Android phones are widely used by users all around the world. In fact, Android users make up approximately 72%, whereas the rest are mostly iOS users. Since android phones are distributed by different brands like Samsung, LG, and OnePlus, the price and the quality of the phones vary from phone to phone. Thus, a low-end Android phone would be more prone to damage in comparison to a high-end one. If a user damages their phone to the point that they are unable to unlock it, there are still different ways to unlock the phone without losing the data.
4 Methods to Unlock Android without Data Loss
Unlocking an Android phone is quite different from an iPhone. There are different methods of unlocking which would wipe the data that will reset the phone to the factory settings, which will be covered at the end of this blog. Fortunately, unlocking the phone without losing the data is doable. The four methods to unlock an Android phone is as follows:
Samsung Galaxy Phones
This method is only applicable to Samsung Galaxy phones. A Samsung Galaxy phone is connected remotely to the Samsung find my mobile website. The webpage would require the credentials which were used to sign up with that particular phone. Then, after logging in the following screen will appear and on the bottom left, there is an option to unlock. However, the unlock option will only appear if it is enabled on the phone’s developer options. In this case, the pattern is still required. Without the pattern, the screen cannot be used.
Android Studio
This method requires you to use Android Studio to force the phone to unlock. You will first be required to download the Android Studio software and the google USB drivers which can be installed from the phone’s website. The next step is to run a few commands on a Windows computer. Please type in the following commands:
- Cd C:/android/platform-tools
- ADB device
- ADB shell input text 1234 [replace with actual password]
- shell input key event 66
Mouse
This method requires two pieces of hardware which are a wired mouse and a USB adapter which usually comes with the phone. This would give access to the screen and then the user can simply navigate to unlock the phone with a mouse. If the mouse is not recognized by the phone, it is recommended that the user try a different mouse or mice.
Inputting Digits
If the screen is accessible but the user does not remember the passcode or pin, inputting certain numbers can unlock the phone. This can be done through emergency calls. First, you can type in 618341*#*#*58461*#*#*4856, then press call and wait for up to a 10-seconds wait. Then, enter a new set of digits which is *#*#*65356249418*#*#. Similar to previous digits, up to a 10-second wait is expected after calling. The third set of numbers is *313*18131*92826#. After another 10 second wait time, entering the pin 9860 thrice would unlock the phone. Please note that there will be a 30-second wait each time the pin is entered.
Unlocking Android by Wiping the Data
If all else fails, you can consider wiping the data to unlock the phone. The easiest approach is to boot the phone to recovery mode, which can be obtained by turning off the phone and then starting the recovery mode. The recovery mode settings are different for every phone but it is usually pressing and holding the power button and the volume down button. The recovery mode would appear differently for every different brand but it generally appears similar to the below image.
The next step is navigating the recovery mode. Normally, it cannot be done via touch screen, so it requires the usage of the volume up or down button to go up and down and the power button to select. Finally, the user can choose the factory settings which will completely wipe the data and, thus, unlock the phone in the process.
If somehow the screen is not accessible, a third-party application can be installed. There are numerous applications like Dr.Fone and PhoneRescue that can unlock the phone. These applications require that the phone be connected to a computer then the option to wipe the data can be selected. These applications sometimes also provide an option to unlock the phone but the process can be a little expensive.
