This is a workaround to help you to unlock Samsung Galaxy S5, S6, S7, Edge or S8 that is no longer recognize the fingerprint and alternative password without hard reset or loss of data. Most probably you end on this article because you are locked out with your Samsung phone and Samsung no longer recognizes fingerprint or alternative password. Be aware that restarting your phone is useless and a waste of time in this case and follow this guideline to unlock Samsung Galaxy.
The factory reset is the last option, this will delete all photos, contacts, etc. and if you don’t have a backup, this hard reset will make to lose all sensitive information from your phone. We repeat, do not try to factory reset at any point in these solutions.
As always, the factory reset is the last resource you can try. Before that, we listed a couple of solutions, and 99% of the time, one of the solutions will help you to unlock the Samsung phone without factory reset and restore without losing any data.
Solution 1: Use Backup Password if Fingerprint is not Recognized
Samsung backup password is an alternate solution to unlock the Samsung phone just in case your fingerprint sensor is broken or not working as expected. In this case, if you think your fingerprint is no longer recognizing on Samsung phone, then try backup password that set with Samsung Phone.
If you don’t know what is the backup password for Samsung phone, or you already forget the Samsung backup password, don’t worry, we can try the next solution in this list.
Solution 2: Use Google Account if you Used a Pattern Lock
The second option is to try your luck with Google Account. Samsung will ask for security PIN if you already tried Samsung pattern unlock and failed a couple of times. At this point, you can use your Google Android device manager to reset the PIN.
To do this, log on to Google or go to Android Device Manager from this link. If you have Samsung S5, Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, S7, this link will present you with a screen that allows you to find your phone, ring your phone and lock your phone.
This Android Device Manager can be used when you lost the phone, and you want to display a message to anyone finding the phone with an option to call to notify you. You can set a new PIN and recovery message right from this Google Android Device Manager.
When you try this recovery solution, you can see a new recovery message updated on your Samsung phone. However, the pin you set in device manager will not update if lock screen security is set as a PIN or password or fingerprint on your Samsung Phone. This means you won’t be able to unlock a Samsung phone with the code you set in Google Android Device Manager. Don’t worry, move on to the next step.
Related: 10 Best Android Antivirus & Mobile Security Apps with Antitheft Protection
Solution 3: The Wrong Pin will Launch to Google Account Login
On Samsung Phone, multiple attempts (usually five attempts) with an unknown or a wrong pin will go either into a 30 seconds delay before further attempts are allowed or the phone will allow entry using your Google account password to unlock the phone.
Apparently, this depends on whether WIFI was turned-on on the phone and a known WIFI connection is available to your Samsung phone model.
Solution 4: Google Account Login Doesn’t Work; Try Samsung Find My Phone Account
No need to worry if the Google Login method in above step doesn’t work. Now the time to try with your Samsung Find My Phone account, go to your Samsung account from this link.
On this Samsung Find My mobile, your phone will already be registered with Samsung account, now try with your email to log in this account. The functionality is similar to the ADM (Android Device Manager) above, but it works slightly different here.
Also read: Set Custom Vibration Pattern for your Samsung Android Phone
Solution 5: Unlock Phone with Samsung Find My Phone Account
Your registered Samsung device will be shown in the Samsung Find My Phone Account once you logged in to Samsung Account. Before you check in this page, please make sure your Samsung device is active.
Your phone may show as inactive if your Samsung phone doesn’t have 3G or WiFi connection. On Find My Phone Account Web page, left side, make sure Connections and Remote Controls are turned ON. Now on the left sidebar of the webpage, scroll all the way down until you see the link “Unlock My Device“.
Click on Unlock My Device, and it will open another link “Unlock My Screen”. Once you click on the unlock button, you will get a confirmation stating that “The screen is unlocked”. Now setup screen lock on the device. At this stage, your Samsung Galaxy S5, S6 or Galaxy S6 edge should be unlocked, and lock screen security will be reset as swipe by default.
Solution 6: Setup a New Password and Backup Phone
You learned your lesson, don’t make this mistake again. So before you leave, please go to the settings on the Samsung phone and set access via a new PIN you will enter only (no fingerprint identification) and last but not least back up your phone!
Related: 6 Best Android Private Browsing Apps to Secure Data
Do you have old Tablet with you kept aside in your room corner? Don’t Throw Away, Just follow this guide to Convert Old Android Tablets to Useful Gadgets. These are the steps to unlock Samsung Phone without Hard Reset that Forgot Alternative Password or not Recognizing Fingerprint. We hope this resolved your issue and finally you got back your Samsung phone unlocked without losing data and going through tedious factory reset process.
None of these helped….. really. I’m stuck. I had already done all of this. I need help!!
