Forgot the Lock Screen patterns or Password for YourAndroid Device? Here's How to Reset It

Portable Electronics Expert
For owners of smartphones or tablets with
fingerprint scanners, the ability to access your
phone with a simple touch or swipe of your finger
is a wonderful convenience.

Then again, they also
make it easier to forget your password or PIN
number. It’s an oversight that could be quite
problematic should your phone or tablet suddenly
require your PIN number at its lock screen for
some reason. This happened to me recently while
reviewing a Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, for
example, causing me to get stuck on the lock
screen while being allowed just nine attempts to
guess my password. Ruh-roh.
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If you own an Android device, don’t despair. As
long as it’s linked to a Google account of yours —
which it very well likely is given how it’s pretty
much a necessary part of the Android experience
— you likely can reset your PIN or password
remotely via the web browser or app version of
Android Device Manager. Here are the steps you
need to take to reset your PIN or password
remotely so you can access your Android phone
or tablet again.
.
Step 1: First, you’ll want to make sure your that
your locked phone or tablet is on. See, Android
Device Manager needs either a mobile or Wi-Fi
signal emanating from your locked device in order
to communicate with it. Now, if you locked
yourself out while it’s on Airplane Mode, well, I’m
not sure what to tell you.
.
Step 2: Launch Android Device Manager via an
app on another device or by typing “android
device manager” on the search box of your web
browser and going to its site. The actual web
address is https://www.google.com/android/
devicemanager. Make sure you log on with the
Google account associated with your locked
device.
.
Step 3: Once you’re on Android Device Manager,
you’ll bring up essentially the same screen
regardless of whether you’re on a browser or app.
This screen includes a map as well as a box that
shows the devices associated with your Google
account. If you have more than one device
associated, just look for the specific one that got
locked. If it’s not the first device shown, just tap
the device name on the screen to bring up a
menu of all devices connected to your account.
Tap on the correct one.
.
Step 4: With the correct device highlighted, you
now have a few options. You’ll see “Ring,”
“Lock,” and “Erase.” Ring is used for locating your
phone if you misplaced it somewhere in your
house. Erase is for phones that you lost outside
your house and you want to do a factory reset to
make sure whoever finds it can’t access your
personal stuff. For folks who forgot their lock
screen passwords, however, tapping on “Lock” is
the way to go. This will launch a screen that
allows you to change the lock screen PIN for your
device. Enter your new PIN and wait until you get
a prompt that says Android Manager has sent the
the info about the change to your phone.
.
Step 5: Bring up the lock screen of your locked
device once again and you will now have an
option to enter your new pin (sometimes, it might
take a minute or so for it to pop out). Enter the
pin and voila, your device should now be
unlocked.
.
Step 6: Do cartwheels.
.
Seriously, though, there will be times when things
won’t go smoothly. Sometimes, you might get a
message that says “Location unavailable” and
you’ll need to do the scan again a few times. The
process also may not work if you have location
services turned off for your device or made it
hidden via Google Play. To ensure full
compatibility with Android Device Manager in the
future in case of emergency, the easiest way is to
download the “Google Settings” app, tap on
“Security,” and turn on the check marks for
remotely locating the device and allowing remote
lock and erase.
For more tips and features about mobile devices
check our Android articles or visit the Tablet and
Smartphone hub
.