the Outlook app authentication required). Damn the 2FA!
In the end I was like as long as I get data roaming and cell phone number SMS otp, I am fine. We left the shop and I managed to get on Telegram since I could remember my login and password. Thank goodness. That means I have a way to connect to my friend's phone!
It was during that time that I thought maybe I could instruct my dad at home to help me take a photo of my logins and PW sheet and send it to me via my friend's WhatsApp (thank goodness she saved his number!). Luckily everything is logged in to my Google Chrome profile on my MacBook so my dad just had to type the sheet name for it to pop up. But while he was doing it live I decided to authenticate my Google account by asking him to share the auth code sent to my Gmail inbox as a photo. And it worked perfectly since once again he did not have to sign in. And I manage to finally access my Google account, change the password, and log in to my other accounts via the saved PW sheet. Phew! The only messaging app I couldn't access is my WhatsApp because it only allows linking of secondary devices with permission so maybe I need to try it when I go home because I don't want to lose out all the chat history.
Back in the hotel, I have also changed the backup email of my main Gmail to a less secure Gmail (just requires login and password no 2FA). And have written down all the important passwords to keep in my wallet in case something like this happens!
tldr, here is what I learned and you need to also take note of in case something like this happens to you when you are not close to home, like overseas.
1. Make sure to retain the physical SIM option unless you have absolute no choice so you can access OTPs via SMS. This saved my life. Also tied to that - have at least one cc card on you so you can tap for public transport.
2. Ensure you have essential logins and passwords in hard copy with you (not at home) maybe in a wallet<
3. Tied with that, make sure your recovery email to important accounts can be easily logged in without 2FA or authentication on another device (such as a bricked phone). This is so stupid but it's an infinite loop of hell otherwise
4. Not essential but memorise your parents' HP contact or get it saved in your close friend's contacts (I did it after experiencing the BKK earthquake). This was how I could contact my dad and got him to help me authenticate. Luckily my Mac was also unlocked with a simple password I can remember and not just using touch id.
That is it I think. I'm just lucky to unlock step one. The alternative was to wait 3 days, go back to Singapore the analog way, get online to my MacBook and use it to communicate while sending my phone in for repair. That being said I think I might evaluate the cost and if it is prohibitive, explore alternative Android brands.
Currently my Samsung A17 is very serviceable and even the photos and videos have a digicam vibe to it that I don't mind. So it will be my interim backup phone for now! I just feel grateful my trip wasn't too ruined.
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