[Android Central Question]

One of the forums says to start by turning off my device which is a catch 22 as it won't let me shut down the phone without the 'unlock code'

[SpookDroid]

If it's a Samsung phone and you did't disable it, you can try to remotely unlock it at Samsung's FindMyMobile site. Unfortunately if you set up the phone to lock power states and settings, you won't be able to change settings like WiFi or BT state and won't be able to turn off/reboot the device unless the right credentials to unlock are provided.