Stop panicking and read five instructions on how to unlock Android if you forgot your password or pattern. Most likely, one of them will help you. The methods are described for smartphones, but for tablets everything is done in the same way.
This method is suitable for unlocking an old smartphone released before 2014 inclusive. If so, you most likely have a version of Android lower than 4.0. In this case, you can bypass the protection using your Google account. Another condition is that the phone must be able to connect to the Internet (for example, it automatically connects to your home Wi-Fi hotspot). Make sure your smartphone is connected to the Internet.
On the password or pattern entry screen, enter any symbol/gesture combination five times.
After the fifth attempt to enter an incorrect password, the message “Forgot your password?” should appear on the smartphone screen. or something similar.
Click on this inscription and in the window that appears, enter the username and password for the Google account to which your smartphone is linked. If you don't remember your Google Account password, go to the Google Account recovery page from another device (such as a computer).
Try to recover your account password using one of the five suggested methods (except telephone). If you succeed, enter your username and new password on your smartphone.
Android will be unlocked. After that, you can set a new password for your Android screen lock or choose a different screen protection method. If you have a newer device, read on.
Method 2: Use Smart Lock
This method, on the contrary, is suitable if you have a new smartphone - from 2015 and newer. In this case, most likely you have Android 5.0 or older. Starting with this version, the Smart Lock function is available in Android, with which you can try to unlock Android if you forgot your password.
Smart Lock allows you to unlock your phone in three different ways: Trusted devices - unlocking without entering a password occurs if a familiar device is connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth.
Safe places - unlocking without entering a password occurs if you are within a specified area - for example, at home.
Face recognition - unlocking without entering a password occurs if Android detects that you are currently holding it in your hands. Remember if you set up Smart Lock when you set a password or pattern on your phone? Which unlocking method did you choose?
If you have chosen a trusted device and have Bluetooth turned on on your phone, find the device, turn on Bluetooth on it, and try to connect from it to your smartphone.
If you have chosen a safe location and your phone's GPS is turned on, go to the designated location. Android will unlock as soon as it determines from GPS that your location matches the specified one.
If you choose face recognition, the smartphone will unlock if it sees your face with the camera and compares it with what is stored in its memory. If you haven't set up Smart Lock to unlock Android if you forgot your password, read on.
3. Use the smartphone search service
If you have a Samsung smartphone, then there is a Find My Mobile website for you, which allows you to find your device and remotely control it, including unlocking it. You may have set up a Samsung account, and then you can unlock Android if you forgot your password from your computer. Make sure your smartphone is connected to the Internet.
Visit https://findmymobile.samsung.com/.
Sign in to your account.
Select your locked phone.
In the top right corner, select Unblock. If you have a smartphone from another company, or you have not set up a Samsung account, read on.
4. Use Aroma File Manager
This method is suitable if your phone has an SD memory card and supports Recovery Mode. In order to unlock Android using this method, download the Aroma file manager to your computer from one of the links below: Aroma File Manager 1.80 (stable English version)
Aroma File Manager 2.0 (experimental Russian version) After this, you need to enter recovery mode on your phone. This is done for each smartphone individually, and in order to find out how to do this on yours, enter “smartphone_model recovery mode” in the search and find out how to do it.
After that: Connect your Android smartphone via USB to your computer.
In most cases, the SD memory card should be detected as a USB drive. Open it in Windows Explorer or any file manager and copy the archive from Aroma File Manager to the root of the card.
If the card is not detected, you can use a frame reader. Nowadays many SD memory cards are sold with it. In addition, you can ask for a small fee to have the file transferred to your card at most mobile phone stores.
When the archive is on the card, enter recovery mode on your smartphone. Select Install update from zip file → Choose zip from /sdcard and specify the path to the archive with Aroma File Manager. The program will install and launch directly in recovery mode.
Go to the program settings and set the Automount all devices on start item.
Exit recovery mode and enter it again. Repeat the action from step 5.
Now, using the program, go to the folder: Data Folder → System Folder and find the file gesture.key or password.key in it. Delete the found file and reboot the device. The smartphone will be unlocked. If this all seems too complicated for you, read on.
