BD Mobile Security: App Anomaly Detection Suddenly Turned Off. Any Help?

ChrisSim

Hello everyone :)

I just wanted to inform you that the App Anomaly Detection feature in the BD Mobile Security App was found disabled on not just my phone but also my mother's for no reason after the latest update (roughly within the last one or two days).

This was perceived as a rather unpleasant surprise by the both of us since we do heavily rely on our Apps to work as intended without any additional effort. I would be very grateful if such worrying behaviour could be mitigated to some extent in the future.

Furthermore, I would like to know whether it is safe to just turn it back on. I bet a lot of BD Mobile Security users out there are slightly confused as well now.

Thanks a lot for your attention! :)

Best regards,

Christian Simon

Screenshot_20240110_043705_Bitdefender Security.jpg

Screenshot_20240110_043728_Bitdefender Security.jpg

Gjoksi

Hello.

Yes, you are correct.

Android 13

One UI Core 5.1

Google Play System Update November 1, 2023

Android Security Patch Level October 1, 2023

BD Mobile Security 3.3.226.2369

After the latest update, which happened yesterday, only the App Anomaly Detection feature turned off by itself. All other features stayed on, as they should be.

Regards.

@Alexandru_BD @agozob Guys, can you check this with the dev team? Thanks.

ChrisSim

Thanks for the confirmation @Gjoksi :)

My specs (if helpful):

Android 14 / One UI 6.0

Google Play System Update October 1, 2023

Android Security Patch Level December 1, 2023

BD Mobile Security 3.3.226.2369

Alexandru_BD

Hello,

We are checking, please stand by 🙂

Thanks for reporting this. 👍️

Gjoksi

Hello again.

Just an update:

As you know, the feature turned off by itslef, so i decided to turn it on manually.

Next, i did a phone restart.

After the phone restart, the feature turned off by itself again.

Just to mention that after the phone restart, ONLY the App Anomaly Detection feature turned off by itself and all the other features stayed on.

Regards.

Alexandru_BD

Hello everyone,

Quick update on the situation: the developers could reproduce the behavior during testing and they are now investigating in depth. It's not clear at this stage what is the reason behind the function's random deactivation, but they will soon find out and come up with a fix via an automated update.

Thank you so much for reporting this. I will update the thread as soon as I have news.

Regards,

Alex

Alexandru_BD

@ChrisSim hats off to you for writing this post here, I think you really helped us prevent this situation from escalating further. Thank you for your patience throughout the investigation.

Cheers! 👍️

ChrisSim

Hello again :)

I just wanted to note that I experience the same behaviour as @Gjoksi on my side after a phone restart/reboot; the App Anomaly Detection is then switched off again. The same goes for my mother's device, too.

I leave it turned off as for now and wait for further feedback from your end @Alexandru_BD ^-^

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/333225#Comment_333225

You are welcome; I am always glad to help!

Best regards,

Christian Simon

Petersl

@Alexandru_BD @Gjoksi

I've uninstalled and reinstalled the bitdefender mobile app on my device from the google play store and now I have an older version running on it: version 3.3.224.2368. This version doesn't have the app anomaly detection issue.

Alexandru_BD

Hello @Petersl,

The app version was probably rolled back on play store until the issue is resolved. In order to update an app, the version code of the update must be higher than the current one, that's why only after uninstalling did the old version appear.

The investigation is ongoing and there are no news at this stage, but we'll hear from the developers soon.

Regards,

Alex

gwheatle

I'm having the same issue. I bought the defender in December 25th

Florida gal

I am having the same issue. I keep turning it back on. Is this what I should do until this situation is resolved with an update?

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/333502#Comment_333502

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/333648#Comment_333648

Try uninstalling and reinstalling the product.

If issue persists, kindly contact Bitdefender support by visiting https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/

Based on your selected product and the type of issue you're facing, you can get in touch with a support representative through email, chat, or a phone call.

If you choose email, you will receive a ticket number on your registered email. The support team will reply within the next 24-48 hours, excluding weekends.

Also, @agozob can have a look into this for you.

Regards

Gjoksi

Hello again.

My specs:

Samsung Galaxy A22 5G

Android 13

One UI Core 5.1

Google Play System Update November 1, 2023

Android Security Patch Level October 1, 2023

I just got the latest version of BD Mobile Security 3.3.227.2376.

It seems that the issue with App Anomaly Detection has been fixed with the latest version.

After the phone restart, the feature stays turned on.

Regards.

ChrisSim

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/333938#Comment_333938

That newer version has not been rolled out on my end yet so I unfortunately can not confirm the findings of @Gjoksi but I am very certain that he is correct with his presumption :)

Gjoksi

Hello again.

