Locked Cellphone – No need to panic if your cellphone is locked and can’t be used because you forgot the password or the fingerprint sensor is broken. Fear not, there is a way to open a locked cell phone which can help you to find a solution.
You can still access your smartphone that was locked by the password you forgot. You can try this method for cell phones that use a security system in the form of a pattern, a combination of numbers and letters, a PIN, or even a fingerprint sensor.
However, it must be noted that the method we will tell you is not a trick on how to open other people’s cellphone passwords, OK? So just use it for yourself and not for any malicious intent!
Open a Locked Cellphone
1. Using Android Device Manager (Find My Device)
The first way to unlock a forgotten Cellphone password is to use the Android Device Manager, or a feature now known as Find My Device, an official service made by Google.
You can use this browser feature via another smartphone or laptop as long as you can open the same Google account as the cellphone that you want to unlock. Don’t forget to activate the internet network on your cellphone.
The following is a guide to unlocking a locked cellphone using the Android Device Manager:
- Visit the site https://www.google.com/android/find.
- Then you log in with the same Google account.
- Select the Lock or Lock option.
“Note: If the Android Device Manager is having trouble finding your device, click the refresh browser button a few times”
- Enter the new password twice to confirm.
- You can now open a locked cell phone with a new password.
2. Using Samsung Find My Mobile
You can use an application similar to Android Device Manager specifically from Samsung for Samsung device users who haven’t succeeded using the method above, namely, Find My Mobile.
This official service made by Samsung is the easiest and safest alternative way to open a password-locked Samsung cellphone.
Here are the steps to recover the password via the Find My Mobile feature that you can follow:
- Visit the Find My Mobile site (https://www.findmymobile.samsung.com/).
- Create your Samsung account then log in.
- Click the Lock my screen button on the left pane.
- Enter the new PIN and click the Lock button.
- Done.
Within a minute or two, the lock screen password should have been successfully changed to the new PIN you entered and used to unlock your device.
3. Using the Forgot Pattern feature
You can still use the Forgot pattern feature if your device is still running the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system or lower.
Here are the steps for using the Forgot Pattern feature to unlock your smartphone!
- Enter the Cellphone password randomly 5 times.
- A message will appear Try again in 30 seconds.
- Select Forgot pattern.
- Choose the forgot password method you want.
Generally, there are two methods available, namely answering the security question that has been made before or logging in with your Google account.
If you choose the second option, Google will send you an email with your unlock pattern or you can change it right away.
4. Using ADB to Remove the Password
The following unlocking method can only be done if you have previously enabled USB Debugging.
Not only that, you can only do this method of unlocking a forgotten Cellphone pin if you have a computer that has been connected to a smartphone via ADB.
If you have ever rooted or installed a custom ROM, you must be familiar with this process.
Rather than being curious as to how to see the steps to using ADB to remove passwords:
- Connect your cellphone to your laptop/PC using a USB cable.
- Open the Command Prompt program.
- Type the CMD command ADB shell rm /data/system/gesture.key to enter the ADB installation directory.
- Reboot your smartphone and the password on the lock screen should be gone.
- Immediately change your cellphone password before carrying out the next reboot process.
This trick can also be used for those of you who are looking for a way to open an OPPO Cellphone pattern or another brand.
5. Using Someone Else’s Cellphone
The next way that you can unlock a locked or forgotten cellphone pattern is to use the help of someone else’s Android cellphone.
This method is fairly easy to do and you don’t need to worry about deleting data on your cellphone. Here are the steps for accessing passwords from someone’s cell phone.
- Borrow a friend’s or family’s cellphone.
- Call your number using the borrowed cell phone.
- When the cell phone rings, pick up the call.
- To finish the call, immediately press the Home button.
- After entering the main menu, change your cellphone pattern or password.
6. Unlock the Cellphone that forgot to use Safe Mode
As you know, in the Google Play Store there are many lock screen security apps for Android available.
Some of them are very impressive because they can change the password according to the combination of hours and minutes, date, and battery status. However, sometimes some bugs make your cellphone inaccessible.
And with that, you can try booting into Safe Mode as an alternative way to unlock a locked cellphone pattern if the problem comes from a third-party application.
The method varies, depending on the type and brand of your smartphone. However, in general, you can follow the following steps to enter Android Safe Mode:
- Press and hold the Power button until the Restart, Power Off, and Reboot to Safe Mode options appear.
