Found an old phone lying around, but don’t remember its password/PIN/pattern, and can’t use the fingerprint as well? Then worry not! There does exist an impressive method through which you can remove the lock screen password, and that too without doing a ‘format data’. However, there is a major requirement that you need to checkmark off the list- your device should have a custom recovery installed, or you should be in a position to install it [more on that later].
While it’s no hidden secret that resetting the device will remove all the passwords from your Android device, however, it will also result in the loss of your all-important data. So, is there a way to remove these passwords from the device and at the same time preserve all your data? Well, there does exist a method that might help you get this job done. So without further ado, let’s check it out.
What’s the Risk in this Method?
While this tweak seems to have spelled success for many, it has also given troubled times to some. According to one of the affected users:
After deleting the file, the data folder is encrypted, and I have no way to decrypt it. After deleting the file and booting into MIUI as usual, all my apps say “wait until your device is fully rebooted before opening apps”. I can open system apps like the clock or the weather, but that’s it.
Likewise, another user had this to say:
After carrying out this tweak and rebooting the phone, no app wanted to turn on, the all the widgets were gone. When trying to open any app, it says “wait until the phone turns on completely” or something similar and the worst thing – my storage got encrypted. I turned on TWRP and wiped data and system, but that didn’t help.
The only way to rectify this issue was to either do a format data from the TWRP or reflash the stock firmware, both of which will result in a loss of data. While we will be opting for a fail-safe approach, there’s still a chance of things going south. So only proceed if that’s all well and good.
How to Remove Lock Screen Password without Format Data
If possible, do take a complete device backup. Droidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device, and data by performing the below steps.
If you don’t have TWRP Recovery installed and the device’s bootloader is locked but OEM Unlock is enabled, then please first install the TWRP Recovery using our guide before moving ahead [you can boot to Fastboot Mode as mentioned below]. However, if the device’s bootloader is locked and OEM Unlock is also disabled, then unfortunately, you’re out of luck, as you wouldn’t be able to install the recovery, and hence this method wouldn’t work.
- First off, download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC.
- Next, open the Command Prompt inside the platform tools folder.
- If USB Debugging is enabled, then use the below command to boot to TWRP:
adb reboot recovery
- If USB Debugging is not enabled, then power off the device. Now, press and hold the Power and Volume Up keys to boot to TWRP.
- As soon as you are inside TWRP, it will ask for a password, tap Cancel. [However, since we didn’t decrypt the data, we wouldn’t be able to access the Internal Storage.]
- Now, from TWRP, go to Mount and check USB-OTG. Then connect an OTG device to your phone.
- Now go to Advanced > File Manager. Then go to data > system.
- Now copy the locksettings.db file and send it to your USB OTG device. It will act as a backup. [While you could send the file to your Internal Storage as well, you wouldn’t be able to send it to your PC, so it’s better to use an OTG device.]
- Once you have taken the backup, delete this file from data > system.
- Now go to Reboot > System. Your device will boot to the OS with the password removed.
That’s it. These were the steps to remove the lock screen password from your Android device without doing a format data. As discussed before, this method has its drawbacks, with the data being encrypted being the most prominent one. If you are also bugged with this problem, then first boot to TWRP > Wipe > Format Data and do a reset [this will remove all the data]. If this fixes the issue, well and good, or else, you’ll have to reflash the stock firmware on your device [this will also remove all the data from your device]. Apart from that, if you have any other queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution as soon as possible.