5. Do a hard reset (reset to factory settings)
If the safety of data on your smartphone is not particularly important to you, you can simply reset it to factory settings. This is done differently for each phone model, so to be sure, enter “smartphone_model hard reset” in the search and find out how to do it. Turn off your smartphone and remove the memory card from it.
Try pressing and holding the following buttons in turn for about 10-15 seconds: volume down button + power button;
Volume up button + power button;
Volume down button + power button + home button;
Volume down button + volume up button + power button. If one of the combinations is correct, a service menu will appear on the screen. In it, using the volume buttons as up-down buttons, select Recovery, and then the Wipe data/factory reset command. Confirm the reset. Within a few minutes, the phone will be completely returned to the condition in which you bought it. All your data and installed applications will be destroyed! However, this way you will definitely unlock Android if you forgot your password.
When you turn it on, the phone will ask for a login and password for your Google account. Enter them. If you have a relatively new smartphone, then most likely it synchronized with your Google account and Google Play without your knowledge. So deleted applications can be returned back.
Everyone must independently take care of the security of their data. And the more technology develops, the more important user literacy in this matter becomes. After all, today a phone can store not only important contacts, but also personal photos or even access to payment systems. To help protect your money and data on Android phones, a password is pre-installed on the device. But there are times when the code is forgotten, and the device needs to be unlocked. Simple instructions will help solve this problem.
About the need to set a password on your mobile device
Many people underestimate the importance of a device password, believing that they have nothing to hide.
In fact, the password allows you to:
- Be sure that no one but you will use the phone - even family members can take the phone at home. And this can lead to controversial situations or even waste of money, for example, if a small child gets to the device;
- If your phone is stolen, make it more difficult for criminals - a phone with a password, of course, can be hacked sooner or later. But it is not a fact that they will be able to save the data, which means that the attackers will not receive important information. Well, besides, while they are busy with the password, you will have time to block the payment systems associated with the phone.
- An important reason for setting a password is that this is a mandatory requirement for some applications, for example, the Sberbank Online service.
Types of security codes
Although there are different ways to protect your phone with a password, it’s not difficult to identify the main ones. This is a pattern key and a regular password.
Graphic key
A pattern protects your phone with a password, which is a sequential connection of several dots on the screen. That is, you must repeat a predetermined sequence.
You can install a graphic key as follows:
- Open your phone's settings and scroll down the screen until you reach the "Personal Information" section. There you must select the “Security” line.
Scroll through your phone settings and find the “Security” section there.
- The very first step will be to set up a screen lock. Go to this section.
Select Screen Lock in the Security section - And then you should select the “Graphic key” line.
Select a pattern as your screen lock method - A screen with dots will open. This is where you should set the same graphic key. You can set any sequence of points, but it is important to remember it. Let the combination have a clear association for you.
Set the pattern on your device's screen - The last point is to indicate whether notifications should be displayed on the locked screen. It’s up to you to decide, but in order for the information to be hidden as much as possible, it is better to ban them.
Choose how notifications appear on the lock screen - The pattern key has been created and the next time you try to access the phone, you will need to enter it.
The next time you turn on your phone, you will see a pattern request
There are also applications that can replace standard solutions for creating a pattern. But the procedure for creating or using a key in such applications is almost completely identical to the standard one.
Regular password
A regular password consists of letters or numbers and can be anything. Theoretically, it is more difficult to guess than a graphical code - but in practice, everything depends on ingenuity when creating a password. The password is set as follows:
Modern phones use a fingerprint scanner to unlock the device, which is certainly more convenient and safer than setting a password.
How to unlock your phone when you forget your pattern key
Each password, unfortunately, can work both for attackers and for yourself. And if you forgot which pattern key you have installed, then you will have to try hard to gain access to your device.
