If you use your smartphone without a screen lock, other people can mercilessly spy on your screen or the contents of your smartphone. Even if it gets lost, the finder has an easy time. So a screen lock has to be included. This can be a PIN number, a pattern or even the fingerprint that unlocks the smartphone individually. However, what can you do if you forget your screen lock? Can your smartphone still be unlocked without a pin or does a factory reset have to be carried out with the loss of all data?
If you have forgotten the password of your Google or Facebook account, this is not a big problem. The password is simply reset, you assign a new one and everything runs as usual. Not forgetting the screen lock (regardless of whether it is a pattern or a PIN number). Then you have a real problem here. Because the screen lock is permanently connected to your smartphone and the device can no longer be used without entering the lock. However, there are a few ways to bypass the factory reset:
Forgot pin
If you have forgotten your unlock pattern or the PIN, there is the possibility of entering the PIN incorrectly five times on some devices (Samsung, LG). A button “Forgot pattern / pin?” Then appears. A backup pin can now be entered, or you can log in with your Google user name and your Google password (the prerequisite is of course a connection to a Google account). You can then unlock the screen and assign a new pin / pattern. This procedure is not offered on Google devices.
Unlock via the Google device manager
The Google Device Manager can also help unlock the smartphone on some devices. To do this, go to android.com/find and log in with your Google account. Here you will find the lock option, which you can use to send a message to the locked smartphone and then lock the smartphone with a new pin (this option does not work on all smartphones either). With this new pin assigned via the device manager, you open your smartphone. You can now assign a new password via the settings and the Security option.
Unlock Samsung devices using the Samsung account
You go to the Samsung website https://findmymobile.samsung.com/ to log into your Samsung account. Then select your smartphone and click on the “Share screen” option. Your smartphone display can be opened remotely. The prerequisite for this is again that the “Remote Access” option in the security options of your smartphone has to be activated. Furthermore, the smartphone must have an internet connection.
Pattern lock
You may be lucky and, if you hold the display up to the light, you can recognize the pattern from the streaks on the display when the pattern is blocked.
Third party lock screen
If you use a screen lock from a third party, this can be bypassed by starting your smartphone in safe mode. We have described how this works here. After that, you can simply uninstall the third-party app.
Smart Lock
Not to be confused with the screen lock is the option Smart Lock:
Smart Lock is offered by Android devices from version 5.0 as a supplement to the screen lock. With Smart Lock, devices can be unlocked using voice and face recognition. You can also specify whether the screen lock is not applicable in certain locations or whether certain Bluetooth devices in the vicinity leave the smartphone unlocked. You call up the Smart Lock option in the settings of your smartphone and the Security option. You will be asked to enter your PIN first, so that you can then choose whether you can unlock it using Carrier ID, Trusted Places, Trusted Devices, Trusted Faces or Voice Match.
- Carrying detection:You unlock your device only once with a pin and then keep it unlocked for as long as you carry it with you. As soon as the smartphone is put down, it is automatically blocked
- Trustworthy places: In order to add a trusted location, the location must be activated. You select an address and the device knows about the location, if it is there and can remain unlocked.
- Trusted devices: If you add a Bluetooth device, the smartphone remains unlocked during an existing connection with the Bluetooth device.
- Trustworthy Faces: Unlocking using face recognition works by simply taking a photo of your face with the camera. If you then want to open your smartphone, a camera symbol will appear at the bottom of the screen. As soon as you look at the display, it can be opened with a swiping gesture. If another person who is not stored looks at the display, it can only be opened using a pin.
- Voice Match: With the Voice Match option, you can simply unlock your smartphone with the voice command “OK Google”.
Conclusion
There are a few ways to use your smartphone again despite forgetting your PIN. If all else fails, you can possibly contact the support of your smartphone manufacturer, but it will usually result in a factory reset with the loss of all data.