Pin no forget
It doesn’t give me the opcode of Google you’ve switched from touch id to pattern lock which I did not aply
Thank you so much!!! It worked immediately!
What if I have no internet access from my phone?
Thank you so much. Helped me a lot… 🙂 thumsup…
i bought a samsung from a cash converter but i cant set up phone because it tells me that the device is locked because of an abnormal factory reset sign in to the samsung account that is registered to this phone, i bought it second hand. PLEASE HELP
Pls i didn’t registered on the Samsung find my phone account setup so I don’t have any ID or password to login. How can I remove the finger print because it’s not working and the password backup is not working either. My phone is Samsung Galaxy A5 2016, pls help me out.
Wow…. that unlock device through samsung account helped me… i have sucessfully unlocked my phone, reset the password and made a note of it so that i wont forget it again… thanks for the info buddy… much appreciated.
Glad this help you.
thanks a lot my friends samsung find my phone account helped me unlock my screen lock without any data loss
Thought i was gonna loose all my stuffs, this is the best thing ever, it unlocked immediately…Thank you!!!!!!
The phone dosen’t recognize my fingerprint and i forgot backup password and no internet connection no wifi no 3G !!! Plz i want my files 🙁 help me
Please try when you back to home Wi-Fi
Bought a lg16 from friend I factory rest it and asked for six pin to unlock McAfee security. He don’t remember ever having a pin on the phone did a hard reset and it was stopped by something called kill switch need help
You are awesome!!!!!
Pls i didn’t registered on the Samsung find my phone account setup so I don’t have any ID or password to login. How can I remove the finger print because it’s not working and the password backup is not working either. My phone is Samsung Galaxy A5 2016, pls help me out.
Lucio L. Coquilla
If you are not registered, this solution may not work for you.
OMG. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
I was tired of my phone not recognizing my finger print so I decided to use a pattern. As soon as I tried to get in with the pattern it did not work. So for the past 3 days to get into my phone I had to put in my pattern (or an pattern since it didn’t recognize my pattern) 30-50 times, wait 30-60 seconds and then put in my back up pin, Even though I was in I would try to switch back to a fingerptint or pin # in setting and it would first ask for my pattern which of course didnt work.
I called Samsung-had them take over my phone and the only thing they did was try to swipe similar patterns to get in. UNBELIEVABLE that they did not tell me to use my samsung account.
I called my internet provider Verixon and they said they would not be able to see what the pattern was. Both said I needed to go to factory reset and loose all my data.
THANK YOU again so much. If you don;t mind I will post this link to the many other places that told me to use my google account, or I had to reset and loose all my data.
@Mary
We are glad to hear that this solution helped you to figure out the issue and saved your precious data on the phone. We published this article when one of our team member faced a similar situation and spent a lot of hours to figure out the solution without losing phone data. Ever since this article helped a lot of Samsung phone owners to save their data.
We encourage you to share the article link. That will help your friends and other Samsung owners to save their time and precious data.
Sam please help … i have a S8 Plus… wont recognise nor my fingerprints nor my unlock screen code… i have tried Dr. Fone…but its not possible to use with this S8 Plus
i have forgotten my samsung account password, my phone is connected with wifi, when i am changing my account password in laptop it says that samsung account in my cell phone will be logged out. what shoukld i do?
I do not see an “unlock device “option on Samsunf Find my Mobile. For months I have had to use Find my Mobile after updates t get back onto pnone, nut the sual method does not work. The page for Find my Mobile you displayed does not look the same as the find my mobile page I am seeing. I repeat…there is not option to unlock the device, only to lock it.
hi i need a help… i m using s5 and fingerprint is disabled due to so many wrong try… now i have only one option in my mobile screen i.e alternative password and also i dont have samsung account …how would i able to unlock without loosing data…. email me nbangade72@gmail .com
I have A5(2016) this process not help me.
I’m upset.:-(
hello. I have a Galaxy s8 phone and I forgot my pin number. I unlocked it using samsung account Find my Mobile and all the passwords were erased and my phone was unlocked. Now I try to set up a lock pin but the setting app keeps stopping every time I give a pin or register my fringerprint. Please help!
@Musab,
Can you log out Samsung account from the phone and try?
Do these methods apply to samsung a8 also?
Your instructions were a HUGE help!!! I was able to reset my S6 Edge this morning using Google’s Android Device Manager and once my phone was connected to the wi-fi everything went through. Best advice to anyone who has one of these phones would be to set up whatever feature from your phone that allows you to access it remotely. Set up your account with your phone maker e.g. Samsung, Nokia etc. This will help tremendously and you can avoid a factory reset. If you are comfortable with always backing up your phone…do it!! If you do have to reset then that makes it easier to access all that information upon re-entering your phone.All in all, please try to avoid locking yourself out of your phone, that is a nightmare I do not wish to revisit ever again!!
