Android: Forgot PIN - what to do?

Your Android PIN should be secure - but if you forget the PIN, luckily you can reset the code. Our guide shows you how to unlock your phone again.

Forgot Android PIN - so you unlock your smartphone

1. On some devices, after several wrong attempts, you can unlock your smartphone using your Google account. For this you need an active internet connection on your mobile phone.
2. If you use a pattern instead of a PIN, you can delete it via the ADB. You can find more detailed information on the setup of the ADB in this practical tip. Then enter the commands "adb remount" and "adb shell rm /data/system/gesture.key" one after the other via the ADB.
3. Otherwise, only a reset to the factory settings helps. To do this, you have to boot into recovery. This works for most devices by holding down the power button and the volume down button. Select "Factory Reset" in recovery mode. However, please note that all data on your device will be lost.

Tip: To ensure that you don't forget your PIN, you should use a password manager.