How to factory reset your Android phone without unlocking it

Recently, I set up a new Android phone to review. The process went off exactly as expected, and I ended up with a phone set up with the unlock PIN I typically use for review phones. After an update, the phone required the PIN for unlocking, but no matter how many times I typed in the PIN, it wouldn’t unlock.

Something had gone wrong, and I needed to access the phone to review it. Fortunately, I’d been down this alley before and knew what to do.

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Unfortunately, my only recourse meant the phone would undergo a factory reset, which meant I’d have to set it up again. That wasn’t too much of a problem, given I hadn’t had the opportunity to do much with the device. Had the phone been months into usage, it could have been more of an issue. 

Factory restoring an Android device isn’t all that hard. This is especially true if you use a password manager for all your accounts, which means you don’t have to worry about remembering all of those login credentials, as the app can autofill usernames and passwords.

The process worked, and I set the phone up and reviewed it. So, how did I do this reset, and what can you do to avoid having to go through this process?

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The answer is, “not much.” Android used to have a process where you could type the wrong PIN or password multiple times, and it would then send a recovery email to the associated account. Unfortunately, Google removed this option.

Now, your only recourse if you forget the PIN/pattern/password is to do a factory reset. If you can’t unlock your phone to get to the factory reset options in Settings, don’t panic. I’m going to show you what to do.

How to factory reset your phone without unlocking it

If biometrics aren’t working because you had to reboot the phone after an update or problem, and your PIN/pattern/password is failing you, here’s what to do. Remember, this technique will vary from phone to phone, but the process should be similar across manufacturers.

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At this point, your phone should reboot and go through factory resetting. It will take time to complete, but once it’s done, you can set the phone back up using your Google account. 

The good news is that your phone will most likely perform much better than before you were locked out because the system and app caches have been cleared.

What does a factory reset on Android do?

When you do a factory reset on an Android device, it resets everything to exactly how it was when you first purchased the phone, deletes all data (everything!), and gives you a clean slate. This is a good option when your phone is running slowly and you can’t figure out what’s wrong. A factory reset should be viewed as a last-ditch option because it deletes all user data.

Can I unlock my phone if I forget my PIN?

If you’ve forgotten your Android PIN, it’s still possible to unlock your phone if you’ve set up Smart Unlock, which unlocks your phone when it’s near a configured device (such as a WearOS watch). There’s also Samsung’s SmartThings Find. Unfortunately, the Google Find My Device service no longer allows you to change your PIN/password on your device. The only way to manage this now on non-Samsung devices is to do a factory reset.

Can I undo a factory reset on Android?

No. Once you’ve done a factory reset, all your data is gone and you’re starting from scratch. There is no way to undo this. You can, however, recover lost data via the Android backup system. During the factory reset, you will be presented with the option to restore data from Google Backup. Make sure to tap Restore during the reset, and then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.