Nougat update broke the "device administrator" settings

Nougat update broke the "device administrator" settings. I am unable to uninstall an Antivirus app that has administrator permissions. When I try to deactivate it by clicking to uncheck it, instead of the confirmation popup, settings crashes and shuts down with error message "settings has shut down" or something close to that.

I booted into safe mode and tried there but it just crashed and shut down. I did the 3 finger boot to a menu and wiped system cache but that didn't help either. The result is I can't uninstall that app. I also tried to deactivate Google as device administrator and the same thing happens.

Any help would be appreciated. Short of suggestion to root the phone as that will not happen. The only other thing I can think of is factory reset but only as a last resort. And that's also not a guarantee to fix whatever got broken by the Nougat update or the following subsequent update.

Accepted answers

Verizon_Support

It is important to us that you access to your device is restored. Have you attempting using the Samsung Software Repair Assistant? Please follow this link for more information: http://spr.ly/65838jDNc software repair*

EstebanP_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the ?Correct Answer? button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

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Verizon_Support

EstebanP_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the ?Correct Answer? button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

vstjames

Sounds much like a factory reset to me. What's the difference between Samsung Software Repair Assistant and a factory reset?

Verizon_Support

The factory reset is definitely a last resort, as it involves a lot of work. We want to ensure your phone gets back to working for you and not against you. The difference between the Samsung Software Repair Assistant (SRA) and a factory reset is that the SRA will fix any missing bits of information from the software update. For instance, if there was an interruption during the download of the update, SRA will repair the missing information. In other words, it's a step just prior to doing a factory reset.

GeorgeS_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

vstjames

Samsung Software Repair Assistant worked and solved that particular problem. However, the backup portion of it doesn't back up everything, ie, app data, 3rd party Launcher settings (I forgot to manually back up the Launcher settings) and most, if not all, app settings/data settings have to be redone. If others were to use this tool, they need to understand it backs up limited data and should manually back up settings for individual apps if possible. All in all, still less work than a factory reset. Thanks for the recommendation! Plus I also got a lot of help via phone call to Verizon Support.