Member tools requires my device to have a pin or other security?

This is retarded...my device is my WORK device and I have to be able to answer quick and not have to fight with a stupid pin....change it back

Nobody here in the forum can do anything. The forum is primarily user-to-user support. You will need to use the in-app feedback to get your feedback to those who can do anything.

What message did you get and on what operating system? I have an Android smart phone and I get no messages on Member Tools stating I need to have security measures set up on my phone. The app does require you to either sign in each time you open it or to set up a pin as an alternate logon measure. But that is only for the app and not the phone.

I'd also make certain this isn't a new requirement pushed down by your workplace in order to access your workplace email. Your IT department may have just added a requirement to have your device to have a PIN or something like it to access it. With the shutdown in place, hackers have stepped up their game. IT departments are likely doing the same.

Given the posts in another thread, this appears to be due to a application update. A new version is showing on the Play Store in my browser, but not on my phone. Strange.

Same problem here. It's a little tough to use the "in app feedback" to report the issue or give feedback when lack of access to the app is the problem in the first place. No reason to add this restriction to the app, which is pin protected anyway. What a pain for those who don't want to fiddle with passwords or whatever every time they pick up their phones.

The email address to send feedback listed in my phone for Member Tools > Help > Contact Us is LDSToolsSupport@ldschurch.org. Try that unless someone else can come up with a more current address. Include your phone information; make, model, operating system version, and the current Member Tools app version 3.6.1 (101039.8) in your message.

This is an unacceptable change. I will no longer be using the app.

Chris W

I am confused. I have used Tools since the inception. A pin was always required. Today when I started to use the app my user name and password appeared. I signed in. Didn't take my password. Changed my password. Accepted my password. Asked for my "current" pin. Thought it was my Tools pin. Tried numerous times. Finally felt to use my phone lock pin. It was accepted. No idea this was the pin needed. No clarity when the pin request was required. There appears nowhere to establish a pin specific to Tools. Maybe this is the new normal? It would be nice if there was clarity about this. My frustration level was high because I need this for my calling.
David B

I use my fingerprint reader to enter my Member Tools pin. I also use my fingerprint reader to unlock my phone but do have a pin as a security precaution should I lose my device (or the fingerprint reader doesn't work). I have never had any problem getting into Member Tools (even just now). My wife does NOT have a pin to unlock her phone and just went into Member Tools without any problem just now. We are both on Android 9 devices with the latest Member Tools version installed - I wonder if this is an iOS thing because I'm not seeing it on Android. Then again, I have no special knowledge of the app - I'm just a regular member like almost everyone else on this forum.

davesudweeks wrote:I use my fingerprint reader to enter my Member Tools pin. I also use my fingerprint reader to unlock my phone but do have a pin as a security precaution should I lose my device (or the fingerprint reader doesn't work). I have never had any problem getting into Member Tools (even just now). My wife does NOT have a pin to unlock her phone and just went into Member Tools without any problem just now. We are both on Android 9 devices with the latest Member Tools version installed - I wonder if this is an iOS thing because I'm not seeing it on Android. Then again, I have no special knowledge of the app - I'm just a regular member like almost everyone else on this forum.

No it is an Android thing as well.
My Android 10 device recently updated to Member Tools 4.0.0 which has the new auto sync feature.
I use fingerprint so there is not really much noticeable difference to me.

My old Android 5 device still has MT 3.6.1 and does not seem to want to update.
This version asks for a pin as well.

klricks wrote:No it is an Android thing as well.
My Android 10 device recently updated to Member Tools 4.0.0 which has the new auto sync feature.
I use fingerprint so there is not really much noticeable difference to me.

My old Android 5 device still has MT 3.6.1 and does not seem to want to update.
This version asks for a pin as well.

That would explain it. My wife is not on the beta so 3.6.1 is the current version for Android 9 (according to Google Play) and works without adding a pin to the phone.

klricks wrote: My Android 10 device recently updated to Member Tools 4.0.0 which has the new auto sync feature.
...
My old Android 5 device still has MT 3.6.1 and does not seem to want to update.

My Android 10 is on Member Tools 3.6.1 and doesn't see any update. I'm not on any beta.

I'm trying to remember - wasn't there some highly desirable leadership feature that was only available in beta awhile back? I'm thinking a bunch of folks joined the beta and forgot they were on the beta track.

klricks wrote:My old Android 5 device still has MT 3.6.1 and does not seem to want to update.

The current Android version is 3.6.1. It is the build number that has changed to the most current version update to 101039.8 on 15 April 2020. And there is a beta version as mentioned.

I have always had to enter a pin because of my callings. Others did not. I wonder if Member Tools is now requiring everyone to use a pin and folks are confusing it with the device pin which has not been required in the past (although I have one, because of my bank apps).

I'm on build 1010039.8. I'm not required to have a pin for the app. I do have a pattern to unlock the phone. I've not seen any change in operation, even after a sync. The Play Store on my device says the app was last updated last year.

So, I sill think this is a beta issue.

One possibility is that the app is moving away from a pin on the app (which far too many people forget and triggers a support call), so the app might be switching to whatever the device unlock code is - but that would mean that people holding certain callings much have a unlock code on their device.

The downside of such a move is that I'm sure a lot of children had access to their parent's phones and now have access to their parent's Member Tools.

russellhltn wrote:One possibility is that the app is moving away from a pin on the app (which far too many people forget and triggers a support call), so the app might be switching to whatever the device unlock code is -

I wish they would tell us. Will it take any unlock method on the device. I never use a pin to unlock my phone.

lajackson wrote:

russellhltn wrote:One possibility is that the app is moving away from a pin on the app (which far too many people forget and triggers a support call), so the app might be switching to whatever the device unlock code is -

I wish they would tell us. Will it take any unlock method on the device. I never use a pin to unlock my phone.

