What to Do if You Forget the Password for Your Android Phone
Even if you use your Android phone quite frequently throughout the day, unusual events could lead your brain to malfunction and cause you to forget how to unlock it. Of course, those who choose not to use a lock screen won't have a problem with this. Today, it's considered bad practice to expose your phone; thus, most people adopt a security policy.
To protect user data from unwanted access, the newest Android phone models come with lock screens that may be customized in various ways. A pattern of at least four dots on the phone keypad represented by numbers, an alpha-numeric password, or a numeric passcode can be used as the password. Additionally, there are options to use fingerprint scanning and facial recognition to unlock a device's screen, which is currently the standard for users who want quick access to their phones. Can you retrieve a forgotten password and unlock your Android phone if you chose the passcode option but temporarily forgot what to type? Let's look at what to do if you forget your android password.
You're in Luck if you Use an Older Version of the Android
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Google has made it a point to consistently step up its efforts to ensure privacy and security to safeguard its consumers from unjustified information leaks. This implies that there isn't a straightforward method for getting back a lost or forgotten lock screen password.
Google states that your sole option to unlock an inaccessible device is to conduct a factory reset on your phone and effectively start from begin, minus all the data you've acquired. This is true for contemporary Android handsets that have newer versions of the operating system installed. Consider contacting the manufacturer of your phone to check if there is a way to unlock your specific phone without losing any data if you are not yet ready to begin such a complex process.
You will probably be instructed to perform a complete factory reset of your Android phone unless you can use and set up special device security features given by your particular phone brand or carrier before forgetting your password.
If several attempts to unlock your phone have failed, you might see a "Forgot pattern" option on your screen if your Android phone still has Android 4.4 or older installed. To reset your screen lock, hit that, then enter the Google account login information you used when configuring your Android device for the first time.
Resetting your Android phone to Factory Settings
It's crucial to remember that the only option, if you cannot unlock your Android device using a password, is to wipe everything from it (including downloaded files, music, and images) and start again (via Google). You should be able to recover the majority of the data previously on your Android phone if you regularly back up your device's data.
Google states that only Android devices that are turned on, logged into a Google account, connected to the internet through Wi-Fi or mobile data, discernible as a managed device on Google Play, and have location services and "Find My Device" turned on can be remotely reset to a full factory state. The latter capability can permanently delete an Android phone's contents and be used to track an Android phone and locate it on Google Maps.
- Open the Find My Device site on your computer or another Android phone, and then look through the detected devices until you find the phone model you're having difficulties unlocking.
- Activate "Erase Device"
- Enter your Google login information to complete a full data wipe when prompted.
After completing this procedure, you should be able to set up your Android phone just like a brand-new one without having to deal with a lock screen.
You must manually reset your device to factory settings if you can't set up "Find My Device" on your Android phone before you lose the lock screen password. To access the bootloader menu on your phone, turn it off, hold down the volume and power keys for a long time, then use the volume buttons to navigate to the "wipe data" option.
How to Avoid your Password Being Forgotten in the Future
It's best to set up preventative measures that will allow you to adequately secure your device while also allowing you to access it without having to type in a string of characters if you currently don't have an Android phone lock screen and are considering setting one up, or even if you do but are worried that you might forget it one day. You can have unique lock settings that are found in the device's "Settings" depending on the model of Android phone you own. For instance, the "Smart Lock" feature on Samsung Galaxy phones keeps your phone unlocked when it is near you, on you, or in a safe place.
These days, the majority of Android phones now provide additional lock screen alternatives that make use of facial and fingerprint recognition software. It can be found in the settings menu under "Biometrics and Security" on Samsung phones; the menu may have a different name on different Android phone makers. Once your Android phone is set up to open using either your fingerprint or facial recognition, a lock screen password will still be required, but less frequently.
