If you forget your Android password or pattern, there’s no reason to panic. Access to a smartphone can be resumed quite quickly and simply, and there are several ways to unlock it. The updated instructions describe each of them.
Table of Contents
How to reset password or lock on Android
(!) The article contains the main ways to reset the password / pattern, starting with the simplest (when you remember the username and password for the Google account) and ending with a slightly more complicated one: Hard Reset, deleting the files “gest.key” and “password.key” “. Carefully read all the paragraphs, follow the links to the detailed instructions in each of the ways and everything will work out!
Method 1: Enter your Google account information
When the phone or tablet is connected to a cellular network or Wi-Fi, to remove the lock, just enter your email address and password. To do this, enter the pattern incorrectly 5 times until the warning window about blocking the device for 30 seconds appears.
The “Forgot pattern?” Button will appear on the screen, after which you can enter your data and unlock the device. As of Android 5.0, this feature has been removed from most firmware!
If you’ve forgotten your account password, you’ll need to restore it – go to this page from a working gadget or computer.
Please note that this method requires mandatory internet access. Therefore, open the quick settings panel by sliding down (the “curtain” can be opened directly from the lock screen on Android 5.0 Lollipop and newer) and enable cellular data or Wi-Fi. The device will connect to the access point if it was previously on this network.
2. Resetting graphic password using ADB
The graphic key can be deleted using ADB. You need to connect the device via USB to your computer and enter the necessary commands.
This method works only if USB debugging is enabled.
Method 3. Restore the factory settings
The next method is simpler than the previous one, but with it all data from the internal memory, such as installed applications, connected accounts, SMS messages, etc. will be deleted. Photos, audio and other files on the SD card will remain intact. Full instructions can be found in the article: How to reset settings to Android (hard reset).
The next time you activate your device, restore data from a backup – it works if you’ve already synced.
Method 4: Flashing a smartphone or tablet
When you turn on your Android phone or tablet, you will unlock a lock or password. On our site there is a detailed instruction on the firmware of Android devices from different manufacturers, separately Samsung using Odin and LG via KDZ Updater.
Method 5: Delete gesture.key (reset pattern) and password.key (reset password)
This method is intended for owners of phones and tablets with root rights and CWM Recovery. Its effect is that the system deletes «gesture.key» Files and «password.key», responsible for graphical lock outputs and password, respectively.
This requires the Aroma file manager. Download the archive by reference and transfer it to your phone or tablet without unpacking. Then turn off the machine and go to the recovery menu. To do this, instead of the power button, hold and hold one of the possible combinations (or read frequently asked questions about specific models):
- Volume up + “ON”
- Volume down + “ON”
- Volume up / down + Power + Home
Use the up and down buttons to move up and down, respectively, and confirm your selection with the on / off button. Recovery can be touch sensitive on new smartphones.
Instruction:
1. Select “Install zip” from the CWM recovery menu.
2. Then click “Choose zip from / sdcard” and go to the folder where you dropped Aroma or use “Choose zip from last install“. In the second case, you’ll see all the latest archives downloaded, of which you will find what you need.
3. Select the archive using Aroma Explorer.
4. Then the file manager will open. Go to path / data / system / and delete files:
- “Gesture.key” (“gatekeeper.pattern.key” in new software)
- “Password.key” (or “gatekeeper.password.key” instead)
- “Locksettings.db”
- “Locksettings.db-wal”
- “Locksettings.db-shm”
Select them and click “Delete” in the additional menu.
Finally restart your device. You can enter any password and the phone will be unlocked. Continue safely to settings and reveal new lock.
6. How to remove graphic block through TWRP Recovery
The TWRP Recovery has a file manager – it is produced by removing files that display passwords or pattern without installing Aroma File Manager. To do this, move the mobile gadget to restore mode (see previous method) and open “Advanced”.
Then click “File Manager“.
Go to the / data / system / folder and delete the following files:
- “Gatekeeper.password.key” (“password.key”)
- “Gatekeeper.pattern.key” (“gest.key”)
- “Locksettings.db”
- “Locksettings.db-wal”
- “Locksettings.db-shm”
Select one of the files and select Delete from the displayed list.
