How to Unlock My Smartphone When I Forgot My Password?

There are several methods of getting back into your Android smartphone when you forget your pattern lock, though some will only work on newer or older versions of Android. Check them out below.

How to unlock Android phone password?

1. Use the Smart Lock function

Smart Lock function automatically unlocks the screen when a certain condition is met. For example, if the device is at your home or your other device is connected to it via Bluetooth.

You can use the function only if you have activated it in advance and have chosen the condition for unlocking. In that case, just follow it. For example, if you chose to unlock automatically when a trusted Bluetooth device is connected, turn on wireless on both. When the connection is made, the phone can be unlocked without entering a PIN, password, or key.

If Smart Lock has not been configured in advance or you cannot fulfill the specified condition, then this method is not suitable.

2. Bypass protection with a Google account

Some Android 4.4 and older devices allow you to unlock your screen using your Google account. Provided that the device is connected to the Internet.

To check if your smartphone supports this method, enter any password, PIN, or pattern five times. After five incorrect attempts to enter, the message "Forgot your password?" Should appear on the screen. or a similar tip. Click on it and enter the login and password from the Google account with which your device is synchronized.

After a successful login, the screen will unlock. If you also forgot your Google account password, try to restore access to it using a special company service.

3. Use the service from the smartphone manufacturer

Some brands offer additional unlocking tools to their device owners. For example, Samsung has a Find My Mobile service with which you can remove your pattern, PIN, password, and even your fingerprint. To do this, your device must be connected to a Samsung account, support the service, and be online.

To find out if similar services exist for your model, look for this information in the instructions or on the manufacturer's official website.

4. Reset the machine to factory settings

If other options do not work, it remains to restore the factory settings. This will result in the loss of all data that has not been backed up to your Google account and other cloud services. But you can remove the protection from the screen.

Turn off your smartphone and remove the memory card if it was inside. Then try these key combinations in turn until one of them works (you need to hold down the buttons for 10-15 seconds):

• volume down key + power button;
• volume up key + power button;
• volume down key + power button + home key;
• volume down key + volume up key + power button.

When the service menu appears on the display, select the Recovery item, and then the Wipe data (or Factory reset) command. If none of the key combinations work or you don't see the commands you want in the menu, look for the reset instructions for your device model.

After that, the smartphone should return to factory settings within a few minutes. The device can request a username and password from a previously connected Google account, but you no longer need to unlock the screen. After logging into the old account, the system will restore the settings and data synchronized with it.

How to unlock the iPhone password?

If you have forgotten your Apple smartphone password, you have only one way out - a factory reset. This procedure will unlock the screen, but it will also erase all data from the iPhone not saved on your PC or iCloud.

To reset, you need a USB cable, a Windows or macOS computer, and iTunes. If it is not installed, download it from the official Apple website. If your computer is running macOS Catalina or later, you need to use the Finder app instead of iTunes.

To reset, turn off your smartphone and follow the instructions for your model.

• If you have an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, or newer: while holding the side button, connect the device to the computer via a USB cable and do not release it until the recovery window appears.
• If you have an iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: while holding the volume down button, connect the device to the computer via a USB cable and do not release it until the recovery window appears.
• If you have an iPhone 6s or older model: while holding the Home button, connect the device to the computer via a USB cable, and do not release it until the recovery window appears.

When a dialog box appears on your computer display, click Repair and follow the prompts from iTunes or Finder. First, the system will return to factory settings, and then offer to restore the saved data. This will unlock the screen.

If the waiting time exceeds 15 minutes, the device will exit recovery mode. In this case, reconnect the smartphone to the computer by pressing the corresponding button again until the required window appears. Then click "Restore" again.