Unblocking via Google account
If you remember the data from your Google account, which is linked to your phone, then gaining access to the device without knowing the picture password is not so difficult. It is enough to do the following:
Bypassing a pattern by calling devices
There is no need to unlock the phone to receive a call. This can be used like this:
Of course, this solution is temporary, but you can at least save the necessary files before more crude methods of getting rid of the pattern. This trick only works correctly on older versions of Android, but no one is stopping you from trying this option.
In a similar way, you can cause the top panel to appear, for example, by discharging the device’s battery.
Removing the lock by resetting the device
You can reset the device either by going to the phone menu using the previous method, or in another way. The main thing to remember is that when you reset, you will lose all data on your phone. Be careful and make sure there is nothing valuable among this data. You can reset your phone as follows:
- Turn off your device before resetting. To bypass the pattern we will perform a reset from the phone's recovery menu.
- To access the recovery menu, you most often use the volume up key along with the home key. But there are other combinations, such as power+home+volume up, separately power+home or volume down+power. You can find the exact combination for your model on the Internet, but most likely one of those already indicated will help you.
Press the volume up and home keys simultaneously to access recovery mode - In the recovery menu, select clear data, factory reset or similar. The exact name depends on the phone model. To switch between items, use the volume keys - touch controls will not work in this menu.
Use the Volume buttons to select Wipe data/factory reset - Confirmation of the line you have selected will be pressed on your phone's power button. Do it.
The Power key on the side of the phone is used to confirm a selection in device recovery mode - Switch the line to yes and confirm the entry again with the power button.
Confirm to reset your device - And after the reset is complete, select reboot system.
Select Reboot system now and confirm this item using the Power button - After the reboot, your device will start without data or contacts, but also without a pattern. Reset completed.
If you are in the phone settings, you can do the reset through them:
Removing the pattern key at the service center
If you don’t mind spending money, you can remove the blocking at any service center. Their methods are not too different from those mentioned in this article, so you should decide depending on which resource is more important to you - time or money.
Sometimes you can simply guess the pattern key; also, look at the screen carefully. Frequent key entry leaves a trace on the screen.
Video: a way to bypass a pattern on your phone
Deleting a pattern file
When you create a pattern on your phone, a file is also created for it to work. Therefore, when you delete this file, the device will no longer ask for a key to unlock it. But this action should only be performed by an experienced user, since interfering with the device at this level can be dangerous, you must be extremely careful. And this is done like this:
Using the app to reset the lock
SMS Bypass application which can be used to remove blocking. It must be pre-installed on your device, but if you haven’t, you can download the application remotely through a linked Play Market account (although in a situation where you remember the password for your Google account, there are easier ways to recover it).
The reset itself through this application is very simple:
Features of removing a graphic key for different phone models
The instructions given above are suitable for any model of Android device. But there are also a number of features of removing a graphic key for specific phone models.
- For Samsung phones, the Samsung Kies program will help you. With its help, you can find out your login, which in the future will help you gain full access to your Google account (password recovery is carried out using the Google service). The necessary information will be in the “About the device” section when you connect the device to a computer with the program installed. And also this program will help you access your phone data, which will be useful if you still have to reset the device to factory settings.
- Sony Xperia phones have a number of features regarding resetting the system - entering recovery mode is caused by simultaneously pressing the volume up button and turning on the phone, but this may sometimes not work. In this case, you just need to hold down the power button for about twenty seconds. This will reboot your device and then you can try opening recovery mode again.
- And also for Sony models, the Sony Update Service program will help you - it will not remove the pattern, but will simplify the procedure for resetting the device.
- For Huawei phones, the HiSuite program will help you - with its help you can also make it easier to reset the device, which, in turn, will save you from the problem with the pattern lock.
Reset your digital password on your Android device
A number of methods for resetting a digital key are the same as methods for resetting a graphic key. This will help you in the same way:
- contacting the service center;
- reset device data;
- Login using your Google account information;
- and other methods mentioned above.
But there are other possibilities. For example, the Lock Screen Removal program can help you get rid of the digital code without losing data:
- Download this program from the official website and run it. Connect your phone to your computer, and then on the first screen, click Start.
