If you somehow forget the pattern, PIN, or password to lock your Android device, you may think that you are unlucky and destined to be locked forever. These security methods are difficult to break by design, but in many cases, it is not completely impossible to break into a locked device.
There are several different ways to hack a locked Android smartphone or tablet, but unfortunately, nothing is easier than the password cracker USB stick available for Windows. Therefore, in the following, I will introduce the 7 most effective methods, hoping that one of them can help you reuse the device.
Method 1. Use Google’s ‘Find My Device’ Website: For most Android phones and tablets, one of the best built-in services is “Find My Device”. As long as you are logged in to your Google account, you can use any device or computer to access the service, which is provided by this link.
From our testing, we noticed that this method is not applicable to Android 8.0 or higher. But as long as your phone is running Android 7.1.1 Nougat or lower, it can solve the problem.
Although it sounds unreasonable, once the “Find My Device” is fixed on your phone, click the “Lock” button first. If the service cannot find your device, please click the refresh button next to the phone name several times. If your phone is compatible, it will establish a connection within 5 attempts.
After clicking the “lock” button, the system will prompt you to enter a new password, which will replace your forgotten pattern, PIN, or password. Enter the new password twice to confirm your choice, and then click the “lock” button.
From here, it may take up to 5 minutes to change the password, but in this case, you should be able to enter the new password to unlock the device.
Method 2. Use Samsung’s ‘Find My Mobile’ Service: If you are using a Samsung device, you should try a similar “find my phone” service. First, visit this link from any web browser, then log in to your Samsung account. Unfortunately, if you have never set up a Samsung account, this method will not work. In addition, some operators (such as Sprint) lock this service out, which is easy to find.
After logging in to your Samsung account, click the “Lock My Screen” button in the left pane. Enter the new PIN in the first field here and click the “lock” button near the bottom of the screen. Please change your lock screen password to the PIN code you just entered within a minute or two. You can use the PIN code to unlock the device.
Method 3. Use the ‘Forgot Pattern’ Feature: If your device is running Android 4.4 or lower, please try to use the “Forget Mode” feature. After 5 failed to unlock attempts, you will see a message saying “Please try again within 30 seconds.” When this message is displayed, click the button that says “Forgot Pattern” at the bottom of the screen.
Here, select “Enter Google Account Details” (depending on your device, you may go directly to this option) and enter your primary Gmail account and password. Google will send you an email with an unlock method, or you can make changes at that time and there.
Method 4.Perform a Factory Reset: If you are more concerned about entering the phone than keeping any data stored on the phone, in many cases, a factory reset should be effective. But due to a new anti-theft feature called “Factory Reset Protection”, if the phone is released in 2016 or later, you need to know your Google account password to use this method.
The process will vary depending on your device type, but for most phones, the device must first be completely powered off. When the screen turns black, press and hold the volume down and power buttons at the same time, and the Android bootloader menu will pop up. From here, press the Volume Down button twice to highlight the “Recovery Mode” option, then press the power button to select it.
Next, press and hold the power button, and then tap the volume up button once, and your phone should enter recovery mode. Here, use the volume buttons to highlight the “Clear Data/Factory Reset” option, then press the power button to select it. After the process is complete, select the “Restart the system now” option and you will no longer be locked out of your phone.
If it is a newer phone, you will be prompted to log in with the Google account and password you used before resetting the device. As long as you know (and should know) this information, then just log in to your Google account again to regain access to your phone.
Method 5. Use ADB to Delete the Password File: This next option will only work if you have previously enabled USB debugging on your phone, and even so, it will only work if you allow the computer you are using to connect via ADB. However, if these requirements are met, this is the ideal way to unlock the device. However, please note that models with encryption enabled by default may not be compatible with this solution.
First, use the USB data cable to connect the phone to the computer, and then open the command prompt window in the ADB installation directory. Here, type the following command and press Enter.
Next, restart the phone and the security lock screen should disappear so you can access the phone. But this is only temporary, so make sure to set a new mode, PIN, or password before restarting.
