How to unlock an android phone without knowing the password

If you can't unlock your phone, you'll need to erase it. Then you can set it up again and set a new screen lock. If you can't sign in to your Google Account, learn how to recover your account.

Erase your phone

Important: These options will erase all data stored on your phone, like your apps, photos, and music. Data backed up to your Google Account can be restored later.

Option 1: Erase your phone from another device

To find, lock, or erase an Android phone, that phone must:

• Be turned on
• Be signed in to a Google Account
• Be connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi
• Be visible on Google Play
• Have Location turned on
• Have Find My Device turned on

Learn how to remotely erase a phone.

Option 2: Reset your phone with its buttons

You can erase your locked phone using its power and volume buttons. To learn how to reset your specific phone this way, visit your manufacturer's support site.

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Did you forget the password pin of the android lock screen of your Android phone for your google account and you have a locked phone? And you need to unlock your android phone using your lock screen? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who forgets their password pin. I’ll show you how to unlock the lock screen on Android phones.

Passwords pins serve as your android phone’s and for your google account protection from the use of unauthorized people on your lock screen. Although some on your Android device have new security features such as Fingerprint unlock for an Android lock screen to unlock your Android device for your google account, some people still prefer to use a password pin and passcodes on their Google account as their lock screen. It can be stressful and time-consuming when you forget the password of your android device or mobile device and even worse, be completely locked out of your lock screen. And can be hard at first to unlock your Android.

However it happens, it’s frustrating to get locked out of your Android phone or your Google account and to know how to unlock your android phone. You can always go to a store to get your Android phone unlocked but it’ll cost you just to unlock android.

But don’t worry! I know a few methods on how to unlock your Android phone. You can try software such as Tenorshare 4ukey for Android to help you unlock your phone in a few steps. Aside from this, there are different methods available.

Besides unlocking the Android phone, some of the best ad blockers for Android might actually help you get rid of the annoying lock-screen ads. So if you are facing a similar issue, I highly recommend you give these ad blockers a shot.

So, before going for a hard reset and losing all of your data to gain control back to your android lock screen, try these methods first. With these tips, you can get access to your Android phone within minutes. Let’s get started!

Related: The best lock screen apps for Android

Sponsored Unlock Your Android Phone Without a Password Using Droidkit

Most Android phones have different kinds of locking features. But at some point, people tend to forget their passwords or lock patterns. When you use the face or fingerprint recognition feature of your phone, there’s a chance that this will malfunction.

When this happens you can try iMobie’s Droidkit to unlock your phone no matter the type of screen lock you have used. This tool is usable with over 20,000 Android smartphone and tablet models. 

You only need a working Mac or Windows PC where you can download this tool and follow the instructions to unlock your phone in just a few minutes. And if you’re worried about rooting, Droidkit won’t require you to root your device.

To unlock Android phone, try these easy methods.

1. Use Google account
2. Use Android Debug Bridge
3. Unlock Samsung with PC
4. Use dr.fone
5. Boot into safe mode
6. Crash lock screen UI
7. Use Android Device Manager
8. Factory reset
9. Use fingerprint
10. Use face unlock

BONUS METHOD: Using PassFab Android Unlocker

1. Unlock Your Android phone with your Google Account for your locked phone

What you will need:

• Your Android Phone with your Google account
• Access to your synced Google Account on your Android phone

This method uses your Google Recovery account to unlock your android lock screen on your Android phone from your Android lock screen for your google account. One of the perks of Google Account integration is that google accounts are intertwined with most of your other android devices, giving you the capacity to access your Android phone from your Google Account on your Android device and to unlock it.

Note:

• If you don’t have access to your Google Account, you can skip to Method 3, which uses ABD Commands to unlock your Android phone.
• This option is available only on devices running on Android 4.4 or lower.

Step 1: Tap “Forgot Password” on your Google Account

To unlock your android phone, on your Android lock screen, tap “Forgot Password” on your Google account to access the Account unlock menu on your locked phone.

Step 2: Sign in to your Google Account

Google accounts are essential and therefore we always have to have access to it so that we will be able to fully utilize their capacity. This can help you unlock your Android phone.

Enter your Google Account details on your Google account and tap “Sign in” on your Android device. From there you can reset your google account pattern or passcode on your Android phone for your google account to unlock your android phone.

You’ll be prompted to reset your passcode for your google account to unlock your android phone to your Android phone right after you log in. Make sure to set one for your Google account that you’ll remember easily on your Android phone.