Launch the Lock Screen Removal program and click start - Turn off your phone and then put it into download mode. To do this, first simultaneously hold down the power button, volume down key and home key, and then, when the device recovery menu opens, hold down the volume up key. After this, your phone will be in download mode. Click Start in the program.
First, hold down the Power+Volume Down+Home keys, then release them and press the Volume Up key - The data loading will begin, you are required to wait until it finishes.
Now you know various ways to reset a picture or digital password on your phone. This is certainly good because you can regain access to your device. But still, it’s better not to forget the lock code, because it is designed to protect your gadget and not create unnecessary problems.
Android? Don't worry, there are several ways to regain access to your mobile device. In this article you can find the main options for resetting the lock, both the simplest and more complex ones that require additional programs. One of these methods will definitely help solve the problem with a locked phone.
Account details
A simple way to unlock Android if you forgot your password is to restore access using your Google account. This method will only work if the tablet or phone is connected to Wi-Fi or a mobile network. This is a mechanism of the system itself that helps in the event of an incorrect password or pattern.
If you enter the pattern incorrectly more than five times, a window will appear warning you about a thirty-second block. The message “Forgot your pattern key?” will appear on the device screen, and when you click on it, you will be asked to enter your Google account information. After you enter your email address and password, the device will unlock.
If you have forgotten your account information, you can restore it on the official Google website.
If there is no Internet connection
The first method, showing how to unlock an Android if you forgot your password, will not work if there is no Internet, since the login and password for your Google account will be impossible to verify. An Internet connection must be established.
To do this, you need to turn it on and off or simply restart the device. Immediately after turning on, the top bar will appear (it is also called the notification center, or information center). Pull it down and turn on Wi-Fi or mobile Internet. After this, you can enter your username and password, and the device will be unlocked.
If there is no Wi-Fi nearby and mobile Internet is not available on your SIM card, you can do the following. Just use a different SIM card, pay attention in advance whether the Internet service is connected and whether there is money on the balance.
You can also connect the device to the Internet using a LAN adapter. To do this, you will need the adapter itself and a router connected to the Internet. The device connects to the Internet using an adapter, which will allow you to check the correctness of the entered Google account data. You should be aware that not all devices support operation via a LAN adapter.
For older versions
The third method, which tells us how Android if you forgot your password, most likely will not work for versions above 2.3. You just need to call the locked device and answer the call. After this, you can go to the settings and simply disable the pattern lock.
Low battery method
The fourth method, showing Android if you forgot your password, is based on a low battery message. It will also work for a phone. Wait until the battery runs out, the device will notify you about this. Then you can enter the power status menu, from there go to the main menu and disable protection using the pattern key.
Disabling the lock via computer
The fifth method will work if enabled. This feature can be enabled in the “For Developers” menu. If it was enabled before blocking, then disabling the graphic key protection will be easy.
All subsequent methods that tell you how to unlock an Android if you forgot your password are based on deleting the gesture.key file, which contains data about the key. First, download and install the ADB Run program on your computer. After this, you can connect your phone or tablet to your computer.
To understand how to unlock an Android tablet if you forgot your password, read the following instructions.
Launch the ADB Run program. Control in the program is carried out using numeric keys and the “Enter” button. Now you should go to the menu and select the sixth item called “Unlock Gesture Key”.
The program will offer a choice of two options: method 1 and method 2. The first method deletes the gesture.key file. The second method removes data from the system.db file. Choose one of the methods. The device will be unlocked, all that remains is to reboot it.
Unlocking via Recovery menu
Several methods for unlocking a pattern key are based on manually deleting the gesture.key file. To use these methods, your device must have a Recovery menu.
Sixth method. Download the Aroma file manager and install it using the Recovery menu. Now go to /data/system/ and manually delete the gesture.key file. The device can now be rebooted. Enter any pattern and the screen will unlock.
The seventh method is similar to the sixth. Download the gest.zip file for Android, install it from the Recovery menu and reboot your device. Now you can enter any pattern, and the android will be unlocked.
Contacting the service center
If you are not comfortable with your equipment, do not forget that you can contact a service center. The technician will be able to solve your problem in a few minutes. In difficult cases, flashing the device will help.