Sam, Please help me. I somehow became locked out via the fingerprint scan feature and didnt remember my password. Now my phone is locked only allowing emergency calls. I do not want to factory reset I really want to get into my phone and use it. When I try the find my device feature it does nothing due to the lock. I am at home on the last known wifi.
Please help!!! I have a Samsung S8+. My phone started to run slowly so I restarted the device. After the device powered up it would no longer allow me to use my fingerprint or eye only use of the pattern. I attempted several wrong patterns and am down to my last attempt before the phone will factory reset. I have made contact with both Samsung and Verizon to no avail. When the Verizon tech set my phone up he did not register to new phone under my Samsung account that was previously linked to my S7 note. I have activated the Google Android device manager and my phones dose show my message but will not give me the option to input my temp password. Please help I really need to maintain the information within the device.
Hello, Im Jennifer. My boyfriend of 5 years passed away 3 days ago. All our memories are on my Samsung galaxy S 5 that I used for a few years up until months ago. When I switched phones and now try to access it, it says enter alternate password. Once I try something it turns to an Emergency alert or emergency call only screen. Nothing else! I cannot access anything online with ant google accounts. Is there anything I can do..ANYTHING? Please help, I have thousands of memories I need to see. 🙁
@Jenn,
Sorry for your loss. You will get alternative password options in Step3, that will let you Google password (if registered). If none of them works, the last option to try with Samsung account. Hope you registered your device on Samsung.
Thank you Sam, I’m just heartbroken. It doesn’t even give me the option to log in via google access.. I don’t think I registered it with google or Samsung.
Am I doomed ? ?
Samsung account reset was the last option. Unfortunately, we don’t have any other solution to recommend.
thank you very much, the unlock procedure through samsung website works for me.
@Harry,
We are glad to know that you resolved the issue.
My daughter has changed my password on my second phone and doesn’t know what it is. I believe it is linked to a google account but can’t seem to access it. Please help.
You are a life saver. Thank you for the help!
Please help me to screen unlock my samsung galaxy s5. I forgot my pin password, until now I’m struggling. I tried your tips but still I can’t unlock.
A million times, Thank You!
Thankyou so much it helped me unlock my phone through Samsung account ! I cried so much ! So much love to thankyou for saving my memories
Wow! Thank you so much for the helpful tips. My mother had a pattern on her phone that she changed and could not remember the pattern on her phone and there was no other options when entering the pattern multiple times other than the emergency call option. I googled and searched so many sites and all of them said to do it through the other options on the phone which this phone did not give me or to do a Hard Reset which obviously would have been the last option and just before I gave up and was about to do a Hard Reset, I got to this site. I could unlock my mother’s Samsung S6 Edge phone through her Samsung account. Thank you so much. It took me 2 and a half hours of trying numerous sites and plenty of research and a lot of patience to try and see how I will possibly be able to unlock her phone without losing all her data. WOW!!!! I am so grateful that I did not jump to the option that many sites gave me which was to do a Hard reset which would have ended up having her lose 25G worth of her data, images, videos and info on the phone. I am forever grateful to this site and whoever gave the tip of unlocking the phone through the Samsung account. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!! She was literally in tears when I told her…2 and a half hours later and the phone is unlocked and all data has been saved. Thank you!
Caitlin,
We are glad to hear your story and happy to help you.
100% genuine information and authentic thanks a lot MASHTIPS
Thank you so much! Using the samsung website to unlock my Note8 works for me, you are certainly my saviour!
thank you, steps 4 and 5 helps me unlock mu samsung galaxy s6 edge.
will this work for s8?
I have a galaxy s7 edge. I put a pattern on it but where you swiped in a certain way and then I used my fingerprint. My phone died and when I recharged it and turned it on it said I had to enter the pattern and then continue to use my fingerprint. The code isn’t working and I can’t do anything from the screen. I logged in from another phone into my Samsung account I was unlocking my phone when it said I didn’t have a guardian option on. No way to change it that I’ve tried. Please help it has absolutely everything on it.!! It’s been 2 weeks
Hello
My samsung a7 2018 has an encryption lock on. Its been switched off. Need to put pattern in to be able to restart again. …. I don’t want to hard reset phone
My mobile samsung a5 prime I forgot my app lockpassword how can I reset it
Were you ever able to get into it. I’m having the same problem now and it says 1 attempt left and if I don’t get it it will factory reset 🙁 please help
What about Samsung Galaxy j7 Max