This is comment by @Alexandru_BD (who works for Bitdefender):

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/333943#Comment_333943

I did 2 (two) phone restarts. So far the feature stays turned on and doesn't turn off by itself.

Regards.

Alexandru_BD

Thanks @Gjoksi, I forgot there were two threads on this topic. 😅

ChrisSim

Hello everyone :)

I, too, finally received the latest version of BD Mobile Security (3.3.227.2376). It fixed App Anomaly Detection so it does not turn itself off anymore after each and every individual phone restart/reboot.

Launching the BD Mobile Security App then though, the "Autopilot Recommendations" feature on the Dashboard still suggests to turn on App Anomaly Detection. When navigating to the Malware Scanner tab to verify whether the aforementioned feature is working correctly, then switching back to the Dashboard, the notice on the Dashboard curiously disappears (and does not return). I managed to replicate that erroneous behaviour on two different phones.

I am honestly relieved nonetheless that it works (almost flawlessly) again so thank you for that :)

Best regards,

Christian Simon

ChrisSim

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/334081#Comment_334081

Short remark: The issue described in my comment cited above still exists as of today's patch 3.3.227.2379 :)

Alexandru_BD

Hi @ChrisSim,

Thanks for sharing your feedback. May I kindly ask you to inform the Support teams about this? There could be a workaround I'm unaware of, or maybe they should look deeper into this, and check if the issue resurfaced. Based on my findings, it should work fine now.

Anyone else encountering this with the latest build?

ChrisSim

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/334214#Comment_334214

I am pretty sure many/the majority of BD Mobile Security App users are currently affected by what I described in my comment (January 30). It is not a serious problem in my opinion since App Anomaly Detection seemingly works and remains in its enabled state even after a phone restart/reboot. It could potentially be perceived as a little bit distracting for the average user though when they are presented with said notice on their Dashboard indicating a malfunction so it should be addressed rather sooner than later I suppose :)

Gjoksi

Hello agan.

So far, no problems with the feature for me and no notifications on the dashboard.

Regards.

ChrisSim

Thanks for your input @Gjoksi :) Then it might just be a bug related to the software of my/the phone (Android 14 specific?) or something else entirely. Unfortunately, I can only guess :O

To reiterate how I proceeded:

Step 1: I turn my phone off and back on. BD Mobile Security shows the notice on the Dashboard upon opening the app (image 1).

Step 2: I switch to the Malware Scanner tab in order to see if App Anomaly Detection is up and running. App Anomaly Detection is indeed on (image 2).

Step 3: I return to the Dashboard and the notice is gone and does not show up ever again (image 3).

I can observe a strange behaviour though ...

It only does the above when switching to the Malware Scanner tab (step 2). When I instead (after step 1) go to any of the other tabs (Web Protection, Scam Alert, More) and return to the Dashboard, the notice is still there! It really only disappears forever once I visited the Malware Scanner tab.

That is all I did find; hope you can draw some conclusions from this maybe ^-^

Best regards,

Christian Simon

Screenshot_20240202_050705_Bitdefender Security.jpg

Screenshot_20240202_051021_Bitdefender Security.jpg

Screenshot_20240202_051033_Bitdefender Security.jpg

Alexandru_BD

Hello Christian and thanks for sharing your comprehensive findings with us. 👍️

I have forwarded your feedback to the Mobile Security teams and they are looking into it. The patch addressed the initial problem and I think this is a rather isolated behavior unrelated to the previous one, that will be fixed soon as well. I'm saying this because according to the engineers, we did find another occurence, so it's something the developers have their eyes on right now.

Thank you once again for helping us out. 🤜🤛

Regards,

Alex

Nunzio77

For me too, after turning on/restarting the smartphone, the autopilot suggests activating the anomaly app even if it is already active. After I get to the screen where I see that it's already active, the autopilot suggestion goes away.

its_lambda

If the software Anomaly Detection feature of BD Mobile Security unexpectedly stopped working, you can try to fix the problem by restarting your mobile device or reinstalling the software. If the problem persists, reaching out to BD Mobile Security's customer support for assistance would be advisable.

Nunzio77

With this version the problem has been resolved.

ChrisSim

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/334530#Comment_334530

The original problem has been resolved since the end of January.

This one here though:

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/334081#Comment_334081

Nope :/ I checked again (phone restart et cetera) just to be certain. Same version (3.3.228.2381) as @Nunzio77 but the bug is still present.

Best regards,

Christian Simon

Nunzio77

With this update that happened yesterday it no longer creates any problems for me. It probably depends on the various versions of Android, smartphone software, kernel, etc...

Alexandru_BD

For the record, there were less than 20 reports in total, so @Nunzio77 I think you are right. 🙂

ChrisSim

@Alexandru_BD Just checked again and nothing has changed (for me).

