"Unfortunately, Google App has stopped". Locked out of my phone! Please help!

[AC Question]

My phone started popping up with "Unfortunately, Google App has stopped." notification non stop. The keyboard wouldn't come up on my phone. I decided to restart my phone, which I guess was a bad idea because now I'm stuck on the lock screen. The keyboard won't come up, so I can't type in my password to get into the phone. I've tried restarting, taking the battery out, leaving it off for a while. Nothing has worked. I tried going into Safe Mode but the keyboard still won't come up. I would really like to avoid a factory reset. Help??

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Which phone? If the keyboard isn't appearing in Safe Mode, then the firmware may have become corrupt.

 

[sher hansen]

It's a Galaxy Core Prime. Keyboard didn't appear in safe mode. I also tried going into recovery mode and clearing the cache, but that didn't fix the problem either.

 

[B. Diddy]

You could also try connecting a basic USB keyboard via an OTG adapter, but that will only help you get past the lockscreen. Once you can get into the phone, you could try installing another keyboard app, like Gboard or Swiftkey.

 

[sher hansen]

I tried the USB keyboard thing, but my phone didn't seem to accept it or recognized it was connected to anything. Maybe I did it wrong, I'm not sure

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, the phone might not support OTG: http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-core-prime/705381-otg-funtion.html

You could try using Samsung's Find My Mobile, but I'm guessing you can only change the password there, not remove the password requirement.

 

[sher hansen]

Yeah, plugging it into a mouse or a keyboard isn't working. I don't think my phone supports it. And yeah, I can change the password but that's it

 

[B. Diddy]

Can you tell if the screen is actually registering any touches at all?

 

[sher hansen]

It is. I can scroll through my notifications, change the brightness, I can get to the camera and take pictures. It seems like my phone is working just fine other that the keyboard not coming up.

 

[B. Diddy]

Sorry, I'm not sure what to try next. If you're in the US, try bringing it to a Best Buy and ask the Samsung rep there if they can help.