Samsung has been hard at work testing One UI 9 Beta, and it recently released the second beta of the same, bringing new features and fixes. However, following recent reports about a change to One UI 9's power menu, the brand has completely removed the dedicated Lockdown Mode button from the interface.
One UI 9 Gets Automatic Lockdown Execution
The change was first spotted by Android Authority after a Reddit user discovered that invoking the power button in One UI 9 Beta on Galaxy S26 brought him back to the lock screen instead of the previous app. This, combined with the fact that the lockdown mode option has disappeared from the power menu, suggests that Samsung has incorporated the Lockdown function directly into the menu's core behaviour.
This behaviour applies universally, even when the phone is fully unlocked. When the power menu is accessed, it immediately locks itself and enters a secure state. The biometrics and face unlock options are all disabled in this state. To exit, users will need to enter their device PIN.
A key benefit of this feature is that it improves the overall security of Samsung phones, especially against physical theft. A thief's first reflex will be to use the power button to shut the phone down and that attempt will make the phone enter Lockdown Mode.
Once that goes through, users other than the owner can no longer turn off the phone without knowing the original PIN or password. Additionally, the locked state prevents thieves from attempting to access components such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Mobile data. This should integrate well with stronger Theft Detection on Android 17.
This way, unless the thief completely disassembles the phone, it cannot be used and can be easily tracked. Even if the battery runs out, Google's Find My Device network will still be active and will communicate with other phones in the network to locate the lost Samsung phone, just as it can find Android phones.
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