To confirm, set svayp to the right.
Then click “Back” and do the same with the other files.
To restart Android, go back to the main menu and select “Restart” → “System“.
7. Deleting internal memory using Fastboot
All Android phones and tablets (except Samsung) have the firmware mode – Fastboot. After restarting the mobile device, you can control the device from your computer using the tool with the same name. The installation of the Fastboot and USB drivers is written in a separate manual. You still need to unlock the bootloader on Sony, Huawei, LG, HTC, Pixel, Nexus, Motorola smartphones and several other models.
(!) Unlocking Bootloader is also done through Fastboot and data is removed from internal memory in the process. In the future, cleaning your smartphone is enough to perform the steps described below.
To restart the device in Fastboot mode, hold down the volume down button while turning on.
In addition, you can switch Android to firmware mode from the ADB computer command if USB debugging is enabled. Read the FAQ on the Fastboot and ADB website, run the command prompt (or PowerShell in Windows 10) as an administrator from the “platform-tools” folder, type the command and press “Enter”:
adb reboot bootloader
In PowerShell, you need to add:
.\
After loading the Bootloader onto the machine, use one of the following Fastboot commands. The internal memory will be cleared to unlock the device:
fastboot erase userdata
or
fastboot -w
To translate the gadget from bootloader to Android, enter:
fastboot reboot
8. Unlock pattern on Chinese phones with MTK processor
Smartphones Meizu, Xiaomi, Lenovo, fly, Elephone, Blackview ZTE, Bluboo, Doogee, Oukitel Umi and other Chinese manufacturers, working on MTK chips, sewn in utility SP Flash tools. With the help of your recovery custom you can easily install, without deleting other sections, but after TWRP or CWM, you can delete the files «password.key» (or «gatekeeper.password.key» in the new Android version), «gesture.key» (« guard .pattern.key »),« locksettings.db »,« locksettings.db-wal »and« locksettings.db-SHM ».
(!) For some Chinese smartphones with locked bootloader, running on Android 7.0 Nougat and newer, this method will not work. On them you need to activate the “OEM unlock” element. This is done through the menu “Settings” → “For developers”, in which the locked phone cannot be accessed.
Download the current version of the program from the official website: http://spflashtool.com/, the link to the USB driver for the MTK system can be found in the Fastboot installation manual. Download the image file and rekaveri «… scatter.txt» for the processor – you can find them in the appropriate topic models on forums such as 4PDA, XDA-Developers, Needrom. Place the files in one folder so that the path does not contain Cyrillic characters. Rename the image to “recover” with the extension “.img”.
Unzip the SP Flash tools to the “C: \” drive. Open the folder and run “flash_tool.exe” as an administrator.
Click “Distributed loading“, go to the folder where “recovery.img” is located and select the diffuse file.
Only the “recovery” section is selected. Click “Download” at the top.
Now turn off the smartphone, remove the battery (if possible) for a few seconds, connect it and connect the disabled device to the computer via USB.
A red “Download DA 100%” will appear.
Then yellow, which will show you how many percent of the software has been completed.
At the end, the “Download OK” window will appear, which indicates the successful installation of the Recovery.
Then run Recovery immediately so that the spare does not replace the custom one when you first turn it on. Usually on Chinese phones you need to hold down the power key and increase the volume until a special menu appears. Press Volume “UP” to move to the “Recovery” item and confirm with Volume “Down“.
Now go to the instructions in step 5 or 6 (depending on the Recovery: CWM or TWRP installed) and remove the forgotten password.
Method 9. Using the “Find Device” service
Google has created a “Find device” service with a Hard reset function. The lock is therefore reset.
1. Connect your mobile device to the Internet from a computer or other device, go to https://www.google.com/android/find and log in.
2. The service locates the device and when it was last on the network. In the list of options, select “Clear data“.
3. Click “Erase Data” again.
4. Confirm with the “Clear” button.
When the device is offline, the Wipe function becomes the first Internet connection.
