Why isn't my lock password for my Android Device manager working?

[AC Question]

My lock password from android device manager will not work

I woke up and upgraded to 5.0 on my s5 and 1 hour later my lock screen changed to a pin instead of pattern. I have no clue what pin it is so I researched and discovered that I could use the Android Device Manager to ring, lock, or erase. I sure dont want to erase so I locked the device with a password. Only thing is the password will not work. I try it for 5 of the 10 able times then resend a new password which gives me 10 more attempts but it still says incorrect attempt every time. I have tried 4 digit pins and 4 letter words to no avail. I make the phone ring from ADM but it will not unlock.

What do I need to do?

 

[1_luannebutler12]

Yay, this is the only help I have found that actually worked. I didn't even register s5 with findmysamsung.com, but I had another phone that I used to have registered, took me a little while but I managed to log in, my newer phone was showing up as unregistered. Just registered it, then followed your prompts.
Very thankful.
Hopefully this helps others.

 

[Arklatex]

Thank you, thank you, thank you & also to Mr. Ashley for his answer! I had locked my samsung tablet and was not able to get it unlocked with the device manager, same story as everyone else. I tried doing the unlock through findmymobile and it worked! Saved me from hard reset.

 

[alec_aloo]

OK, THIS IS MY SUCCESS STORY. I had the worst problem out there, and I successfully managed to come out unscathed, with a special stroke of luck.

My problem:
Had simple swiping on lock screen on my LG nexus 5. My 3G was not working. Called up carrier guys. the jokers said that the settings were fine and I needed to switch off the phone, take the sim out -> switch on -> switch off -> re-insert sim card -> switch on. (yeah, no clue why!)

I did that, and next thing I know, its asked for a PIN. I had no clue what it was! Tried 5 times, asked me to wait for 30 seconds. Kept on trying all logical 4 digit pins I could, started making me wait for every 30 seconds. ADM was not working because...drumrolls...3G was not working in the first place! I hit a dead wall and wasnt really up for the hard reset stuff.

Solution part 1. Making Android Device Manager (ADM) work.

Frustrated fiddling with the locked phone, I had a eureka moment... the settings shortcut panel (the one you pull down by clicking on top bar) was accessible. I couldnt enter main settings listicle though. Tried connecting to a wifi on my laptop...asked for a password which the phone didnt allow me to enter... then I made the hotspot unsecured and tried connecting again, Voila!!! It got connected, and Android Device Manager worked!!! ADM located my phone, made it ring and apparently I could lock the phone first and unlock it! NOT.

Problem 2: ADM couldnt unlock the phone!

Whenever I entered a new lock password on ADM, it said "Google has verified that your phone is already locked so you don't need to enter the password". I was like wtf guys, I know there is a password, I cant remember it and that's exactly I want to reset it!

Solution part 2:
After spending some good couple of hours going through all the forums I saw a definite factory reset looming ahead. People were talking about bypassing the ADM by using findmymobile for samsung phones. Tried it. Didnt work.. of course I had a friggin LG nexus 5! I had almost given all hopes and decided to reset the phone when I saw a small logo near time in the top bar. It was an app called "avast anti-theft" that I had once installed and forgotten." Of course I had forgotten that pin too!

Went to avast anti-theft website, logged in through facebook and then LOCKED MY PHONE.
AND UNLOCKED IT.

VOILA!!! The phone opened! No PIN required. I quickly went to ADM and locked it from there and set a new password. Then on phone, went to settings-> change PIN... it asked me to enter original pin. I entered the new pin. IT WORKED!!!!

So, there I am, with an unlocked phone and a changed pin on a phone whose PIN I had forgotten, whose 3g was not working, a phone that wasn't samsung and ADM being its normal, ridiculous self that it is!

 

[ocean girl1]

phone lock count down

Hoping someone can help..I was at work today and went to a meeting came back to my desk an hour later, picked up my phone to use it and it was doing the count down for retrying password because it has been entered incorrectly nine times.. A coworker was nearby.. Before I assume she was trying to hack into my phone, does anyone know if this count down could show up by itself for no reason when the phone was ( or should have been) sitting facedown on my desk for an hour?

 

[tmbanks31]

I found a solution that worked!

Ok, I had my fingerprint lock stop working and my backup password would also not work. I went to Android Device Manager with my computer and locked my screen and no matter what password I used, nothing worked. So then I went to findmymobile.samsung.com (also with computer) and tried the Unlock My Device option, which it said it did because it changed the message on the screen. But there was never a place to enter that particular password either. There is also an option on the samsung site to Lock My Screen, so I thought I didnt have anything to lose so I did that and set a new pin, and what do you know - it worked!!!! As soon as I was in, I went back in and changed lock screen back to a pin instead of the fingerprint scanner. I will never use that again!! Hope this helps some of you!!

