Guides

Locked out of a Samsung Galaxy

6 minute read · beginner

Samsung is the one major brand with a genuine remote unlock for a forgotten screen lock — but only if Find My Mobile was set up first. If it was, you keep your data. If it was not, you are on the standard erase path, and there are two accounts waiting on the other side.

Every route except Samsung's own remote unlock erases the phone.

Try Find My Mobile first — this is the one that saves data

Samsung's Find My Mobile service includes an Unlock function that remotely removes the screen lock without erasing the phone. Almost nobody knows it exists.

It only works if the phone had a Samsung Account signed in, Find My Mobile switched on, and a network or Wi-Fi connection. You cannot enable it after the fact.

  1. From a computer, sign in to Samsung's Find My Mobile site with the Samsung Account that is on the phone.
  2. Select the device in the list.
  3. Choose Unlock. Confirm with your Samsung Account password.
  4. The screen lock is removed and your data stays intact.

If the device does not appear, Find My Mobile was not registered and this route is not available. Do not keep retrying — move on.

The two accounts on a Galaxy

A Galaxy carries both a Google Account and a Samsung Account. After a reset, setup can ask for either or both.

Google's Factory Reset Protection asks for a Google Account that was on the device. Samsung's own reactivation lock, if it was enabled, asks for the Samsung Account.

Work out which one the screen is naming before you start recovering anything. People lose days recovering the wrong account.

If you have to erase

  1. Confirm you can sign in to both the Google Account and the Samsung Account first, from another device.
  2. Check your Samsung Cloud and Google backups so you know what you lose.
  3. Erase using Find My Mobile's erase function if the phone is reachable, or the hardware recovery menu if it is not.
  4. At setup, sign in to the same accounts the phone asks for.

Stop and get help when

  • Setup names a Samsung or Google Account you cannot access.
  • The phone shows a Knox or enterprise enrolment screen — it belongs to an organisation.
  • You bought it secondhand and either account is still the seller's.

Official route

Samsung Members support or a Samsung service centre, with proof of purchase.

Who this is for: You must be signed in to the Samsung Account already on the phone.