[AC Question]

I forgot my password on my phone yesterday, so today, after reading many articles and trying to find out how to get around it, I decided to reset my Samsung s5 to factory settings. In the middle of the setting up process, I was redirected to a separate page asking me to log in to the previous account I had before I abnormally reset the phone. Since I never made one, I am now stuck on that screen. Is there a way for me to bypass it or reset my phone so that I do not have to go through the Samsung account log in?

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Are you sure it's not asking you for your Google account? This is a Google security feature now. If you reset a phone without first removing your Google account, you will have to enter those Google credentials upon starting the phone back up again.

[Keri Tenerowicz]

Welcome to Android Central! Are you sure it's not asking you for your Google account? This is a Google security feature now. If you reset a phone without first removing your Google account, you will have to enter those Google credentials upon starting the phone back up again.

Hi, thanks for answering!

I am quite sure that it is not asking for my google account. The screen actually says, "An abnormal factory reset has been reported on this device. Sign in to the Samsung account that you have already signed into on this device to confirm this reset." My problem, as stated before, is that I had never signed in to a Samsung account on the phone before, or even created one. Are there any solutions to this problem?

[belodion]

Did you acquire the device new or used?

[anon8380037]

Try and search your regular email accounts for Samsung messages from when you bought the device or after. If there try that email address. You can also try to log in to a Samsung account on their local website and ask for prompts. Else speak to Samsung support / chat for help.
I think I read this has been introduced lately as an extra security measure if someone wipes your phone in Settings or Recovery mode, but not sure if it was Samsung or all Google devices.
Worth a try.

[B. Diddy]

Google definitely has this feature now (https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/6172890?hl=en), but the fact that it's asking for the Samsung account indicates that Samsung has a similar feature as well (Turn Factory Reset Protection on or off - Samsung Galaxy S® 5 Sport)

[Keri Tenerowicz]

I bought the device new.

[Kelly Kearns]

Hi, thanks for answering!

I am quite sure that it is not asking for my google account. The screen actually says, "An abnormal factory reset has been reported on this device. Sign in to the Samsung account that you have already signed into on this device to confirm this reset." My problem, as stated before, is that I had never signed in to a Samsung account on the phone before, or even created one. Are there any solutions to this problem?

It is asking for your Google account. There isn't an issue like that with anything but Google, not the Samsung account.

That only happens when someone has set the phone up and a reset happens with the Google account there.

[Kelly Kearns]

Google definitely has this feature now (https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/6172890?hl=en), but the fact that it's asking for the Samsung account indicates that Samsung has a similar feature as well (Turn Factory Reset Protection on or off - Samsung Galaxy S® 5 Sport)

Oh, reactivation lock..that has to be set manually, it is not default, again, only on a phone that has been set up.

[belodion]

I bought the device new.

In that case, it should not do that. Return it to where you bought it for refund or replacement.

[Keri Tenerowicz]

I have tried signing in with my Google credentials multiple times, as well as a newly made Samsung account that has not yet been registered with or logged on to through the phone. Neither of them seem to work. I was also the person who reset the device after i forgot my password, since it was not giving me the option to sign in with anything else.

[Kelly Kearns]

I have tried signing in with my Google credentials multiple times, as well as a newly made Samsung account that has not yet been registered with or logged on to through the phone. Neither of them seem to work. I was also the person who reset the device after i forgot my password, since it was not giving me the option to sign in with anything else.

The reactivation lock is a Samsung Account thing. You can't set it if you aren't signed in under a Samsung account.

Have you talked to Samsung?

There is no work around for this. I would return the phone.

[ironass]

Bypass Reactivation Lock on S5

[Golfdriver97]

Perhaps your carrier has a possible way around the lock?

[Keri Tenerowicz]

The reactivation lock is a Samsung Account thing. You can't set it if you aren't signed in under a Samsung account.

Have you talked to Samsung?

There is no work around for this. I would return the phone.

No, I have not talked to Samsung yet. Would I have to go to a store in person to return the phone, even if it was bought online? And if there were minor cracks in one corner of the screen, would they be able to reprogram the phone so that I would not have to buy a new one? How much would this cost?

[Keri Tenerowicz]

Perhaps your carrier has a possible way around the lock?

Is there anything out there that could work for t-mobile?

[Golfdriver97]

Is there anything out there that could work for t-mobile?

I am honestly not sure. I have never been locked out of my phone.

[Kelly Kearns]

No, I have not talked to Samsung yet. Would I have to go to a store in person to return the phone, even if it was bought online? And if there were minor cracks in one corner of the screen, would they be able to reprogram the phone so that I would not have to buy a new one? How much would this cost?

Did you buy the phone from T-Mobile online?

[Kelly Kearns]

Also another thought.. Best Buy has a Samsung Experience Counter, staffed by Samsung employees. You could go by there and see if they can help you. Be prepared to show an ID if necessary to help prove ownership.

[Keri Tenerowicz]

Did you buy the phone from T-Mobile online?

No, I bought it from Ebay.

[Keri Tenerowicz]

Also another thought.. Best Buy has a Samsung Experience Counter, staffed by Samsung employees. You could go by there and see if they can help you. Be prepared to show an ID if necessary to help prove ownership.

Yeah, I will probably do this. Thanks for the help!

[Kelly Kearns]

No, I bought it from Ebay.

So you bought it new from a business or used from an individual?

[Keri Tenerowicz]

So you bought it new from a business or used from an individual?

New from a business. It still had the packaging on and was in a sealed box that looked like it had never been opened before.

[Kelly Kearns]

New from a business. It still had the packaging on and was in a sealed box that looked like it had never been opened before.

I would contact them. The reactivation lock is not turned on by default and needs a Samsung account to have been on the phone.

[Keri Tenerowicz]

After extensive online research via Youtube videos, I finally came up with a solution!! I'm not sure if this works on devices other than Samsung Galaxy s5's, but it worked for me: After I clicked in the box asking for my ID, I went to Swype settings after holding down the keyboard key that says "ABC" (the one you use when switching between keyboards, tapping the second option of the four arrows, then holding down the Swype option in the bottom left corner, pressing help (2nd to last option), then "How to Swype". It brought me to another pop-up screen, where I scrolled to the bottom and clicked the first link under "More Help". I was able to open the link using the Internet app, where I pressed the button in the top right with the 3 dots (it closed on me the first time, so I pressed it again and it worked), scrolled to the bottom and pressed settings, tapped the account option at the top, and created a new Samsung account from there. After that, I pressed the back button until I was at the Samsung Reactivation Lock screen, then signed in with my new account an was able to unlock the phone.