 

[Marlo2]

guys,I had the exact same problem with my Galaxy Note 5.it suddenly refused to recognise my fingerprints,then asked me to enter password that I couldn't remember and finally asked me to login via google,but failed to accept my CORRECT google password.

here is the solution :
just unlock it via findmymobile.samsung.com
you either need to already have an account there or just setup one.
you can simply unlock it via this service.

 

[Vadim Miron]

But how you have registered your locked device (by ADM) in your samsung account ? Thanks !

 

[laflynt]

Did you get an answer for this? My ADM is doing the same thing.

 

[Alan Hopf]

This worked for me. Thank you so much for this, you saved hundreds of pictures of my 2 year old and my family.
What you did here puts Google and AT&T to shame cause they were telling me I was going to have to do a reset and
it took me less than a minute to fix my phone after i found this. Thank you again.

This worked for me:
I was locked out of Samsung S5 after turning on the fingerprint scanner. Scanner didn't recognise or even ask for print. The screen locked and asked for a password I didn't remember/never set.
Went through Google device manger through my gmail account to unlock the phone.
Got ""Since Google has verified that a screen lock is already set, the password that you entered won't be needed." Or words to that effect.
Solution:
1- Went to 'findmymobile.samsung.com'
2- click 'find your id or password'
3- then I could put in my gmail/email account
4-Samsung site sent me a link to enter a new password for my Samsung account
5-the reset password email went to my gmail junk folder
6-clicked link in the email
7-put in new password
8-the device manager on 'findmymobile.samsung.com' opened
8-Clicked option to unlock my phone.
And unlock it did

(I don't remember ever having a Samsung account- I may have set one up on buying the phone as perhaps it was obligatory, like an Apple ID)
I didn't have wi-fi enabled, but I did have my SIM card in with network/4G on.

Hope this works for somebody
All the best

 

[SWNerd]

If it doesn't work for Lollipop on Motorola, what about KitKat? I'm having this problem on my 1st gen. Moto E. My carrier is Republic Wireless

 

[TiffCady]

SOLUTION!: Why isn't my lock password for my Android Device manager working? Reset passcode

SOLUTION? I lost my phone yesterday, so I locked my Note remotely from my PC using the Android Device Manager, which let me set a password - it did not indicate that only numbers should be used. I also set a message to be on my phones screen "If found call owner" and put in my phone #. When I found my phone, the unlock screen presented only option to enter a pin code with numbers. I had given a password to ADM with letters in it so could not unlock my phone. After googling it I tried all the solutions here, along with trying to reset the password using just 4 digit pin number, and always got the message "Google determined your phone is already locked so a new password isnt needed" and the new pin would not work, I tried it 5 or 6 times!!! All I did was enter a new pin though, I left the 2 fields to set a screen message and phone # of owner blank- I tried it Using different passcodes and nothing worked - I was so frustrated and did NOT want to factory reset!! The Samsung unlock did not work for me because even though I had a Samsung account my device was not listed on the web site, and my phone is locked so I cant go in and set that app p on my phone and had not done so previously.

I saw a post saying there is an option to reset from the locked phone screen but I noticed the I could not get back to that screen after trying to enter the pin a few times.

So I went back on my PC to ADM and entered a new passcode AS WELL AS a new screen message- and then it DID RESET THE PASSCODE and I was able to unlock my phone!!!

So the trick is in the ADM you should add a "Recovery Message" and then it will actually also update your PIN !!! (TIP: use a 4 digit numbered code! Also make the code users enter in ADM limited to a 4 digit numbered pin, so it works on the phone screen, DUH! (there is NO WAY to enter letters on the phones unlock screen!).


I hope this helps!

Google, you need to fix this glitch! Let users change the passcode from the ADM even if the phone is already locked- this is a big issue!

 

[belodion]

Re: My lock password from android device manager will not work

^ Thank you for sharing this and welcome as a new member.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[eduardonr]

This worked for me too

 

[NoApple4Reg]

This just happened to me and I am not sure how I got out of it without resetting my password... perhaps just luck. But here goes...

First off, my phone spontaneously forgot my passcode. I didn't think this was possible, but just out of the blue, the pattern I was using to unlock my phone for over a year just spontaneously stopped working! Naturally, I got locked out. (I upgraded to Lollipop on the S7 Galaxy about a week ago, so not yesterday!). I have to say I'm more disturbed by the fact that I have a better memory than my phone does, but I Google searched how to fix this problem and I got three options:
(1) Hard Reset your phone and lose all your data
(2) Use Samsung's "Find my phone" and reset your password -- this only works if your phone is registered
(3) Use Google's Android Device Manager (ADM) to lock/reset your password

I definitely decided to avoid (1) at all costs. I didn't know whether my phone was registered for (2), so I decided to try (3). Of note, my phone was registered the whole time so I could have tried (2) after all, but I didn't, so I'm not sure how that one works.

