Have you ever forgotten your smartphone’s unlock PIN, pattern or password? Chances are that you have. When this happens, you tend to think that you’re out of options and that your smartphone will remain locked for God knows how long. But that’s not actually the case. Even if you’re not the typical tech-savvy user, you can follow any of the following three methods to unlock your android device.

Use the Android Device Manager

Google’s Android Device Manager service is probably your best bet to bypass your smartphone’s secured lockscreen. All you need to do use a computer or another smartphone is log in to the same Google account that your smartphone is registered in. You can directly access the service here.If you’re not able to access your smarpthone via the link above, refresh a couple of times. Device Manager makes at least 5 connection attempts.Click n the ‘Lock’ button, upon which you’ll be asked to key in a new password to replace your forgotten PIN or pattern. You’ll be asked to confirm your password and then click ‘Lock’ to submit. From here, it’ll take just a few minutes for the password change request to execute, and you should be able to access your smartphone via the new password.

Samsung’s ‘Find My Mobile’ tool

While Android Device Manager above works with all newer Android smartphone, ‘Find My Mobile’ tool is a rather specific fix that works on Samsung’s devices. Simply access this tool here from any web browser and you’ll be able to login to your Samsung account.Keep in mind that if you don’t have an existing Samsung account, this method will not work. Some mobile carriers such as Sprint tend to lock out this service.Once you’re logged in, click ‘Lock my screen’ button located on the left pane. You’ll be prompted to enter a new pin and then hit ‘Lock’ near the bottom of your screen. It just takes a minute or two for the password change to execute, after which you should be ready to go.

Use ‘Forgot Pattern’

Android smartphones running version 4.4 (KitKat) or later have a ‘Forgot Pattern’ feature that you can use to bypass your secured lockscreen and recover your device. Once you unsuccessfully try unlocking your device for 5 consecutive times, you’ll see a message saying ‘Try again in 30 seconds’. When this message is showing, tap the ‘Forgot Pattern’ button that appears somewhere near the bottom of the screen.When prompted to ‘Enter Google account details’, key in your primary Google account email and password. This done, Google simply sends you an email containing your lost pin, or you’ll be allowed to change it there and then.If none of these options work and you’re more concerned with accessing your device than you are about preserving your data, then you can upgrade to the nuclear option – performing a factory reset. Click here to learn more about how to do a factory reset.
Image Source: The Verge

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What's my model number?

There are several ways to locate your model number:

Option 1
On your device, go to Settings, then "About device" and scroll down to "Model number"
Option 2
Often times you can view the model number inside the device, by removing the battery
Option 3
Using Samsung's model/serial number location tool

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