How to overcome a forgotten Android passcode

Getting locked out of your own smartphone can be frustrating. Is it my name of my first pet? Or an anniversary date? If you try it all and nothing work, you’ll likely get yourself locked out of your phone after a few attempts. Thankfully, Google provides a tried and trusted tool that will give you access to your Android device once again, provided that you have an email attached to your device. And it works irrespective of whether you’ve enabled a pin, pattern or password. 

Step 1: Using a computer, open your browser and do a web search for ‘Android Device Manager’. You can also directly key in this website. If you have an additional smartphone, then you can download the Android Device Manager app on that one to get started.

Step 2: On the app, log in using your email account and password that is associated with your locked smartphone.

Step 3: You will now see the list of Android devices that are currently linked to your account. After you have picked the relevant device, you will see three options beneath your device's name: Ring, Lock, and Erase. From here, Click on Lock and then enter a new temporary password which you will use to bypass the old passcode on your smartphone. You will then need to click on the Lock located at the bottom right corner of the window.

Step 4: If the last step was successful, you will now see your smartphone will turn black. Simply enter the new password and unlock your device. Note that you may have to wait up to five minutes for the new password to take effect. You will also have to set a new permanent passcode once you have access to your reset smartphone.