Forgetting lockscreen security, such as Pattern, PIN, and Password is a common thing for many Android phone users. It is easy to recover lockscreen security if you have a Google account setup for the phone, but if you have forgotten your Google account password, or do not have a Google account setup for your phone to retrieve a new PIN, then the choice is either to bypass the security or format the phone from recovery.
In this guide shows you how to bypass lockscreen security, such as Pattern, PIN, Fingerprint, Password, Face unlock, etc. on Android phone. Thanks to the XDA user ‘Honestly Annoying’ for the simple trick. This method supports most phones that are running on Android 5.1 Lollipop or Android 6. 0.1 Marshmallow, however root access is required.
Since this method needs to execute ADB commands to bypass lockscreen security, it requires ADB debugging enabled on your phone or a custom recovery like TWRP installed on it. Also, you should have ADB and fasboot setup on your computer.
Note that the below commands only work with Android 5.0/5.1 Lollipop or Android 6.0/6.0.1 Marshmallow with root access. We are not responsible for anything that goes wrong. Issue commands carefully!
Contents
How to Bypass Lock Screen Security on Android?
1. Setup ADB and Fastboot on your computer (Refer this guide for instruction)
2. Connect your Android phone to your computer
3. Go to the ADB installation directory, open a command window from there and issue the following commands one-by-one.
adb devices
adb shell
cd data/system
rm locksettings.db
rm locksettings.db-shm
4. Once done, reboot your phone. After booting, the lockscreen security will be removed from your device.
Alternate Method to Bypass PIN, Pattern & Password on Android
The above method only works with Android 5 and Android 6. There are other methods to bypass the lock screen or PIN or Pattern lock on Android. However, it won’t work with phones running on Android 8 and later if encryption is enabled by default.
Use Find My Device service (Android 7 and lower versions):
If you forgot your pattern lock or PIN, you can use the Find My Device service to unlock your Android phone. Go to Find My Device website on your PC, login with your account, and click on the ‘Lock’ menu on the left pane. It will ask you to enter a new password. Type a new password and click on Lock.
Samsung Galaxy phones have a similar feature. Samsung’s ‘Find My Mobile’ service lets you bypass the lock screen on Galaxy phones. Go to Find My Mobile website on your PC and login with your Samsung account. Click on the ‘Lock my screen’ button, enter a new PIN, and then click Lock.
Delete Password file on your phone:
This method requires ADB and fastboot driver setup on your PC. Also, you should have previously enabled USB Debugging on the phone, and encryption is disabled. If everything OK, run the below command to delete the password file from your Android phone.
Connect the phone to PC via a USB cable, open a command window and type the below command:adb shell rm /data/system/gesture.key
Hit Enter key. Once the command is executed, restart your phone. The lock screen password should not be there. Keep in mind that you should setup a new PIN or Pattern before the next reboot.
Factory Reset via recovery:
This method won’t work on Android 8 and later versions if you don’t know your Google account connected with the phone. First, boot your phone into recovery mode using the Power and Volume button combination. Then use the ‘Wipe data/factory reset’ option reset the phone.
Method to Bypass Third-Party Lock Screen:
If you’re using a third-party app to lock your phone, then Android’s Safe Mode will help you bypass the lock screen. Boot your phone into Safe Mode, and then uninstall the third-part app or clear data of the app. Restart your phone, and you can set up a new PIN or pattern.
To boot your phone into Safe mode, press and hold the power button. When you see the Power Off option, leave the power button, and then long-press on the Power Off option. Tap on the OK option and wait for your phone to reboot.