10. How to delete pattern on Samsung phones using the Find my cell function
Smartphone owners of the most popular brand have the option of unlocking the device if it has an Internet connection and a Samsung account added. You must go to https://findmymobile.samsung.com/ , click “Login” and enter your login and password.
After finding the tablet, Samsung phone, click on the sides of the option “More” → “Unlock” and re-enter the password.
Done – in the Android snapshot you will be notified when the key or pin is removed from the screen.
11. Additional Samsung PIN
On Samsung phones with Android 5.0 and earlier, you need to set an additional PIN when setting the image. And if you forget the pattern and remember the PIN, you can enter it and unlock the smartphone.
Draw any incorrect pattern until you see the message that you can try again only after 30 seconds.
Then wait half a minute and click “Additional PIN” in the bottom right corner. Enter the PIN and press “OK“.
The phone lock completely disappears.
12. How to reset the pattern on Samsung smartphones using Odin
For Samsung phones and tablets with Android below version 7. there is a simple method of removing the lock. First, TWRP or CWM Recovery is sent along with Odin, and the password is removed through custom Recovery.
(!) On Samsung devices with Android 7.0 and newer, to install the custom recovery, you need to activate the “OEM unlocking” function, which is located in the “Settings“. Go there with the screen locked will not work.
Install the drivers and download the CWM or TWRP image file in .tar format for the model – you can find it in the appropriate topic on the websites Needrom, XDA-developers, Sammobile, 4PDA, twrp.me.
Download Odin from the official website .
Unzip the archive from Odin and run the program.
Switch your smartphone to software mode (it’s Bootloader, boot mode). To do this, hold down 3 keys on the turned off computer:
- “ON” + volume down + “Home” button (“Home”)
When you reach this menu, press the volume up key to continue.
The screen will show Android and the words “Download” – which means that you have transferred Samsung to the firmware mode.
Connect your phone to a computer via USB and wait for the drivers to be installed. The first cell “ID: COM” displays the connected port, and the message “Added” appears in the logs.
Now click “AP” (“PDA” in older versions of Odin) and select the Recovery file.
If, however, «AP» is selected then in the window next to the file path, you can continue.
To start the software, click “Start”.
Since the weight of the recovery file is small, this process will take a few seconds. The message “All threads ended. (success 1 / failure 0) “, and in the upper left cell -” PASS! “. This means that the custom recovery software was successful.
Now turn off the phone and hold one of the keyboard shortcuts to proceed to recovery:
- “Home” + increase volume + on
- “Home” + “ON” (on old Samsung)
- Increase volume + on (on older tablets)
Depending on the hand held CWM or TWRP set, go to step 5 or 6 of this article and to remove them:
- “Password.key” (“gatekeeper.password.key”)
- “Gesture.key” (“gatekeeper.pattern.key”)
- “Locksettings.db”
- “Locksettings.db-wal”
- “Locksettings.db-shm”
13. How to remove Huawei Unlock Key: backup PIN
In the case of Huawei and Honor, in addition to the pattern, a spare PIN is used. Therefore, to unlock the device, you have to draw the pattern incorrectly 5 times and the message “Please try again within 1 minute” appears on the display. Wait 60 seconds until the “Backup PIN” button in the bottom right corner becomes active. Click on it, enter the PIN and the unlock key will reset immediately.
14. Smart Lock function
Starting with Android 5.0, the system has a Smart Lock function that allows you to turn off the screen lock in some situations. For example, when the device is at home or connected to a reliable device via Bluetooth. Depending on the manufacturer’s devaysa as well as the Android version, there are different unlocking options using Smart Lock functions such as voice definition, face recognition, recognition and more.
Of course, Smart Lock is a convenient feature that simplifies the use of a mobile device. But thanks to this, attackers can access personal data stored on the smartphone. For example, if you enter the office in a safe place and leave the phone at the workplace, anyone can unlock it. Therefore, properly configure Smart Lock and think several more times before enabling this feature.
