Buzz
Locking the phone screen is a smart solution to protect your important content and data from prying eyes. On Android devices equipped with fingerprint unlock feature. The advantage of this feature is high security, however, if used for a long time, it can cause users to forget the password.
Suppose in the case if the fingerprint unlock feature doesn't work and you forget the password altogether. So how do you unlock Android when forgetting the password, is it similar to How to bypass iPhone passcode when forgotten or not?
Method 1: Unlocking Android with Smart Lock.
Method 2: Deleting PIN file via ADB.
Method 3: Hanging screen lock.
Method 4: Performing Factory Reset.
Method 1: Unlocking Android with Smart Lock
The Smart Lock feature on Android enables users to specify conditions to bypass the lock screen. To access the feature, open the Settings app =>Security & location =>Smart Lock.
At this point, you will be prompted to enter your current password to change the feature. To unlock Android without a password, choose one of the 5 options below:
- On-body detection: If activated, your phone will remain unlocked whenever you carry it.
- Trusted places: Use your location to unlock your phone. However, this method requires you to be near the designated location.
- Trusted devices: Unlock your Android phone by placing it near trusted Bluetooth devices.
If you have activated and set up one or more of these options before you forget your Android password, you can use the option to unlock the device.
Method 2: Deleting PIN file via ADB
By using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) utility, you can access files on your Android device from your computer and delete screen lock security files.
However, this method only works if:
- USB debugging feature is activated on your Android phone.
- Your computer is allowed to connect to your Android phone via ADB.
- Your Android phone is not encrypted. Starting from Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Google requires all Android devices to be encrypted.
Follow the steps below to unlock Android when forgetting the password by deleting the PIN file using ADB:
Step 1: Connect your Android phone to the computer via USB cable.
Step 2: Access the ADB installation directory, then open Command Prompt or Terminal.
Step 3: Enter the command below and press Enter: adb shell rm /data/system/gesture.key
Step 4: Restart your Android phone. At this point, there will be no lock screen on your phone, and you can access your device.
Method 3: Hanging screen lock
This method works on encrypted devices running Android 5.0 to 5.1.1. Follow the steps below to bypass the lock screen and access your Android phone:
Step 1: On the lock screen, press the Emergency Call option.
Step 2: Use the dialer to input 10 asterisks (*).
Step 3: Then copy and paste this code repeatedly until it no longer executes.
Step 4: Open the camera app and pull down the notification bar.
Step 5: Tap on the Settings icon to display the password input dialog.
Step 6: Paste the character string you copied earlier until the lock screen crashes, hangs.
Step 7: Wait a few minutes and you can access your Android phone.
Method 4: Performing Factory Reset
If the above methods are not available, the last solution to unlock your Android phone when you forget the password is to perform a factory reset, restoring the device to its original manufacturer default state.
Note: This method will completely erase all data on your phone. Therefore, before proceeding, Mytour recommends you to back up your Android device.
Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Completely power off your device.
Step 2: Next, press and hold both the Volume Down button + Power button simultaneously to open the bootloader menu. Depending on your device, the steps to access the menu may vary.
Step 3: On the menu, use the Volume Down button to access the Recovery Mode option and use the Power button to select.
Step 4: Press and hold both the Power button + Volume Up button simultaneously to access Recovery Mode once again.
Step 5: Use the Volume buttons to access and select the Wipe data / Factory Reset option to restore the Android phone to its original manufacturer default state.
Step 6: After the process completes, your Android device will be 'like new'. To restore the device, use the backup previously saved.
This article just guided you on how to unlock Android when forgetting the password. Additionally, readers can refer to some articles already available on Mytour to learn more about how to retrieve PIN on Android phones when forgotten.
