How to Unlock an Android Tablet

Enter the wrong PIN or pattern 5 times. If your tablet runs on Android 4.4 or earlier, you can use the built-in bypass mechanism to unlock it. This feature is no longer available on Android 5.0 (Lollipop).

• This method requires your tablet to be connected to Wi-Fi.

Click on the Forgot PIN/pattern/password button. If this button does not appear after 5 incorrect attempts, it means the device does not support this feature.

Enter your Google account email and password. This must be the Google account you previously logged into on the tablet.

Click on the Sign In button.

Open Gmail on another device or computer. You will receive an email to reset your tablet's security information.

Open the email received from Google. This email may be located in the Updates tab.

Click on the link in the email. You will be redirected to a form to create a new unlock code.

Set up a new PIN, password, or pattern. This will serve as the temporary unlocking method for your tablet.

Unlock the device using the new pattern. It may take a few minutes for the tablet to update to the new unlocking method.

Set a new code. After unlocking the device, you can reset your PIN or pattern from the Lock Screen menu in the Settings app.

Open a web browser on your computer or another device. If your Samsung tablet is logged into a Samsung account, you can use the online Find My Mobile tool to unlock the screen.

Visit the Find My Mobile website.

Log in to your Samsung account. You need to log in using the Samsung account associated with your tablet, which you were prompted to create during the initial setup.

• If you don’t have a Samsung account, you can try one of the alternative methods mentioned in this article.

Wait for the screen to unlock. It may take a few minutes for the unlock signal to reach your tablet.

Press and hold the power button on your tablet. If you cannot unlock the device, the only option is to perform a factory reset. This process will remove the lock code and erase all data on the tablet. You can restore emails, purchased content, downloaded apps, and settings by logging into your account after resetting the device.

Tap on Power off. The Android device will shut down.

Hold the volume down button while the tablet is off. The device will enter Recovery Mode. The key combination to access this mode may vary depending on the device.

Hold the power button while pressing the volume down button. On many devices, this action will take you to the Recovery Mode launcher.

Continue holding these buttons until the Start menu appears. If the Start menu does not appear and the device boots normally, you will need to use a different button combination to access Recovery Mode. Search online for "recovery mode" + the model of your Android tablet.

Press the volume down button until Recovery mode appears. The volume up and down buttons will cycle through the menu options.

Press the power button to select Recovery mode. The power button will select the highlighted menu item.

Select wipe data/factory reset. Use the volume down button to highlight and the power button to select.

Select Yes. The reset process will begin, erasing all data.

Wait for the device to reset. This process takes approximately 20-30 minutes.

Set up your tablet as new after the reset. Once the device is reset, you will go through the initial setup process as if it were brand new. During this process, you can log into your Google account, restore purchased content, and configure settings.

• On many Android devices, there is no way to regain access if you forget your PIN or pattern lock other than wiping all data. This is a security measure to prevent unauthorized access to personal data in case the tablet is lost or stolen.