New Note 7 Rebooted and Erased All Data on First Time Insert of SIM card. Why?

Question

I got a new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and I proceeded to do some configurations and download some apps on the device before putting in my SIM card. Part of the install was setting up my company's Exchange account through ActiveSync - for which I agreed to all the security policies like allowing my company/ActiveSync to wipe the phone remotely and set security restrictions.

Then, I put in my SIM card for the first time. The phone immediately rebooted and started to erase itself. Why would this happen? In what situations does this happen?

What I've done to investigate...

I thought that maybe the this was due to my company's Exchange ActiveSync policies thinking that my phone had been stolen because a new SIM was inserted. So, I tested by

Performing some configuration and customization

NOT configuring Exchange ActiveSync

Swapping out the SIM card with that of a coworker's

Result: no reboot and no phone wipe

Configuring Exchance ActiveSync again

Swapping out the SIM card

Result: no reboot and no phone wipe

So I haven't been able to replicate the problem. My coworker's SIM card is on the same carrier and my coworker's phone has definitely already authenticated to my company's Exchange ActiveSync server. So perhaps not an adequate test but I don't have another SIM to test with at the moment.

— nmc | Sources

Answer

This appears to be an undocumented feature of Note 7 as per this XDA thread Samsung factory restore after inserting SIM for the first time on GN7 by ninja0n3

OP here faced the same problem and reproduced the chat transcript with Samsung help . Extracts:

Veronica (Samsung): I would like to inform you that, It will be reset to Factory settings, when you insert sim on the phone.

J.B.(OP): every time?

J.B.: so I go to another country, and change the sim card so I can get cell and it will delete all my data?

Veronica: No, it will delete the data when the sim is inserted for the first time and when you change the carrier on the phone.

J.B.: So if I put a sim card from a different carrier on the phone while I am abroad, will this reset the phone?

Veronica: Yes, you need to backup the phone before using another sim on the phone.

Veronica: I am sorry for that. As you insert the sim on the phone it will be restored to factory defaults to get the phone locked to that carrier.

J.B.: Is the carrier informed of this process?

Veronica: No, this has been started with the Note 7 phone. As it comes with Marsh Mallow OS in it.

(Emphasis supplied )

This does not fully explain OP's experience, for instance, reset didn't happen when co- worker's SIM was inserted ( unless first time refers to the phone ), so gaps would need to be filled by Samsung / Carrier

All Hail Samsung (sorry, couldn't resist that)

— beeshyams | Sources

New Note 7 Rebooted and Erased All Data on First Time Insert of SIM card. Why?

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