What to do if you're locked out of your Android phone

If you’ve forgotten the PIN or password for your Android phone, we can show you a couple of ways you might be able to get back into it.

If your phone is offline when you send the command, it’ll keep trying for up to 24 hours. As soon as your phone goes online, the lock screen change is pushed to the phone, and it updates immediately.

If your phone’s on and connected to the internet, the lock screen will change, and you’ll need to use your new passcode to unlock it. If not, Google will try to push the update through to your phone for up to 24 hours.

If you can’t use either of these methods to unlock your phone, you’ll have to reset it. Most Android phones use a series of button presses to force a reset - the manufacturer’s support site will help you get it done.

If the phone was reset with your Google account still on it (often the case if you reset using the buttons), Factory Reset Protection stops the phone being set up again unless your Google username and password are typed in, so make sure you know the details before you go ahead. If you had more than one Google account on your phone, use any of them to remove the protection.

If you’re not sure which Google account you used on your phone, log into Android Device Manager to see which phones are linked to your account. If you’ve got more than one Google account, you might have to try each one until you see your phone listed, then use that account to sign back into the phone and set it up again.

Hopefully, that's helped you get back in to your Android phone. If you'd like help with anything else, you can contact one of our Team Knowhow experts here.