Reset data
There is another, ninth way to unlock a phone or tablet using “recovery,” but it is not suitable for everyone. The fact is that the devices have a function to return to factory settings. With this data reset, photos, videos, pictures, music and other files will remain unchanged. But SMS, phone book with all contacts, programs and notes will be deleted. It is recommended to enter all your contacts into your Google account so that in such cases you can restore them.
In order to return to factory settings using the “recovery” menu, you need to turn off the device (preferably remove the battery for a few seconds), enter “recovery” mode and select the menu item called “Wipe Data / Factory Reset”. Navigation through the menu is carried out with the volume key, selection - with the power key. After some time, the phone will reboot on its own (in some models you need to reboot manually) and will be unlocked. Not everyone knows how to use the recovery menu, so we’ll look at this method in detail using the example of different phone models.
Samsung
How to unlock Android if you forgot your password? Samsung allows you to reset the key using the Recovery menu.
First turn off the device. Simultaneously press and hold three buttons - “Home”, “Power” and “Volume Up” (if there is no Home button, then you only need to press the last two). Hold down the keys until the menu appears. Using the Volume key, select “wipe data/factory reset”, then press the Power key, in the same way select “yes - Delete all user data” in the menu that appears. Reboot your device by selecting “reboot system now”.
NTS
How to unlock Android HTC if you forgot your password? Turn off your smartphone, if possible, remove and insert the battery. Go to the Recovery menu by holding the power button and the volume down button. Release the buttons when the android image appears. In the menu you need to select the Factory Reset item (in some models it is called Clear Storage).
LG
How to unlock Android LG if you forgot your password? Turn off your phone, hold down the power button and volume button. An image of the android will appear. Select Recovery Mode using the Volume button and confirm with the Power key. The android image will appear again. Now select “Settings”, then “Factory Data Reset”, confirm the decision by selecting “Yes”.
Fly
How to unlock Android if you forgot your password? Fly allows you to disable the pattern when resetting data.
Turn off your smartphone, remove and insert the battery. Enter the menu using the power button and volume up. First select "recovery mode" », then “wipe data/factory reset” and “Yes”. Reboot your device by selecting "reboot system now".
Resetting the lock using the application
Finally, the tenth and last method of resetting the pattern. This method is simple, but to use it you should think in advance about how to unlock your Android if you forgot your password. That is, in fact, even before the blocking itself. Root rights are required to use.
Download and install the SMS Bypass application, allow it to use Root rights. Now, to unlock your smartphone, you just need to send a message to it with the text “1234 reset”. You can change the text yourself.
If the device is already locked, then with the Internet turned on, you can install the application remotely through your Google account.
Stop panicking and read five instructions on how to unlock Android if you forgot your password or pattern. Most likely, one of them will help you. The methods are described for smartphones, but for tablets everything is done in the same way.
Method 1: Use your Google Account
This method is suitable for unlocking an old smartphone released before 2014 inclusive. If so, you most likely have a version of Android lower than 5.0. In this case, you can bypass the protection using your Google account. Another condition is that the phone must be able to connect to the Internet (for example, it automatically connects to your home Wi-Fi hotspot).
If you have a newer device, read on.
Method 2: Use Smart Lock
This method, on the contrary, is suitable if you have a new smartphone - from 2015 and newer. In this case, most likely you have Android 5.0 or older. Starting with this version, the Smart Lock function is available in Android, with which you can try to unlock Android if you forgot your password.
Smart Lock allows you to unlock your phone in three different ways:
- Remember if you set up Smart Lock when you set a password or pattern on your phone? Which unlocking method did you choose?
- If you have chosen a trusted device and have Bluetooth turned on on your phone, find the device, turn on Bluetooth on it, and try to connect from it to your smartphone.
- If you have chosen a safe location and your phone's GPS is turned on, go to the designated location. Android will unlock as soon as it determines from GPS that your location matches the specified one.
- If you choose face recognition, the smartphone will unlock if it sees your face with the camera and compares it with what is stored in its memory.