If your Google Account information isn’t working on your phone, you might need to recover it using your PC. Go to Google’s account recovery page and follow the steps above to be able to access your google account again.

2. Unlock Android phone using Android Debug Bridge (ADB)

If you haven’t tried ADB before – now is as good a time as any to unlock your android phone. Using a series of ADB commands, you can unlock your Android phone for your google account, provided you have USB debugging enabled on your Android phone. If you don’t, then this method won’t work for you for your Android phone to unlock your android phone.

There are some steps you have to go through first to fix your google account if this is your first time using ADB:

1. If you don’t have Android SDK tools installed, or if you’ve enabled your device to accept ADB commands but don’t fully grasp how to use it, check out our article on ADB and how to use it.

You will need to confirm that you have SDK and ADB set up correctly. To do this, open your platform-tools folder, and then open a “command prompt” inside it. If you have done this before, go to step 3.

• You can open the command prompt in a folder with Shift + right-click, then select open command window here. (It may show “PowerShell” on some PC’s)

Now there are two commands you need to enter to confirm your ADB setup.

• ADB version – this will reveal the version number of your ADB software.
• ADB devices – for this one, make sure to connect your Android phone to the PC. If your device is connected, your phone’s serial number should appear in the command prompt window. If you’re unable to retrieve the serial number, try reconnecting your Android phone.

You need to enable USB debugging for this method to work but luckily, there’s a way to work around this. If you boot your Android phone into recovery mode, you can do these steps as usual, without having to enable USB debugging. However, your Android phone partition needs to be mounted:

• Go to Mounts and Storage in your recovery on your Android device.
• Now mount/data. 

After you’ve done this, you can proceed as if you have USB Debugging enabled.

For unrooted devices

there are two steps:

Step 1: Open a command prompt

This process is a bit confusing so make sure to follow the steps carefully on your Android phone to unlock your android phone. With your Android phone connected to your PC – and the cmd open – enter the following commands in order:

1. adb shell
2. cd/data/data.com.android.providers.settings/databases
3. sqlite3 settings.db
4. update system set value=0 where name=’lock_pattern_autoblock’;
5. update system set value=0 where name=’lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently’;
6. .quit

Step 2: Reboot your device

After you’ve completed this, reboot your Android device. If this doesn’t reset your android lock screen, continue to the next step.

With your Android phone still connected to your PC and the command prompt opens, enter:

• abd shell rm/data/system/gesture.key

With that done, reboot your phone again.

For rooted devices

With the cmd open in the appropriate place, and your phone connected to the PC, enter the following commands:

1. adb shell
2. su
3. rm/data/system/locksettings.db
4. rm/data/system/locksettings.db-wal
5. rm/data/system/locksettings.db-shm
6. reboot

That wasn’t so hard, right? In case this method didn’t work for you, there’s still hope! I have one more method which doesn’t require you to erase all of your data. Let’s check that out and see if it’ll work!

3. How to unlock registered Samsung device

If you have a registered Samsung smartphone, then it’s your lucky day. The company provides a way to unlock registered Samsung smartphones with your google account.

What you will need:

• Your Android Device
• A registered Samsung Account
• A PC

Step 1:

Open the Samsung website on your PC and log in with your account information.

Step 2:

Select your Android device from the taskbar on the left to unlock your android phone.

Step 3:

Find the option Unlock my screen on the sidebar. Tap it, and unlock your phone’s lock screen.

4. Unlock Android phone with dr.fone

The next way to unlock your Android phone is an app named dr. fone – Unlock (Android). This Android Lock Screen Removal tool can unlock Android phone lock screens with a pattern, PIN, password, and fingerprint.

Note: You will need a computer to use this method to unlock your android phone.

Step 1: Download the app

Download dr. fone from the developer’s website to unlock your android phone.

Step 2: Open the app

Launch the app on your computer and click Unlock.

Step 3: Connect your device to your PC

Now connect your Android phone to your PC with a USB cable, then click Start.

Step 4: Verify your phone’s information

If your phone is connected successfully, information about your phone should appear on the screen. If it’s correct, press Next.

Step 5: Begin password removal

Boot your Android phone into Download Mode, and then the recovery package will be downloaded. After that, the password removal will begin, and a confirmation message will appear on the screen.

