The correct pattern lock is not working, Samsung engineer solutions?

[Members_i75Tr63]

Aside from the obvious factory reset (and noting that Findmyphone does not have an unlock feature anymore), does anyone know if it's possible to book an appointment with a Samsung engineer in a physical shop and have them unlock the phone without a data/factory reset?

I have all proof of purchase and ownership but no other methods of unlocking, the pattern decided to stop working just minutes after it was previously successful. I use it dozens of times a day.

I have tried soft-reset, safe mode, nothing makes the pattern work so far. 

[Windroid]

Not that i did that before, but you can try this
https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/?msockid=325015c7e4ea67a5109c008be5f16601Product Help & Support |...

After they try to solve it remotely, eventually then offer you a physical support too.

[arianwen27]

I believe the most Samsung can do is wipe it to clear the code. If you fully locked yourself out, Samsung can reset it and remove activation locks if say you cant login to yout google or samsung account. But I don't believe they can remove the code and keep the data. If they could, that'd be a security flaw and backdoor... It could be that your touchscreen isn't working correctly, so the buttons you press are being read wrong. You could try a usb mouse connected to yout phone

[Members_i75Tr63]

That's what I thought about the backdoor flaw that would arise, understood.

I'm curious how the Unlock feature worked in Findmymobile as if that was still live this wouldn't be an issue, surely the method is still coded into the system?

It appears rather difficult to book a repair as it ends with giving directions to a manual factory reset, I just want a final word that a Samsung employee cannot bypass the pattern via a USB or internal system when the Samsung account is fully active and purchases receipts etc are in hand. 

[RyanD2]

Hey there, @Members_i75Tr63. 

Whilst we'd be unable to remove the pattern without wiping your data, you can try to reset it yourself through Android Recovery Menu. Guidance on how to do this can be found on the below: 

1.Switch off the device. If your device is locked, in order to power down your device you will be asked to enter your PIN, password or pattern. If you don't remember your PIN, password or pattern, your device will switch off when it runs out of battery. 

2.Plug your phone in to a computer via a USB cable.

3.Open the recovery menu using the buttons on your device. The button combination required to open the recovery menu differs depending on your device. For your device, you'd need to press and hold your Power and Volume Up Buttons at the same time, for  10-15 seconds.

4.Once the recovery menu has opened on your device, use the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons to select Delete all user data or Wipe data/factory reset, then press the Power button to select.

5.Use the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons to select Yes, Yes – delete all user data or Factory data reset. Press the Power button to select.

6.Your device will process the factory reset. Once complete you will see "Data wipe complete" at the bottom of the screen. Press the Power button to select Reboot system now.

Please note, once it has turned back on after the reset, you'd need to enter your Google details that were first linked to the device. If you're unable to remember or enter those details, then a repair may be required. 

Let me know how you get on with these steps. 

Kind Regards, 

RyanD2

[Members_i75Tr63]

Thank you, I've read this guide before.. was hoping it wouldn't come to that.

May I ask, is it technically possible for the pattern and/or PIN security to stop working for no apparent reason - either software glitch or random conflict somewhere?
I would bet my life on the pattern being correct, it's been the same for 2 years and used daily. Seeing some others face a similar issue you cannot be certain if it's user-error or not but it seems to be more common than I'd like to believe.

[RyanD2]

Ah, I see. 

It's not something that I've ever seen before, to be completely honest with you. However, does your touchscreen seem to be working correctly? 

Thanks, 

RyanD2

[Members_i75Tr63]

No issues with the screen, no noticable damage.

I've even started using very minor variations of my pattern as a last ditch attempt to see if I'm the one in the wrong and noticed my invalid attempts timer which was at 8 hours went to exactly "3 hours 1 minute" after another fail, then the following attempt jumped to 24 hours. Peculiar change of timing I cannot find an answer for.

Samsung have made this process ultimately so restrictive, especially with no engineer help available it's starting to put me off the brand. Perhaps it's a industry wide thing now.

[Hoffa]

It is probably not you phone. Now I have this problem and when I try to restore the google backup of the affected phone on another phone it fails due to google requesting me to enter the unlock pattern from my old phone and then not accepting the pattern I know is correct since I had it for a long time.  This is an unacceptable data loss! (Seems like Samsung phones can just randomly "change" the unlock pattern and then user is screwed since even google backups can not be restored as they are encrypted with what ever the phone thinks the unlock pattern is)

[Hoffa]

Check my reply to i75Tr63 (the message above this one) it is clearly not a hardware fault that causes this.