How To Unlock Your Android Phone If Your Forgot Your Pin

Passwords and pins are essential in today's society as it keeps your vital personal details safe from unwanted hands. However, while using this invaluable method to guard your digital identity, it's not uncommon to forget your device's password, thereby locking you out of your smartphone.

In fact, studies reveal that 75% of people forget their passwords, thereby
requiring a reset. Fortunately, regaining access to your Android device isn't
tricky, as this article will present you with a step-by-step guide to rectify
this issue. Let's begin.

1. Use Smart Unlock

Smart Lock grants you the liberty to pair your smartphone with other
gadgets, allowing it to stay unlocked when in the vicinity of these machines.
Therefore, if you have this feature activated, you can bring your smartphone near these devices and unlock it by wireless connection.

For example, if you own a Bluetooth speaker, you can initiate a connection between your smartphone and that device, thereby granting your access to your Android.

Below is a guide on how to unlock your Android via Smart Lock:

Step 1: Locate a device that's trusted by your phone
Step 2: Activate its wireless connectivity
Step 3: Connect your Smartphone with the device through the notification bar
Step 4: wait for your phone to unlock automatically

*Note: Ensure no one uses this method to gain access to your device.

2. Perform a Hard Reset

Performing a factory reset is often the go-to remedy whenever your phone encounters a tricky problem; however, a Hard Reset is more ideal whenever you can't get access to your device settings.

It's also worth noting that although you will regain access to your beloved smartphone, performing a Hard Reset will erase all stored files in your device storage. Therefore, ensure you have a backup of all essential files before executing the steps below.

Nevertheless, here's how to perform a Hard Reset and regain access to your phone:

Step 1: Power off your phone
Step 2: press either the volume up or down key (depending on your device) along with the power button
Step 3: hold these buttons until a screen with options appear
Step 4: Navigate the options with the volume buttons
Step 5: Highlight "Factory Reset" and click the power button to select
Step 6: wait for your device to finish formatting and display your home screen

*Note: The steps to perform a Hard Reset varies from devices

3. Unlock with Android Device Manager

Android phones come with a feature called Android Device Manager, and this program is linked to your Google account upon activation. To assess this feature after locking your smartphone, ensure your gadget's GPS is active, as well as having a stable connection to the internet.

Both factors will help Google locate and connect to the device, allowing you to log in to your account and begin the process.

Below are the steps to rectify your password problems with this method:

Step 1: Open your browser on a laptop or secondary phone
Step 2: Sign in to your google account
Step 3: click the "Android Device Manager" icon
Step 4: unlock your desired Android device by creating a new password for the phone
Step 5: once the confirmation icon appears, select the lock option
Step 6: Open your phone with the newly created password

4. Forgot pattern

Trying what you think is your password and getting an error message might make you panic, but don't worry, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Currently, Android devices pop up a "Forgot pattern" message, failing to insert the correct pattern beyond five times.

To use this feature, below are the steps:

Step 1: enter the incorrect pattern five consecutive times
Step 2: Click the "Forgot Password" icon at the bottom of your screen
Step 3: sign in to your Google account and watch your device unlock
Step 4: create a new password

*Note: This method only works for devices operating
Android 4.4 or lower.

5. Third-Party Tools

Another practical method is installing third-party software on your computer or a different phone to help you reset your locked device's password. One of such software is Dr. Fone, and below is a step-by-step process on using the application.

Step 1: Install Dr. Fone on your computer.
Step 2: select "Screen Unlock" after launching the program
Step 3: switch off your device
Step 4: hold the volume and power buttons down
Step 5: initiate download mode with the volume buttons
Step 6: Download the recovery package
Step 7: wait for the unlock process to begin
Step 8: proceed to use your phone once the download recovery package is complete.

This method is recommended as it removes the need to erase your saved files during a factory reset.

How to prevent getting locked out of your device

These methods are guaranteed to grant you access to your phone again; however, although the possibility of losing your PIN is low, it is never zero. For this reason, this section will present tips to help you remember your Android password in the future.

These recommendations are:

Write down your password in a safe place that only you can access
Ensure to choose a memorable password but not something easy like your birthday
Keep your device signed in to Google and have Smart Lock enabled always
Keep your Android data backed up in the cloud in case you need to perform a factory reset.

Conclusion

So there you have it, the top five methods to unlock your Android device for whatever you lose your pin. While most of these tips are easy to implement, it's best to refrain from anything too technical to avoid complicating issues.

Consider seeing an expert rectify your problem if you aren't confident in your ability to follow these instructions.