How do I find out what pattern I need to enter to unlock my phone?

[Santa]

I have been overseas and not used my phone for six months. When I returned, I discovered that my phone required me to enter a pattern. But as I had not chosen a pattern myself, I am at a loss to know what to do about this. Any help welcomed.

[maple_leaf]

You're welcome @Santa . Sorry to hear that the 'forgot pattern' link didn't show up. Typically, when you factory reset a phone, it reverts to its original settings out of the box, and would prompt you to login with your existing Google account when first powered back up (like when the phone was brand new and used for the first time). Then, you would be prompted to restore your phone from any backup (if you backed up your data before the reset). I can't tell from your reply, if that's what has happened, or if you have initiated a Google account reset (you mentioned Google taking 24 hours to verify, which makes me think you've requested a lost password assistance on your Google account). 

I've added a link below to the LG Canada support site. Click on cell phones under Mobile, and then enter your phone's model information for support pages specific to your phone. Look for Factory Reset instructions.

https://www.lg.com/ca_en/support

Hope this helps.

[Santa]

Thanks,maple leaf. I didn't get a Forgot Pattern button, but I did manage to do a factory reset, and when I did that, I got an option to enter my Google account instead of a pattern. The phone still thinks it had a pattern,though, and it won't let me reset the pattern unless I enter the old one. However, hopefully the Google solution will get around that. Just thought I would let you know what happened. Kind regards 🙂

[Santa]

Thanks to everyone for helping. I have done a factory reset and signed in with my Google account details, which apparently will take 24 hours to verify. Interestingly, it seems that the phone had a pattern (not by me) and I cannot set a new name unless I enter the old one. Kafka... But at least I will be able to use the phone. Thanks again to the community for advice and support.

[maple_leaf]

Thanks @softech , good to know. Time wasted drafting a response, but safety first.

[maple_leaf · Accepted solution]

@Santa , I'll try to paraphrase and concatenate the information I found for you. Try this if you have not already done a factory reset, so that you don't have to lose any data or restore from backup. I might be too late, since you said you are already trying the reset, sorry. 

Enter the wrong Pattern 3 to 5 times. See if you find a "Forgot Pattern?" button/link showing up at the bottom of the screen. If so, click it and you should be prompted to enter your Google login. After entering Google login, you should have the option to reset the lock screen. The info. I found was for Android 4.0 and older, so I added that disclaimer because I have no idea if it would work in a newer version of Android, and we are already up to Android 14! Worth a try though...nothing to lose as far as I can see. I had originally included a screenshot and links to the site where the info. was found, along with a link to LG official customer support. Cheers.

[softech]

@maple_leaf 

If you message moved over there, it is by the automated spam filter, not being manually moved.  Sometimes, it is hard to pinpoint why a message got moved, could cause by external links from particular domain names, could be because of the too many numbers there and the system thought some person info was there.

[dust2dust]

@maple_leaf- I had one earlier today. A short sentence and then the agent link. I added a little more text and it stuck. I don't know. I suspect it's automated but it's still a mystery.

[Handy1]

@maple_leaf  Not the first time to day a solution disappeared and part of post

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Samsung-s20-5G/td-p/1043088

[maple_leaf]

Thanks @dust2dust , that explains it. No explanation, just rejected. Interesting. I thought I made use of a disclaimer, and the solution itself was fairly benign. It would be nice if the "reject-er" would identify themselves, unless it's a system automated rejection? Although, if it were automatically rejected, I suspect it wouldn't have posted successfully in the first place. 

[Santa]

Thanks,maple leaf. I am trying to do a factory reset - fingers crossed 🙂 And thanks to everybody for the suggestions and ideas. I may have to seek out elves, actually 🙂 Or at least my daughter.....

[dust2dust]

@maple_leaf- Wow. Things are getting brutal around here. Have a look here to see if it ended up here:
https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/premod/moderationitemspage/tab/rejected

[maple_leaf]

Hi @Santa , Well, I'm not sure what happened, but I replied with a possible solution and now the post is gone? Hope the replies from others help you out. Cheers.

[hairbag1]

@Santa 

did you maybe lend your cellphone to someone whilst you were away ? If so, that would be the place to start asking as PM doesn't have anything to do with access to your cellphone.          Do you have access to a different unlocked cellphone ? If so, remove the sim from your LG and install it in the other phone. As long as your account has been active all this time, it should work as soon as you put the sim in a different phone.

[hTideGnow]

@Santa 

iPhone:

https://www.tenorshare.net/iphone-tips/top-3-way-unlock-iphone-7-6-without-passcode.html?gad=1&gclid...

Android:

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/forgot-android-passcode/

[dust2dust]

I think you're going to need your elves to help you with all this. Repair shop maybe? Someone might have had access to your phone and put in a pattern and then when you got back and restarted then the pattern came up.

[Santa]

It is LG.

[Santa]

Sorry, I forgot to ask- howdo I reset the phone? I am not tech savvy, I am afraid. Thanks for your help 🙂

[Santa]

Yes, it's a pattern to unlock the phone. But I did not choose a password for it at the time. I have kept paying my account so the problem is that I can't unlock the phone, not a lack of account. 

[maple_leaf]

Hello @Santa , What make/model phone do you have (e.g., iPhone xx, Android)? 

[JRod]

@Santa 

Hello! Do you mean the actual password to access your phone? If this is what you are referring to Unfortunately due to this being a forum for a mobile provider, we cannot help you as that is outside the scope of this service. 

If you were a public mobile customer and had left your account inactive and unpaid for 6-months then unfortunately your account would have been closed and you will have to create a new one with a new number. 

[hTideGnow]

HI @Santa 

it's a pattern required to unlock the phone and not My Account, right?

there is no way to get through that if you don't remember.  Resetting the phone (or wiping) is the only way, but you might loss everything unless you have backed up before.  But most phone should have some kind of backup setup, so, should be ok