Android phone locked and the original google password lost. Is a hard reset ...

SeduLOUs

grumbler wrote: »

I am no expert. What other people say is:

I'm no expert either, but that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I regularly change my passwords to keep my accounts secure. I have absolutely no idea what password I originally set my Google Play account up on my phone with!

Realistically though, if that's the case, it looks like a full reset may be in order. I know you don't want to do this, but what is it that you are potentially afraid of 'losing'? Perhaps it isn't as bad as you think?

I could factory reset my phone tomorrow without any worry of losing anything of value as app purchases etc are tied to account, all contacts are stored in Gmail and all photos are auto backed up to Google Drive. The only thing I couldn't recover are text message threads which aren't important to me personally.

ste_wilko

You do not need the original password, it's just written badly.

As long as you know what the correct account address is, just reset the password for it and then input the details into the phone and it will unlock. 100% guaranteed. This happened to someone I work with just the other week and they couldn't remember the password as they literally only used it to set the handset up and for the play store

sillygoose

Rusty! wrote: »

Yes, it replaces the lockscreen with a password one (or so it says, I've never needed to test it).

I do it regularly to my kids tablets via android device manager, sometimes to unlock if they set a lock I don't know and want to check up on them.

Sometimes I remote change the lock code to something they don't know and you can even set an on screen message 'such as tablet banned until homework is done!' in my case...

There is of course one catch and that is the device needs to have an active internet connection either mobile data or wifi for it to work, and it can take quite a while for the command to migrate to the device so you have to be patient.

ste_wilko

sillygoose wrote: »

I do it regularly to my kids tablets via android device manager, sometimes to unlock if they set a lock I don't know and want to check up on them.

Sometimes I remote change the lock code to something they don't know and you can even set an on screen message 'such as tablet banned until homework is done!' in my case...

There is of course one catch and that is the device needs to have an active internet connection either mobile data or wifi for it to work, and it can take quite a while for the command to migrate to the device so you have to be patient.

Presumably you already need to have access to the handset to put this app on though, something the OP doesn't have right now..............

Rusty!

Nope, it's built in functionality.

Silk

Rusty! wrote: »

Nope, it's built in functionality.

It has to have been enabled on the phone first though doesn't it ?

grumbler

Silk wrote: »

It has to have been enabled on the phone first though doesn't it ?

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3265955?hl=en

Before you can use Android Device Manager, you have to enable it on your device

However, I have never enabled it in my device, but I just tried and was able to login and I see two options: "Ring" and "Setup Lock & Erase". "Ring" does work.

I don't see yet how this can help my friend.

sillygoose

Silk wrote: »

It has to have been enabled on the phone first though doesn't it ?

Actually I think you may be right, its usually under the Google settings. come to think of it I don't think it defaults to on. I always activate it as part of the initial device setup.. quite possibly not in this case

sillygoose

grumbler wrote: »

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3265955?hl=en
However, I have never enabled it in my device, but I just tried and was able to login and see two options: "Ring" and "Setup Lock & Erase".

I don't see yet how this can help my friend.

If you send a lock to the device it will ask you a pass code to send. Any other lock such as a pattern or code will be replaced with the one you send so you can get in as obviously you know the new lock code you sent.

grumbler

Can you explain it in more detail so that I can pass it to my friend?
How do I "send a lock"?