How to Retrieve Data From a Locked Android Phone

An Android phone is permanently locked.

"I have a Sony Xperia Z1 which I love dearly. However, I've accidentally locked myself out of it permanently due to forgetting my PIN! It's a terrible feeling, and I've tried several times to unlock it, but to no avail. Would you consider this an emergency? Please share a viable solution that would allow me to access my locked Android phone without losing any saved data, particularly my contact list."

When you forget the password to your Android phone, you won't be able to access the data on it unless you can recall the pattern, PIN, or complex password you set. The password protects your phone by locking it when you're not using it, adding an extra layer of security so that others can't easily view the contents of your phone without your permission.

If you were already in the habit of changing patterns, passwords, or PINs frequently, it might be too late for this advice, but if you did, make sure you remember the new one. Since you created it and (hopefully) no one else knows it, there's no way to unlock your phone short of a factory reset. Scared? Don't be. You've come to the right place. There are still ways to recover data from a locked Android device.

Try to unlock your Android with your Google account

Unlike iPhone users, many Android users are not in the habit of backing up their devices. When their phone is locked, the recommended solution is to perform an Android factory reset, but this will delete all valuable data, such as contacts, messages, pictures, notes, music, and videos. Therefore, you can try a simple method that doesn't erase any data first.

But note that this method works only if the user has already set up and registered a Google account on the device before it was locked.

Step 1: Try to trigger the “Forgot Password” option by entering any password incorrectly five times in a row.

Step Two: Use your Google account and password to unlock the phone.

If that works, good luck. If not, you might have to factory-reset your Android, risking the loss of all your data. Though there's no guarantee, you can try to recover some of it with a tool like MobiSaver for Android after the reset.