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Unlock Pattern Not Working/Forgot Pattern

(Topic created on: 19-12-2020 08:42 PM)
5976 Views
RobertLogia
Apprentice
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I have a Galaxy S8 that turned off because the battery died.

 

I charged it up and started the phone. 

 

I put my Unlock pattern in. It didn't work.

 

I tried again and again. It didn't work. 

 

I tried multiple times, with variations of the pattern, because I started thinking I had actually forgot the pattern.

 

None of that worked. And now I'm not even sure I know the pattern anymore. Now I have to wait 16 minutes between tries!

 

I am locked out of my phone. It has data on there I CAN NOT lose. I've restarted, tried safe mode, wiped the cache, tried Find My Mobile Unlock function and it says "something went wrong." I've tried Google's Find My Device, and there is no Unlock option. I must not have Remote Unlock or USB Debugging turned on because all the methods I tried that mention that don't work.

 

I have seen that new and older phones both have a "forgot pattern" option after multiple tries, but god forbid that the s8 with android 9 allows that. I am absolutely livid about this situation. I have all the information I need to prove this is my phone, that I use it, and would love the ability to unlock it with any of the other options like a pin, account password, biometrics, or simply work with a support agent who can unlock it for me after verifying my identity, but no, that's not possible, at least from what I've been able to find.

 

I really need help finding the right information or team to help me with this. It is absolutely ridiculous that there are no other options readily or clearly available.

8 REPLIES 8
Dunkel
Pioneer
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it's possible that your device has strong protection enabled, this encrypts your data with your unlock method, if you can't remember your pattern it can't decrypt stuff and start the device fully.
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IamJai
Helping Hand
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What One Ui is it on
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RobertLogia
Apprentice
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It's an S8, so I believe those only got up to Android 9 and the first version of One UI.

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IamJai
Helping Hand
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Try updating it my dads s8 is on One Ui 2.0
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RobertLogia
Apprentice
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What does updating the UI have to do with the lock pattern issue I mentioned? Also, I can't update it since I can't get past the lock screen.

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IamJai
Helping Hand
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Try a force restart or force update it via a laptop
if you have backed up your data then try getting rid of the pattern
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RobertLogia
Apprentice
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Thanks for trying to help. Wasn't able to do any of this since it was locked down so well. Instead I used an Android emulator for PC to check for cloud backups in the apps with the data I needed to keep (didn't have another Android device to use). Luckily most everything I needed had cloud backups. Lost a few voice recordings, but I was able to use Samsung's "find my mobile" device back up options to backup settings, call logs, apps, home screen layout, and messages. I then factory reset (the only option I had at this point), used the Samsung and google restore tools, and logged back into everything which also allowed me to use cloud backups from individual apps. I have to go through and set up all my authenticator apps again.

 

Long story short, my only option was to factory reset, I used another Android device/emulator to check cloud backups before resetting, and was lucky that I had most everything I needed backed up to the cloud. It was a huge pain in the ass, and now I have to take extra time to plan for potential issues like this in the future and make sure my settings let me do what I need to do. I understand this level of security is great in the case you phone is stolen, but when something like this happens and I have everything I need to prove it's mine, there really should be a way Samsung and/or Google can help so people don't have to risk loosing things.

IamJai
Helping Hand
Options
Next time use a fingerprint or Face ID
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