galaxy note 4 asks for password when none was set up

[Android Central Question]

my fathers galaxy note 4 has just asked him for a password in order to be unlocked when he never set one up. nobody could have had access to the phone in order to make a password without his realising. he tells me (google alerted him to the fact that) somebody attempted to access his gmail account but to the best of my knowledge you cant set an android password via email.
is this a known bug of some kind? is there something malicious at play here.
any help would be much appreciated as a factory reset is obviously not preferable for him.
thank you

 

[mustang7757]

my fathers galaxy note 4 has just asked him for a password in order to be unlocked when he never set one up. nobody could have had access to the phone in order to make a password without his realising. he tells me (google alerted him to the fact that) somebody attempted to access his gmail account but to the best of my knowledge you cant set an android password via email.
is this a known bug of some kind? is there something malicious at play here.
any help would be much appreciated as a factory reset is obviously not preferable for him.
thank you

At some point someone added a password, now the only way around this is access your Google or Samsung account and follow the procedure , because even factory reset you'll need to enter your Google credentials to move past set up page .

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Can you show us a screenshot of his phone asking for the password? http://forums.androidcentral.com/ge...ide-how-post-screenshots-android-central.html. You'll have to register on this forum first. https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/409154-join-android-central-community.html

One thing to make sure of is that it's not some sort of phishing popup cleverly masquerading as a screen lock.