If you are looking for a way to bypass secure lockscreen on Android devices, here’s the good news for you: there are several methods you could give a try. There are times when you might accidentally forget the password or PIN of your secure Android lockscreen. In such scenarios, one might wonder if they are locked out of their phones forever. But that is not the case. There are a few hacks to bypass the lock screen on Android.

Depending on the Android device you are using and the Android version it is running, there are actually more than half a dozen ways you could try to bypass Android secure lockscreen. We have laid out all of them in detail in the below guide.

1. Google’s ‘Find My Device’ service

Find my device works best on most Android devices. ‘Find My Device’ is Google’s own device locating service which is built to locate your device if it is lost. But it can be used in a few other ways too. As long as you have logged into your Google account on your Android device, it can easily be accessed from the Google Find My Device website.

1. Login to the Find My Device website on a computer.
2. The service will try to locate your device. Sometimes, it may take up to 5 tries to get it located. Keep clicking the refresh button.
3. Once the device is located, click on the ‘Lock’ button.
4. You will be asked to enter the new password; enter the same.
5. Done.

Please note that it may take up to 10 minutes for the password to sync up on your device; be patient. After the password is synced, you can enter the password you entered on the website to unlock your Android device.

Recommended for: Devices running Android 7.1.1 Nougat and below.

2. Samsung’s ‘Find My Mobile’ service

If you have a Samsung device, then I would strongly recommend you start with Samsung’s own ‘Find My Mobile’ service. Please note that this method requires an active Samsung account to work. If you do not have a Samsung account or have not logged with your Samsung account on your Samsung device, you will not be able to use this method.

1. Login to Samsung Find My Mobile Website using your Samsung account.
2. Once you have logged in to your account, simply click on the ‘Lock my screen’ button.
3. In the top, enter the new PIN which you want to set and click on the ‘LOCK’ button at the bottom.
4. Wait for a couple of minutes for the PIN to sync to your device.
5. Done.

Now you can use this PIN to unlock your Samsung device.

Recommended for: Samsung Galaxy Android devices.

3. ‘Forgot Pattern’ Feature

If your device is running Android 4.4 or below, you might want to give the ‘Forgot Pattern’ feature that comes built-in with your Android device. After you have wrongly entered your pattern for 5 times, you will be shown a prompt to try again 30 seconds. Close the popup and now you should see a ‘Forgot Pattern’ button. This is what we are going to use in this method.

1. Tap on the ‘Forgot Pattern’ button on your lockscreen.
2. You will be asked to provide your Google account credentials. Provide them; it’s safe. Note: If you have more than one Google account on the device, provide the details of the one you are using primarily.
3. Click on the ‘Sign in’ button after entering the details.
4. Once your details are successfully verified, you will be asked to draw a new pattern.
5. Done!

Now, you can use the new pattern you had just entered to unlock your device.

Recommended for: Devices running Android 4.4 and below.

4. Delete ‘Password File’ using ADB

There are a couple of requirements if you want to use this method:

• You must have USB Debugging Enabled on your device.
• The computer you are using must already be authorized to access your phone using ADB.
• Your device should not be encrypted.

If you tick all the boxes above, then follow the below steps:

1. Connect your Android device to your PC via USB Cable.
2. Go to the folder where ADB and Fastboot drivers are installed on your computer.
3. Open a command prompt from inside this folder. To do this: Hold down Shift Key and Right-click on the empty space inside the folder and then select ‘Open command window here‘ or ‘Open PowerShell window here‘.
4. In the command prompt, execute the following command:

   adb shell rm /data/system/gesture.key

5. Reboot your Android device.

Once your device reboots, you will not be asked for a PIN or passcode. Please note that this is temporary. Make sure to set a password or PIN before the next reboot.

Recommended for: Android devices with encryption disabled.

5. Crash the Lock Screen UI

If your device is running on Android 5.0-5.1.1 Lollipop and also has encryption enabled, you could give this method a shot. Although, please be reminded that this method will only work on devices with this specific set of requirements.

1. Tap on the ‘Emergency Call’ option on your lockscreen.
2. Use the dialer to enter 10 asterisks (*).
3. Double-tap the asterisks to select them and tap on ‘Copy’.
4. Then paste copied text in the same place to double the number of asterisks.
5. Repeat this process until you are no longer able to double-tap and select the texts.
6. Next, go to the lock screen and tap on the camera shortcut.
7. Inside the camera, pull down the notification shade and tap on the settings icon.
8. Long-press the text field and tap on the “Paste” option.
9. Repeat this process until you are unable to paste any more content.
10. Eventually, the lock screen UI will crash unable to handle the text entered.

Voila! You should now be able to get inside your Android device.

Recommended for: Devices running Android 5.0-5.1.1 Lollipop.

6. Boot into Safe Mode

If you had used a 3rd party app to set up a lock screen for your Android device, then this method should work for you.

How does this work? Android Safe Mode disables most of the 3rd Party apps by default. So, when you reboot your device into safe mode, the 3rd party which you used to set a lock screen will also be disabled.

1. Reboot your device into safe mode. Note: The steps to do this varies from device to device. Google is your friend!
2. Go to Settings > Apps.
3. Look for the app which you had used to set the lock screen.
4. Wipe the data/cache of the app.
5. Reboot.

Once your reboot, you will not be asked for a password from the 3rd party app anymore.

Recommended for: Android devices with 3rd Party Lock Screen.

7. Factory Reset your Device

If you have come this far, then you have exhausted pretty much all your options. The only way to go is to reset your Android device via recovery. Please note that using this method will wipe out all the data on your Android device. The only upside is that you will get to use your phone albeit without any data.

1. Reboot your device into Recovery mode. Note: The steps to do this varies from device to device. Google is your friend!
2. Find the option to format/factory reset your device and select it.
3. Confirm the same if you are asked to.
4. Wait for the process to complete.
5. Reboot your device.

Recommended for: Not recommended. But hey, you have no other go! ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Do let us know which method worked out for you in the comments below. Also do let us know if we have missed any hacks to bypass Android lock screen secured by a PIN or password.