For keep your android phone safe, a screen lock is absolutely essential. Setting a passcode is the first step when setting up your phone.
But we are mere humans, and humans being humans, we tend to be forgetful at times. And if, unfortunately, you forgot the passcode on your Android phone, you’ll be locked out, leaving your phone inaccessible.
This post will discuss the workarounds to regain access to your phone if you forget the passcode.
Why would I need this?
But first, let’s talk about why you need to protect yourself with the know-how to force unlock your Android phone.
1 – You forgot your access code
As I mentioned earlier in the introduction, we tend to be forgetful. Contrary to popular belief, getting locked out of your phone because we forget our passcode happens more often than we think.
2 – Purchased a locked used phone
You may also end up in the same situation if you bought a used phone but failed to check if it has been unlocked and cleaned.
3 – Fingerprint and face unlock don’t work
If, for some reason, fingerprint and face unlock aren’t working, you’ll also need a workaround to bypass the lock screen.
Use the smart lock
Smart lock it’s a feature that comes with most Android phones. It allows you to bypass the lock screen if, unfortunately, you have forgotten the passcode.
However, for Smart Lock to work, it MUST BE configured in advance. If you’ve already forgotten your passcode but haven’t set up Smart Lock yet, this method won’t help you.
If you still have access to your phone, it’s essential to set it up as soon as possible as a precautionary measure.
Note: The Smart Lock feature can be found in Settings > Security > Smart Lock on your Android phone.
You’ll need your current passcode to set it up, and you can choose from these options to regain access to your phone.
- Detection on the body – Your phone stays unlocked if it detects it’s with you, whether you carry it in your pocket or in your hand.
- Trusted places – Add a trusted location and your phone will stay unlocked if it detects that you are in a particular location.
- Trusted devices – Add trusted devices that your phone can connect via Bluetooth. It can be another smartphone, a wireless headset, your in-car game, or even a smart TV. As long as your phone is connected to one of them, it remains unlocked.
- Speech match – Finally, you can set up a voice unlock. If the entry matches, the phone can also be unlocked.
Use Find My Device
You can also go to Find my device website. Created by Google, this web tool is pretty simple to use. In order to use it to unlock your phone, you must first meet the following criteria:
- You must sign in to your Google account.
- Your device must be connected to the internet.
- Your device must have the Google application Find my deviceand it’s on.
With all these criteria met, here’s how to unlock your Android device.
- Go to Find my device pageSign in with the Google Account you used to sign in to your Android device.
- You will see all your Android devices signed into the same Google account. Select the one you want to unlock.
- After selecting the required Android device, you will receive a notification that “Find my device” has located this device. You’ll also see a map highlighting your device’s current location.
- There are several options for the type of action you want to take, such as playing a sound or securing your device, etc. However, to unlock your device, you can opt for the Erase device option. By doing this, you erase all data and settings from your device, including the screen lock. Then, once the erasure is done, you can access your device and set up a new screen lock if needed.
Using a third-party app
Unlocking with Smart Lock requires it to be set up in advance; unlocking with Find My Device requires the app to be activated in advance as well. You probably won’t have any luck unlocking your phone if you’ve done neither.
A third-party app acts as a last resort if all else fails.
log into DroidKit. DroidKit is a desktop app that lets you unlock an Android phone that’s locked with a PIN, password, fingerprint, or facial recognition.
This app works on both Windows and Mac. You just need a USB cable, your locked phone and a PC or laptop to start the unlocking process.
Here is a step by step guide to unlocking your phone with DroidKit.
- Download and install the DroidKit app on your Windows or Mac.
- Launch the app, click Unlock screen option.
- Connect your Android phone to your computer via a USB cable. Once the connection is established, click on Start.
- You will see a Preparation of the device configuration file screen with a progress bar showing the status of the setup process. When done, click Remove now button.
- Select your device from the options that appear on the screen, then click Next.
- You will be prompted to put your device into recovery mode and remove the cache partition on your device. For this, follow the instructions for your particular phone manufacturer and perform the procedure on your device.
- Once this process is complete, you will see the file Removing the screen lock progress bar screen. The process will take a few minutes, and once it’s done, you’ll be able to regain access to your Android device.
Prevent this from happening again
Take note of the following ways to prevent your history from repeating itself.