- Select the Reboot to safe mode option.
- Press OK to enter Safe Mode.
- Uninstall third-party lock screen apps that are causing this problem.
- Restart the cellphone to exit Safe Mode after the application uninstalls process is complete.
You can also see several other ways to disable Safe Mode that have been discussed in separate articles.
7. With Crash Lockscreen
This method exploits a bug on smartphones running Android 5.0-5.1.1 Lollipop. Other than that, this method for how to open a locked cell phone using the emergency call cannot work.
As to how to do it, you can see the steps for the lock screen crash below. Check it out!
- Press the Emergency Call that appears on the lock screen.
- Use the dialer interface and enter 10 asterisks.
- Copy and paste the 10 signs (*) until the number of asterisks is doubled.
- Repeat this process.
- Copy and paste to add more characters to the limit.
- Return to the lock screen and open the camera shortcut.
- Pull down the notification window.
- Press the Settings icon, you will be asked to enter a password.
- Long press on the input field and select paste.
Repeat this process several times so that the screen lock will crash and allow you to access the entire smartphone interface.
However, you have to remember that this method of unlocking a cellphone can only be used if the cellphone you are using is still running Android Lollipop.
8. Via Find My Device
Apart from using a browser like the first method, Android 2.3 users and above can also use the Find My Device application to gain access to your device again.
It’s not that difficult, you only need to use a Google account connected to your cellphone via a computer or laptop. The following are the steps for using the Find My Device application from Cellphone.
- Open the Find My Device application.
- Select the device you are using.
- Click the Lock option.
- You will get a new code that overwrites the old, forgotten code.
- Unlock the phone with the new code you got.
9. Using the Google Smart Lock feature
The way to open a locked Android phone without losing further data is to take advantage of the Google Smart Lock feature. This feature can be accessed by those of you whose smartphone has been updated to the Android 5.0 system or later.
In addition, this feature must also be activated first. Here’s how:
- Go to Settings > Security > Advanced Settings > Smart Lock.
- Enter your PIN, pattern, or password for verification.
- Follow the next steps on the screen, and you’re done!
- If it is already connected, the Cellphone lock will open automatically.
10. With a Google Account
The Google account that you have can also be used to reset the pattern on your cellphone, especially if you are still using Android 4.4 or an older version.
If you want to know how to open a cellphone that forgot the password without resetting it using a Google account, let’s check out the steps below:
- Try unlocking your phone’s pattern several times until it says Forgot Pattern.
- Click on “Forgot Pattern”.
- Sign in to a Google account.
- Choose a PIN or create a new pattern after successful authentication.
11. With Factory Reset
If you have tried all the methods to open the Cellphone pattern that you forgot above and none of it works. The final solution is to reset the Cellphone to factory default, aka Factory Reset.
Be warned if you use this trick, all data will be deleted. It’s just that, this method is the most powerful way and can be done by anyone.
So, the process of entering Recovery Mode varies depending on the type and brand of your smartphone. To be more certain, you can browse according to the brand and type of cellphone used.
Or you can also follow the steps to do a Factory Reset below. Who knows according to the cellphone brand that you are using it might work!
- Turn off Cellphone.
- Turn it back on by pressing volume up + home + power button or volume up + power button simultaneously.
- Use the volume buttons to select the Wipe Data/Factory Reset option.
- Then press the power button to select it.
- Select Reboot system now and your smartphone is back in a new state again.
12. Using a USB
In addition to the method above, there are also other ways to easily unlock forgotten cellphone passwords from OPPO, Xiaomi, and other cellphones you know. The method is by using a USB cable.
However, this method will root your cellphone. So, before doing it, you have to put it into your consideration.
If you’re sure that you want to root your cellphone, just follow the tutorial on recovering an account using a USB below!
- Connect your cellphone to a laptop or PC using a USB cable first.
- Open the Command Prompt program, then type the CMD command ADB shell rm /data/system/gesture.key to enter the ADB installation directory (Android Debug Bridge, which is a tool for managing Android devices or Android emulators).
- Root the cell phone so that the password on the lock screen doesn’t work.
- If it has been rooted, immediately change your Cellphone password.
- After the password has been replaced, reboot a second time so that the cell phone returns to normal.
- Done!