Samsung Galaxy Tab A locked and changed password

[SB375]

My daughters Samsung Galaxy Tab A has suddenly changed her lock screen pin number to a password which we do not know.   It asks for a password containing a minimum of 4 characters and one number, it previously was a pin with numbers only. 

It also won't allow us to turn the device off or restart without the password.  I have forced a reboot but can't see another way to turn the device off in order to do a factory re-set. 

Any ideas on how to fix?

Thanks. 

[Je655]

If you go to Samsungs find my phone it says they offer a way to unlock your device if you forget your pin or password

https://findmymobile.samsung.com

[SB375]

Unfortunately I think you have to be logged into your Samsung account on the device.  Just tried it anyway and it wouldn't work.  Would have been great if it did.  Thanks anyway. 

[adp2]

Thanks for this tip. It worked for my son's S7 tab too.

[Paxo80]

Je655 Helping Hand .....you're the best!

Hi everyone, might wanna give the link a try before going another route where you would have to delete stuff you don't really want to. (https://findmymobile.samsung.com).
Its basically just a matter of resetting your password without wiping anything.

[Je655]

And i think that tablet is vol up and power. If your unable to login to the Samsung account Try Restarting by holding down the Volume Up button then pressing the Power button until it restarts to the android boot menu. 

[Je655]

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@Je655 wrote:

And i think that tablet is vol up and power. If your unable to login to the Samsung account Try Restarting by holding down the Volume Up button then pressing the Power button until it restarts to the android boot menu. 

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If this also doesn't help, do you know if the device had any Samsung accounts or google accounts on it?

Google can erase the device remotely 

https://support.google.com/android/answer/6160491

[Netta87]

Hi there I have the exact same problem with my sons tablet, it is asking for pin number which contains 4 numbers it has not been changed since we purchased it which is less then a year ago and it will not let us restart or turn off I have tried using volume button and off button that is not working is there a solution.

[Anubis08]

Hello! I  had the same problem with my tablet, last night my tablet locked me out... I tried everything, but I found a solution first make sure your tablet is off then click the on/off button and the volume up button hold for about 10-15 seconds, then a screen will pop up then let go and it powered off, then it showed your password it should be fixed so type in your original password and then a tablet starting screen should pop up then after about 5-10 seconds you'll be logged in. I would recommend changing your password to a pattern password so the same issue doesn't happen again. Also this may not work on all tablets just mine is a newer version. 

[MilaTarter]

This worked for me! I had to wait until my tablet turned off for lack of battery, then put it to charge. When it was 100% I press the on/off button and the volume up for 15 sec simultaneously, a black screen showed up and then pressed the reboot system option. 

[bjamaica1]

I will try this method when my power is depleted on my tablet.

[bjamaica1]

My phone just did this last night and I have a tab A. I tried the power button volume up button method and it did not work.

[knookie]

This video helped me when I couldn't even restart the device (Tab A):-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRe3BK1YMus

[michaelugm]

i just solved my Tab A (2019) similar problems, thanks to the video mentioned above. 
my battery was still 90% but it is fine.

1) double tab to get the lock screen lit up, do not enter PIN or pattern
2) press Volume Down + Start button to force shutdown
3) reboot it (i was waiting for the Recovery screen by pressing Volume Up + Start button)
4) but it entered straight into boot up mode and i can see my home wallpaper
5) for some unknown reason, my orignial PIN works again
6) i immediately deleted the PIN to prevent future "surprises"

[bjamaica1]

My phone rebooted and then went right back to the screen asking for a password. 😟

[bjamaica1]

Okay I tried it again a few minutes later and it worked. Thank you so much for this advice.

[GentyP]

Thank you so much for posting this. It worked, and my daughter didn't lose any of her info. I was waiting for the tablets battery to die and then I was going to do a factory reset, but im glad I did a little more research and found your comment. Thank you a million times.

[Cloud9Bullies]

This is the ONLY thing that worked THANK YOU 

[Members_pDxFZbO]

It would be Friday the 13th and my Tab A locked itself but thanks to Michael above got it back, Phew!

Cheers, Stinky Pete

[Simon88]

Same problem has happened twice for me now, find my mobile failed to unlock the device remotely. first time 3 months ago I had to do a factory reset. This time found the workaround shown here and go back in PIN worked once I managed to reboot, but changed to a pattern straight away.

This is obviously happening to a lot of people are Samsung doing anything about this at all? When a tried to get support the first time was told to take it to the store I bought it from or a service centre miles away! 

[Cloud9Bullies]

I called Samsung and the rep was unaware of the problem. She escalated my ticket to higher techs after she Google and saw the many other complaints. I know they're aware what they will do idk