5. Unlock Android phone by booting into “Safe Mode”

It’s possible to unlock Android phones through safe mode. Please note that this method will only work for your Android device and phones that use a third-party app as its lock screen to unlock your android phone. This method works by temporarily disabling the third-party app and giving you a way to reset it to unlock your android phone.

Step 1: Boot into Safe Mode

For most phones and your android device, you can do this by bringing up the power menu and long-pressing “Power Off.” A notification will pop up, asking if you’d like to Reboot to Safe Mode, press OK.

Step 2: Clear your lock screen app’s data

Clear Data from your lock screen app or uninstall it, then reboot your phone again to get out of safe mode – when you do so, you will unlock your phone or android device.

6. Crashing the lock screen UI to unlock Android phone (Android 5 only)

Before trying this one to unlock your android phone, please note that his method only works for devices running on Android 5.0-5.11, so if your phone doesn’t have this version, please go to the next process.

This method to bypass a locked screen is just an emergency workaround for the phones in this category.

Step 1: Tap the “Emergency” button

Enter 10 asterisks (*) through the dialer.

Step 2: Copy the asterisks

Copy the asterisks and paste them on the dialer until the “paste” option no longer shows up.

Step 3: Tap on “Camera”

Return to the lock screen and tap on the camera shortcut icon.

Step 4: Tap “Settings”

Press the settings option on your android device after pulling down the notification bar – now, you will have the opportunity to enter the password, and you should repeat the same thing here to unlock your android phone. Keep on pasting until the lock screen crashes.

7. How to unlock Android phone using Android Device Manager (ADM)

This method uses Google’s Find my Device to perform a Remote Factory Reset. It will not only remove the password or pattern from your Android phone and your lock screen password but also all the data you have on it.

Note: This will only work if you enable Find my Device on the phone, and again, it will delete all the data on your phone. If this isn’t what you want, I strongly suggest trying any other of the methods from above on your android device.

Step 1: Find your device

On your computer, go to the “Find my Device” website.

Step 2: Select “Erase my device”

You will see this on the left side of your screen. After confirming the Erase function, your phone will boot into recovery and start performing a factory reset. Once you approve of this action, it is impossible to stop or cancel on your android device. Even if you shut down your Android phone – the reboot will resume on startup.

8. Unlock Android phone using “Factory Reset”

What you will need:

• Your Android Device
• A USB Cable
• A PC

If you don’t have the “Find my Device” option enabled on our phone, you can do this the old fashioned way on your android device .

Unfortunately, if you’re still stuck behind a lock screen, the amount of personal data you’ll be able to save is limited along with your Google account. However, here’s what you can do to save what you can:

1. Connect your device to your computer
2. Find your phone and open the main folder with your PC
3. Copy any folders you’d like to keep and save the files

Note:

• Depending on your Android device, the steps for the factory reset may differ a little, but the results will be the same on your android device. Most devices will let you hard reset by accessing the recovery mode.
• Using this method will erase all the data on your device. I highly advise you to back up your content if you use this as your last resort.

Step 1: Enter the boot menu

Turn on the Android device and enter the boot menu. If you can’t access it using the method above, do a quick search of your Android phone model and how to access its safe mode.

Step 2: Access safe mode

In safe mode. Use the volume keys to navigate up and down, press the Power key to confirm your selection on your android device.

Step 3: Reset your device

Find the Wipe Data/Factory Reset option.

After you confirm the option, your Android phone will begin the process – it can take several minutes. When completed, your android device will restart without your passcode, but also without your data. This process will unlock Android phones, but it also deletes all the information; unless you have a backup of your files, don’t do a factory reset on your device on your android device.

9. Unlock Android using Fingerprint

This method will help you unlock the Android phone without required you to change the PIN or pattern. The Android phone can be unlocked within a second by using this method and it is the simplest of all the methods mentioned above. For this method to work, you must have already added a fingerprint to your android phone. This method only works for Android phones with a fingerprint sensor.

To unlock Android using a fingerprint, follow these steps.

Step 1: Add a fingerprint on your phone

To add a fingerprint to your phone, go to Settings > Security > Fingerprint > Add fingerprint. Thereafter, follow the onscreen instructions to add your fingerprint to your Android phone.

Step 2: Unlock Android phone with fingerprint

Once the fingerprint is added, you are all set to unlock your Android phone with your fingerprint. Just place the added fingerprint on the fingerprint sensor and your phone will be unlocked.