Just a little background on how I think ADM was designed:
It seems to be designed under the assumption that you are using it only when you lose your phone. So, if you think like that, it might help.
When you click on the lock/reset option, it prompts you to create a temporary password and also gives you the option to "Enter a message" and "Enter a Phone Number."
When you remotely lock your phone, it seems as though the only way to unlock it, is to pretend you found the phone and are attempting to contact that person who lost their phone. Now I'm not sure if I just got lucky, but this is literally what I did and I was able to avoid the factory reset.
1) In Google ADM, under the "Lock" option, I created and confirmed a new temporary password, and I entered another phone number (not the number of the locked cell). In this case, I used my work phone number.
2) When the lock screen on your cell phone shows up, it gives you the option to call the contact number you entered remotely. So, yes, I called my work phone from my locked cell phone.
3) When my work phone answered the call, somehow the lock screen was disabled.

Again, I have no idea if this always works this way, or if I just got "lucky." I put "lucky" in quotes because I'm not sure whether that's what you want to happen if your phone was actually lost and picked up by a stranger. I guess at that time, you'd just erase it remotely (which is also an option on Google ADM).

4) When the remote lock became disabled, my previous lock screen came up and I entered the SAME passcode I had entered before (when I was locked out) and it worked!

Since this post is supposed to be about Google's ADM, I'll refrain from the thoughts I have about how my phone forgets my passcode and then remembers it an hour later, but if anyone has any answers as to how that happens, I'm all ears.

As for Google ADM, I can only hope this helps.

Good luck!

 

[gtabme]

This feature used to work. I'm not sure what happened. Something must have changed in the devicemanager/lock web page. It should just send the password change request to the phone regardless it is lock or not. Please fix this Google. I too do not know the backup password to my Note 5. Since the Marshmallow update over the air, it forces me to use the backup password. I don't know it. I can use the phone feature in my car since it is connected through the Bluetooth. I can still use the Samsung Pay with my finger print... It won't use the my finger print to unlock the phone. I have 8 months of important pictures and documents on the phone. Please help. Just send the new password to the phone; don't verify that the screen is lock. This is how it use to work.

This did not work. I tried the 4 digit pin and and a message. It did send the message to the phone. But still displayed "Since Google has verified that a screen lock is already set, the password that you entered won't be needed."

 

[Hoyanani]

Aloha everyone, I have a Note 5 that used a fingerprint to unlock the screen. I let the battery run out and when I restarted the phone it asked my for my password which I thought I remembered... until I tried it and it didn't work. Thank you to everyone for their input. Very appreciated. Gave me hope. But I have tried all the different ways others have recommended and still no success. Here's what I've encountered (hopefully it lights a bulb for someone else in this predicament): 1) according to my Samsung Account my Note 5 is not registered (my old S3 is though) but I need to use my device to register and it's LOCKED!, 2) someone else said use ADM's phone number option (for another phone) and call that number from the LOCKED device which would unlock it but I can't call out of my phone which is weird because I can use my camera without unlocking the screen... the call icon is right there too so why can't I call out... can't do anything about it though because my phone is LOCKED, 3) went to my Google account but the "Unlock Device" feature someone said was there, I can't find anywhere, 4) another person recommended going to my Avast Anti-Theft account which I did... but my Note 5 isn't registered (weird) though my old S3 is and of course I can't register my Note 5 because it's LOCKED. I want to avoid a factory reset so I'm just gonna wait this out until Google gets this fixed. Maybe the next update will resolve this. Fortunately, my Note 5 still takes calls and I have a work cell phone as back up, albeit a much smaller and less sophisticated mini-S4.

 

[motoxlock]

Same problem with the Moto x

 

[Lusterblade]

Samsung S5- phone assigned pin by itself. I was able to unlock it by using Samsung findmymobile but can't get rid of the pin. Any ideas?

 

[kerappo]

Having similar problem with Sony Xperia Z3.

The user was changing the lock pattern when she got disturbed and as the result did not memorize the lock pattern. The phone stays locked.

Android Device Manager (ADM) does locate the device and can be used to "lock" (the already locked device). The message we want to show on the Z3 screen transfers fine to the phone. So does the "call the owner" - phone number. And it really calls the given number if we so want.

The only thing it does not do is to change the pattern lock to the PIN (four numbers) lock which we (try to) send with the ADM.

Unfortunately we had not activated any Sony-security / maintenance features on the phone. So when logging with the same google account the ADM accepts OK, the https://myxperia.sonymobile.com/ site does not find the phone and is not able to fix the situation.

So we clearly have the "right" to use the phone. The phone has "loads" of photos that have not been backed up.

Do we have any future hope of the ADM forcing the PIN to the phone? Instead of claiming, that the PIN is not needed... which (in our situation completely irritating) message is "false and poorly worded" since we really need that PIN to start using the phone! I would claim, that since we know the google account credentials we have proven to have the right to use this phone and to reset the PIN lock of the phone.

 

[Halloweeni]

I got the same issue but i found out the reason but i can't seem to fix it, the problem is that you made your lock password too long and on your device it won't allow more than 16-17 characters. I guess my device will be useless for a couple of days or even more.