It is always advisable to have a passcode/password enabled on the Android device. Of the various reasons one is that it will help family, peers and unwanted acquaintances from snooping in your phone when left unattended and the other reason is to save your sensitive and personal data from being accessed by unknown people in case it gets into the hands of thieves in the scenario it gets stolen.
There are many advantages of setting a passcode to the Android device however there is one major drawback in case if someone forgets their password because one cannot get through the phone until the passcode has been entered and here this article will come handy.
Following are some methods to reset android password and will help you to get access to your locked Android device:
- Erase the memory of the device: The most important requirement for this technique to give 100% result is that the Android Device Manager (ADM) must be enabled in the device. If this device is not installed in your Android device please get this installed and enabled through this link. Now you can follow these steps:
- Visit the https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager site by using your computer or any other smartphone / tablet.
- Sign in the Google login details, remember to use the same login ID that was used in the locked device.
- You need to select the device that needs to be unlocked (most of the times it will be selected in the ADM interface, however if not then it needs to be selected).
- Select “Lock”.
- A window will appear, users will need to enter a temporary password in this window. Now press “Lock” again, here users will come across a recovery message which they can bypass and there is no need to enter this message.
- Suppose, user has successfully managed to reset the password for their locked device, they will get a confirmation message below the box that has buttons (ring,lock,erase). Please be informed this method erases data like your apps, photos, and music.
- Now, the locked Android device will show a password field, users will have to enter the temporary password that they created. This password will unlock the device.
- Users will have to go to the Lock screen settings of their Android device and disable the temporary password.
- Resetting the passcode with the Google Account: Now let us also check for an alternate method which normally is useful for the Android device with OS 4.4 and lower:
- Here user will have to enter the wrong lock screen passcode or pattern 5 times, as it is since users have forgotten their passcode this will be easier.
- Next, there will be “Forgot pattern” message on the screen of the locked device, user needs to touch this screen.
- User would need to enter their Google account Username and password that they had previously added to their device and login.
- Now users would need to reset the screen lock of their device. Check this link for more details.
- Resetting the device to factory settings: If users cannot get through unlocking the device through the above two methods then they can use this third method. This method involves resetting the factory settings of the device, hence users need to be very careful when they do this as they need to take a backup of all their data as they might loose it. This can be done by using two methods:
- Use settings menu to erase the data:
- User needs to Open the Settings menu of the device.
- Under “Personal,” touch Backup & reset. User may need to enter their pattern, PIN, or password.
- Under “Personal data,” touch Factory data reset > Reset phone or Reset tablet.
- If user’s have a screen lock, they will need to enter their pattern, PIN or password.
- When prompted, touch Erase everything to erase all data from the device’s internal storage.
- When user’s device has finished erasing, select the option to reboot the device.
Once done, user needs to follow these steps check it on https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2819582
- The other method is Recovery mode wherein Google has laid out different steps for different brands and hence Nexus users need to check this link for details: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4596836.
- Users other than Nexus can check the below link to carry out the factory settings: https://support.google.com/android/answer/3094742
- Use settings menu to erase the data:
Above given methods will definitely help users to unlock their Android device. If readers have some more methods with which one can unlock their locked Android device feel free to mention it in the comments.
