How to Unlock Samsung Tablet Without Losing Data

We have so many passwords to so many apps and accounts these days it’s perfectly understandable that we may not be able to recall an important one when the need arises. With numerous pins and patterns to remember, it’s not unlikely that we could get locked out of our tablets. And if you own a Samsung device, you may be asking yourself how to unlock Samsung tablet without losing data? If you’ve found yourself in this unfortunate situation, don’t worry because we’ve got some fixes lined up for you to try out.

How to Unlock Samsung Tablet Without Losing Data

Now, though we have listed various methods that you can use to bypass the Samsung lock screen, it does not mean that your tablet is not secure in any way. Various methods exist simply because users are likely to forget their passwords. After all, not everyone may want to use a factory reset and lose all saved data. So let’s look at all possible processes, starting with the linked Google account.

Unlock Samsung tablet via Google account

This one works if you have logged into and actively used your Google account on your Samsung tablet. Since most users would, this is a convenient way to regain access to your tablet. The method is the ‘Forgot Password’ feature, which is activated once you enter the wrong PIN or pattern a few times. Eventually, your tablet will ask you to answer your security question or access your tablet using your Google username and password combo. 

Once you enter your credentials, you can set a new PIN or password, but hold on to it this time! We recommend you write it down and keep it hidden somewhere so that you don’t get locked out of your Samsung tablet again. 

Also Read: Best Samsung Tablets!

Unlock Samsung tablet via device manager

This method takes advantage of the Find My Device feature of Android, which is activated once you log on to your tablet using your Google account. Its original use is to be able to track your device in case you lose it, but you can use this feature to unlock your device as well. All that is required is that your Samsung tablet is connected to WiFi and has location tracking active.

If both of these are active, simply go to Android’s find my device, and log in to your Google account. You will immediately see all your devices listed here, including the Samsung tablet.

Tap on it, and look for the option that says “Lock Device and display message or phone number.” 

Go ahead and select this, and you will be asked to enter a new password for your lock screen. Enter your new password, and again, we recommend you write it down somewhere in case you tend to forget your password often!

Unlock tablet lock screen with Android debug bridge (ADB)

This method is tricky and will only work if you have the ‘USB debugging’ option turned on in your Android tablet settings. Even though end-users do not commonly turn it on, maybe you should leave this one turned on in case you ever need to unlock Samsung tablet without losing data. 

It’s best to avoid this method unless you’re very comfortable with Linux commands and have a bit of coding experience. You can still give this a try, but if any new or unfamiliar commands appear, you may not be able to proceed. Of course, you can always ask a friend who is familiar with Linux to lend you a helping hand! Let’s take a look at the steps involved in using the ABD method to unlock a Samsung tablet without losing data.

Enable USB debugging on Samsung tablet

Enabling USB debugging on your tablet allows you to create a connection between your Samsung tablet and a computer running Android SDK (software development kit) using a cable. To turn it on, navigate to Settings > Developer Options. If you don’t see this option, scroll down to About Device in your settings, tap it, and look for Software information. Tap this, and when you see Build number, tap on that rapidly about 7 to 8 times.

Now head back to the Settings menu, and this time you should see Developer options as an option. Tap it, and turn on USB debugging by toggling the switch next to it.

Installing and setting up Android Debug Bridge

Android Debug Bridge uses the command prompt/terminal window. To use it, you need a laptop, PC, or Mac, a cable to connect your tablet to your machine, and adequate battery life in your tablet to last until the process is complete. 

You also need to download a software package — either Android SDK or Android Studio. If you have a Windows machine, you will also need to download Cygwin, which is an open-source tool you will need to access your tablet’s code. You can download it from the official website and install it on your Windows PC.

You can also install ADB to your machine through the terminal or command window by typing this command:

>sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb

If you have a Windows machine, download the Android SDK package and extract the contents from the zip file. Now open up the folder, right-click anywhere in the white space and click on “Open command window here.” The command window will open up. This is basically where you will run commands to unlock your Samsung tablet. You will need to navigate to the folder using commands in the terminal window on a Mac.

Removing your tablet lock screen using Android Debug Bridge

Now we’re going to assume you’ve successfully installed ADB on your machine and have the command prompt up and running. Before you type anything, connect your tablet with the cable. Next, fire up the command prompt/terminal window and type in the commands below, in sequence:

adb devices

adb shell

cd data/system

su

rm *.key

After that last command, follow any instructions that pop up on your command window. Now all you have to do is restart your device. The lock screen should be disabled.

Unlock tablet with a third-party tool

There are various third-party tools that you can use to unlock your Samsung tablet, but we recommend trying these with caution. This is because it is difficult to tell which tool may have malicious code and could access data on your tablet. You could still give it a try so that you can at least recover your data, and after, you can factory reset your device to remove all other software.

Note that you will still need to have USB debugging mode active on your Samsung tablet for third-party tools to work. You can also download tools to an SD card, plug it into your tablet, go into recovery mode, and install the tool from there. 

There are apps like SMS Bypass, Tenorshare 4uKey, Android Lock Screen Removal, Dr. Fone, or Pattern Password Disable that you can use to bypass the lock screen of your Samsung tablet. Note that you will be trying these at your own risk!

Here’s a video from Tenorshare, if you want to take a look at how it works:

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I unlock my Samsung tablet without losing data?

Wondering how to unlock a Samsung tablet when you forgot the password without losing data? There are a couple of methods you can try to unlock your Samsung tablet — you could try entering the wrong password until your tablet asks you for your Google credentials to reset your login details. You could also log on to Android’s Find My Device website and lock your tablet with a new password. Besides this, you could also use the Android Debug bridge method to unlock your tablet, but that is only possible if you have USB debugging activated on your Samsung tablet.

How do I unlock my Samsung tablet if I forgot my password without resetting it?

To unlock your Samsung tablet without resetting it, you can try logging in to Find My Device on Google’s website, which lets you lock your tablet remotely, as long as the WiFi and location sharing is on. Locking your tablet remotely lets you set a passcode which you can then enter manually on your Samsung device to unlock it. Besides this, you could also try entering the wrong password or PIN multiple times until you reach the Forgot Password window, where you can reset your code using your Google login details.

How do you bypass the lock screen on a Samsung tablet?

You can use your Google account to bypass the lock screen on a Samsung tablet. There are two ways to do this — you can either enter the wrong pattern/PIN until your tablet asks you to log in with your Google account to set a new password, or you could open up Android’s Find My Device website. Then lock your Samsung tablet with a new code, and use that code to access your device.

Conclusion

We hope all the methods we wrote above helped you figure out a way to get into your device. We recommend you bookmark our article because it is always useful to know how to unlock Samsung tablet without losing data. And while you’re at it, make sure your device is listed on Find My Device and turn on USB debugging while you’re at it! If you have any more questions for us, feel free to drop a comment below, and we will respond.