I have a Pin to unlock my phone and also have a fingerprint reader. My phone requires me to enter my pin occasionally to validate the fingerprint, but otherwise I only use the fingerprint to unlock both the phone and Member Tools.

I agree that a little advance notification should be common courtesy. It is very frustrating when web site changes and device changes suddenly appear with no notice and no information provided to instruct what has changed. I'm not against change, I'm just against unnecessary confusion.

I have an older phone - android Galaxy Note 4. I cant get to a password login for this app I've been using for a long time. I can go in thru a google. I deleted the app and reinstalled it today, still asks for device pin/pattern/passcode let's me click okay only, takes me to my phone security settings. I'm going do do this. Please fix whatevet you changed.

I'm having the same problem and spent several hours online with Verizon this morning trying to figure out how to get into the app like I used to with a PIN or pass code. The only way i could get into the app was to lock my screen and have to unlock it every time I use my phone which is constantly. Normally I just swipe my screen to use my phone and there's no way I am going to enter a pin or pass code every time I use my phone, which is constantly. Can this updated version be fixed so we can just enter our PiN or pass code like we did before? That was real convenient and very useful when we're meeting at church and need to look up information quickly. Please help!!!

Glad i found this thread to see i was not alone. My phone a Samsung galaxy s9 just chnaged yesterday but my husbands had not changed yet so we did not understand why. I do not like having a lock screenon my phone for all the things i do everyday. I sent a feedback message. Before the app just asked for a pin when opening the app. I want that back.

As of a couple of days ago Member Tools started REQUIRING me to have a DEVICE pin or pass. I am fine having to punch in a pin/pass now and then on the APP, but not a DEVICE pass. This change is hugely inconvenient for me as a Bishop. I cannot enter a pin or pass code every time I use my phone. I would literally have to stop using Tools. Can this be fixed so we can just enter our PIN or pass like before? PLEASE!

hughesm12 wrote:Please fix whatevet you changed.

DonnaSimmons wrote:Can this updated version be fixed so we can just enter our PiN or pass code like we did before?

Shamrock wrote:Can this be fixed so we can just enter our PIN or pass like before? PLEASE!

The forum is primarily a user-to-user help and support forum. The forum is not an official support channel. The decision makers will most likely never see this thread. We can discuss it but that is all we can do. The official support for the app and any feedback for requests for change are made through the in-app feedback. For Android versions that is in the Help menu at Contact Us.

Thx JD. ( I should pay more attention!) I sent a message via the in-app feedback.

I finally decided to uninstall Tools because I was getting the same message. Then reinstalled it, now it is working fine.

I submitted feedback as well.
Some callings require you to enter a PIN when running the app, and it's always required a username/password when it does a monthly sync.
I would like to think always requiring a PIN when running the app would satisfy privacy requirements.

Here is the response people are getting for comments on the play store:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints April 20, 2020
Member Tools contains personal information such as names and contact information for all the members of the unit. In accordance with the Church’s data privacy principles, the information contained in Member Tools must be adequately protected. In an upcoming release we will support application level security as well as device level security.

We should all remember that the church must comply with various privacy laws worldwide. When building an app that has worldwide usage, it would make sense to code the app to satisfy the most restrictive of the privacy laws where it could be used. I'm not a programmer and have no special knowledge, but I would think coding an app that will change behavior based on the country the phone is currently in would be difficult if not impossible.

I, for one, am grateful the church takes my personal data privacy seriously. Since Member Tools is provided as a convenience and is not required for one to fulfill their calling, we all have the option to use it, or not. One could always revert back to having the clerk print periodic reports and carry them around in a notebook or binder like we had to do just a very few years ago.

I was having the same with the Tools app requiring a security pin on my phone. I went into Playstore, selected the app for Member Tools, and updated it. Now I only have to use the pin that was set up for Tools.

lindawursten wrote:I went into Playstore, selected the app for Member Tools, and updated it. Now I only have to use the pin that was set up for Tools.

Google Play Store indicates it was updated just today (April 21, 2020).

Yes, there was an update today.

russellhltn wrote:[]Google Play Store indicates it was updated just today (April 21, 2020).

I'm not seeing that. The information about the April 15, 2020, update is gone and now all I see is the 19 July, 2019, update information.

scgallafent wrote:Yes, there was an update today.

What versions of Android were affected? I am on Android 9 and I don't see a newer update.

jdlessley wrote:I'm not seeing that.

If I go to the Google Play Store I see last updated on April 21, 2020. If go into the Play Store on my device, I see the last update as Jul 18, 2019.

In both cases, I see the version as 3.6.1 (101039.8)

I received an update yesterday for the beta version - from 4.0.0 to 4.0.1 (I'm also on Android 9 OS). Perhaps only those on the beta received the update.

russellhltn wrote:

jdlessley wrote:I'm not seeing that.

If I go to the Google Play Store I see last updated on April 21, 2020. If go into the Play Store on my device, I see the last update as Jul 18, 2019.

In both cases, I see the version as 3.6.1 (101039.8)

The new version is being rolled out gradually. If you haven't been moved to the new version, you will still see the old version.

scgallafent wrote:The new version is being rolled out gradually.

When you say "gradually" is it by country or some other factor?

russellhltn wrote:When you say "gradually" is it by country or some other factor?

I think it's essentially random. The developers are controlling the percentage of users who get the new version so that we can monitor how the changes are reflected in load on the back end services.