10. Unlock Android phone with Face unlock

This is one of the most emerging technologies in the smartphone world. All the new phones these days come equipped with a Face unlock feature. this method allows you to unlock your Android phone without any hassle but rather just look at your Android phone’s front camera. Note that, face unlock is not as secure as fingerprint unlock as anyone resembling your appearance can unlock your phone. also, it may unlock the phone while looking at it when you don’t intend to.

Face unlock only works when it is already set up on your phone, so before you forget your PIN or pattern, set this up on your phone. To unlock your Android phone with face unlock, follow these steps.

Step 1: Set up face unlock on your phone

To set up face unlock on your phone, go to Settings > Security > Face unlock > Set up face unlock.

Follow the on-screen instructions to add the face ID.

Step 2: Unlock Android with face unlock

This is all, the next time you want to unlock your Android phone, just look at the front camera, as simple as that.

Bonus Method: Using PassFab Android Unlocker

PassFab Android Unlocker is an easy-to-use tool that can unlock your Android’s PIN, pattern, or password in case you have forgotten them. 

Here’s a quick overview of how to use PassFab.

• Download the software on a computer.
• Connect your Android device to the computer via a USB cable.
• Choose the “Remove Screen Lock” option. You will be given the options “Remove Screen Lock” and “Remove Screen Lock without Data Loss”. The first option is available for almost all Android phones, while the second option only supports earlier Samsung smartphone versions like Note 3, Note 4, and S5. Choose the feature that will work for your device.

• Then, all you need to do is click on “Start” and then follow the instructions and read the messages carefully to unlock your Android phone. It just takes a while.

You can view more information and a detailed step-by-step guide on how to use PassFab Android Unlocker here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone unlock my stolen phone?

Yes, by performing a factory reset, everything on your phone will get wiped out – so it will be like the device was freshly pulled out of the box. So the only good news is that at least there is no way they could get your data that was on the phone on your android device.

Does a factory reset unlock Android phones?

A factory reset deletes any data you have on your phone, including settings. So, technically, after a factory reset, it will be like you opened your Android phone for the first time.

How to unlock an LG phone without a password?

Try to unlock your LG phone multiple times. Once you exhaust the limit, tap Forgot pattern. Next, enter your Google account username and password. Your phone will be unlocked. Go to Settings and reset the pattern.

Which is the best Android password cracker software?

dr. fone is by far the best lock removal tool available. It helps you remove all types of lock, viz., pattern, pin, fingerprint, face ID. The tool is pretty simple to use, even for non-tech-savvy people. Tenorshare 4ukey for Android is another good password-bypassing tool for Android. Whether you have forgotten your password or have given too many wrong attempts, this software helps you unlock Android devices in minutes.

Does a factory reset remove the root?

It depends. If your factory reset only deletes user data and cache partitions, it would not unroot your phone.
On the other hand, if the factory reset includes deleting the system and reinstalling it, it would unroot your phone.

How to unlock Samsung Galaxy S8 forgot password?

Try these methods to unlock your Samsung Galaxy S8 if you forgot your password. Another way to unlock your Samsung Galaxy S8 phone if you forgot the password is Samsung File my mobile. If you had earlier configured Samsung Find my mobile on your phone and connected to the internet, this method will work. the last option is to factory reset your phone wherein you’ll lose all your data if it is not backed up to your Google or Samsung account.

How to unlock a Samsung tablet when you forgot the password without losing data?

To unlock a Samsung tablet when you forgot the password without losing data, you should have already configured Samsung Find my mobile on your tablet. to do this, go to Settings > Biometrics & Security > Find my mobile and turn the toggle on. Next, enter your Samsung account details if you already have one or create a new account. If you haven’t already configured Samsung Find my mobile on your Samsung tablet, you can’t unlock it without losing the data and will have top factory reset it.

Conclusion

Passwords protect our device from unauthorized users but sometimes we get locked out unintentionally on our lock screen on your android device. Forgetting your password can be pretty annoying, especially if you’ve just changed it.

Hopefully, I was able to help you get back into your locked device without a factory reset on your android device. However, sometimes you’ll have no other option to unlock your android phone.

If you’ve reset your passcode, keep notes on your latest change and put it in your wallet or send an email to yourself, that way you’ll have a better chance of getting back into your phone using your lock screen password.

If I missed a way of unlocking an Android phone, or if you have any questions, let me know in the comments section down below!

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