If you haven't set up Smart Lock to unlock Android if you forgot your password, read on.
3. Use the smartphone search service
If you have a Samsung smartphone, then there is a website for you Find My Mobile, which allows you to find your device and remotely control it, including unlocking it. You may have set up a Samsung account, and then you can unlock Android if you forgot your password from your computer.
If you have a smartphone from another company, or you have not set up a Samsung account, read on.
4. Use Aroma File Manager
This method is suitable if your phone has an SD memory card and supports Recovery Mode. To unlock Android using this method, download a file manager to your computer Aroma via one of the links below:
After this, you need to enter recovery mode on your phone. This is done for each smartphone individually, and in order to find out how to do this on yours, enter in the search “ smartphone_model recovery mode” and figure out how to do it.
After that:
If this all seems too complicated for you, read on.
5. Do a hard reset (reset to factory settings)
If the safety of data on your smartphone is not particularly important to you, you can simply reset it to factory settings. This is done differently for each phone model, so to be sure, enter in the search “ smartphone_model hard reset» and find out how to do this.
Within a few minutes, the phone will be completely returned to the condition in which you bought it. All your data and installed applications will be destroyed! However, this way you will definitely unlock Android if you forgot your password.
When you turn it on, the phone will ask for a login and password for your Google account. Enter them. If you have a relatively new smartphone, then most likely it synchronized with your Google account and Google Play without your knowledge. So deleted applications can be returned back.
Many people are familiar with the situation when the phone is blocked after several attempts to enter the wrong key. This happens in different circumstances: children were playing with the phone, a stranger tried to enter the phone, or you simply forgot which pattern key was set. And regardless of the reason, everyone thinks about how to unlock the phone now.
We offer you several of the simplest methods and answers to the question of how to unlock an Android phone if you forgot your password or pattern:
After you have entered the wrong key several times, the operating system will prompt you to enter the login and password for your Google account. If the device is connected to the Internet, then after specifying the correct password and login, the phone will unlock and prompt you to enter a new pattern.
- You only need to specify your login, without “@gmail.com”.
This method will work as long as the device is connected to the Internet. If the Internet is turned off, you need to turn it on. To do this, you need to reboot the device. When you turn it on, as soon as the top curtain of the information center appears, you need to pull it down and turn on mobile Internet or wi-fi.
There is another way to turn on the Internet on your device. You need to go to the “emergency call” and there enter the following code without quotes - “*#*#7378423#*#*”. In the menu that opens, select “service tests - wlan”, and then “connect to a wi-fi network”.
- If there is no Wi-Fi signal nearby, you can try inserting another SIM card that has enough money to connect to the Internet.
2. Unlock by calling yourself.
Call a locked phone and answer the call. Collapse the call menu and go to settings. In the “Security” section, find and disable pattern locking. After this, you can end the call and use the phone.
3. Dead battery.
You need to wait until the battery charge is low and Android will report this. In the charge notification, go to the “Battery Status” menu. From this menu you can get to the main settings, where you can disable the pattern.
4. Reset all settings.
This method is a last resort, since using it will erase all data and programs you have installed from the phone, and all settings will return to factory settings. Before doing this, you can remove the memory card to save at least some of the data.
- To avoid losing your entire phone book, we recommend creating a Google account and adding all your contacts there. If something happens, you can synchronize your phone with your account and restore all numbers.
The principle of resetting settings is the same for all phones. With the device turned off, a certain sequence of keys is pressed, which turns on the system menu. In this menu, select the “wipe data/factory reset” item. After which a “Hard Reset” occurs, that is, a complete reset of all phone settings.
The key combination that activates the system menu is different for each phone model. To find out which keys do this on your device, we recommend turning to Google.
- Be sure to make sure that the phone charge is at least 60%. Otherwise, after resetting the settings, the phone may not turn on at all.
There are many other ways to unlock your phone that allow you to save your settings and data. But all of them are quite complex; they require connecting the device to a computer and having special software on it. If the first three methods don’t work, and you don’t want to lose all your programs and data. Then it might be worth contacting a service center.
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