The device of @Nunzio77 is using ColorOS 13 which is based on Android 13 so the fact that it is apparently resolved for older devices but not the latest ones is kind of a bummer. I guess BD always attempts to support those with the biggest installed base OS wise first. I completely support that approach but I also hope to be next in line ^-^

Best regards,

Christian Simon

Nunzio77

The problem has returned at this point the app seems to be unstable.

Gjoksi

Hello everybody.

Like @Alexandru_BD already said, it seems that App Anomaly Detection was not completely fixed.

Regards.

Florida gal

Any idea when this is going to be fixed? I just keep turning App Anomaly Detection back on anytime I restart my phone...

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/334749#Comment_334749

Many users, including me and other moderators on this forum, are facing this issue. The problem has been raised by the forum admin, @Alexandru_BD, with the developers. If there are any updates, the admin will reply back to this thread.

Regards

Flexx

This post will be closed for any additional comments to maintain the post's cleanliness. If you wish to reopen the post, kindly contact any moderator or admin of the community forum.

Regards

Nunzio77

New version of BDM: 3.3.231.2394, It seems that "App anomaly detection" remains active correctly when the smartphone is turned on/restarted and the suggestion to activate it if already active no longer appears. 🙂😉

Nunzio77

However, it would seem that for some users the problem persists not only after turning on or restarting the smartphone, but also after a few hours of not using the smartphone.

I ask @Alexandru_BD to update us as soon as there are updates on the matter.

In the meantime, I am monitoring the behavior of BDM on my RealMe smartphone (Android 13).

ChrisSim

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/335464#Comment_335464

Yes! I concur with @Nunzio77 :) I do notice exactly that behaviour on my end as well when checking the BD Mobile Security app from time to time when not having turned off my phone in the meantime. Very odd indeed ^-^

Best regards,

Christian Simon

garioch7

I am having the same issue. It has persisted for some. The app anomaly detection module turns itself off by itself. I power down my Samsung Galaxy S21 (Android 14) every night. Every morning, it is off.

From what I am reading, this might be related to Android 14 . . .

It would be nice to get a fix for this bug.

Thanks, and have a great day.

Regards,

Phil

Flexx

No issues with my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with Android 14

Regards

Nunzio77

Up to now it isn't creating problems for me like it did before this latest update. I have a Realme 8

ChrisSim

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/335523#Comment_335523

No, opposite here. Sorry @Nunzio77 :\

Nunzio77

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/335571#Comment_335571

I not understand?

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/335571#Comment_335571

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/335578#Comment_335578

Even I am unable to understand this!

Regards

ChrisSim

@Nunzio77 wrote it is okay for him now and I just replied that it is not for me.

Or am I missing any context here? :) If so then I apologise :<

Nunzio77

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/335580#Comment_335580

Ah ok I didn't understand this.🙂

Cristi

Problema încă persistă. Samsung A32 4G cu Android 13 și toate update-urile la zi.

Jimbo_Check

I have reported this problem to Bitdefender support days ago and I do have the issue continuously. I would like to hope that Bitdefender has all my details of my application and Android version and builds. Or a tool that when I report something via the application or bit defender support page that it collects all the needed data points of applications in OS versions, rather than me hunting them down and mistyping them. Other products I use on my Android phone do the collection process when support tickets are submitted.

On a different note wouldn't it be wise that Bitdefender application(s) report to the consumer a color notification on the icon resembling a health check where green indicates all is running and everything is okay where a red color indicates there's a problem somewhere. That way the end user doesn't have to open the application except for when there's a problem. Where is now I'm opening the application to see what is not running such as the app that stops. Think of the three computer system of the original NASA space shuttles where it took a minimum of two computers to agree that all was good for the health checks of all the components before the astronauts could proceed to the next activity. I would like to think the Android version of Bitdefender mobile application there are several Bitdefender services running that should be able to detect the correct health status.

Nunzio77

This morning after switching on the app anomaly service activation message also came out to me but the service was already active.

Fix it or you will lose users.

Alexandru_BD

To me it sounds like this is again related to the OS that disables Accessibility..

For everyone encountering this behavior, exact device specs (smartphone model + Android version + BMS version) are very important and the details should be provided to the Support engineers for troubleshooting purposes.

When App Anomaly turns off, do you notice that the Accessibility service is also disabled?

To check this, go to Accessibility in Settings and see if that toggle is on or off. Since various phone models and operating systems are involved, usually this needs to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, in the event you notice that the feature doesn't stay enabled at all. As it can be observed on this thread, for some users it does work, while others are still experiencing the issue. I think this is one of those scenarios where the OS kills background processes and this is of course very unpleasant, see the case for Samsung:

https://dontkillmyapp.com/samsung

Regards