Forgot your Samsung screen lock code? How to access your data

You have forgotten the screen lock code, your Samsung can no longer be unlocked — and it contains photos, WhatsApp histories and contacts that exist nowhere else. The short answer upfront: In most cases, we can access the data without resetting the device. How we do this depends on which model you have and how the device is secured.

What you should try yourself first

Before handing over your device, there are two options that cost nothing:

Samsung Find My Mobile. If your device is linked to a Samsung account and you still have the login details, it can be remotely unlocked via findmymobile.samsung.com . This is the simplest case and only works if the feature was enabled beforehand.

Memory prompts. Patterns and PINs are often variations on a theme — dates of birth, old addresses, sequences on the keypad. Take your time trying, but keep an eye on how many failed attempts the device still allows.

Why resetting means losing your data

Every guide online eventually leads to a Factory Reset — recovery mode, factory settings, and the device is accessible again. That does work. But afterwards, everything you actually wanted to recover has been deleted.

A reset is the solution if you only care about the device. If it is about the data, it is the end of the story. That is why we advise against it until the data has been backed up.

How we recover a forgotten screen lock code

Modern Samsung devices encrypt their storage. Simply reading the chip therefore produces only scrambled data — the key resides in the device and is only released with the correct code. So we need to obtain the code itself.

To do this, we use chip-level brute force: systematically trying every combination directly at the hardware level, bypassing the locks that would otherwise kick in after too many failed attempts. With numeric PINs and patterns, the number of possibilities is limited — which is precisely what makes this approach practical.

Once the code is found, we unlock the device normally and back up your data to an encrypted USB drive. The device is not reset during this process, and your data remains as it was.

How much does unlocking cost?

Honestly: more than standard data recovery. Unlocking costs around 1.000 € and is therefore significantly more expensive than our standard fixed-price data recovery. The reason is the effort involved — chip-level brute force ties up the device and equipment for days, not hours.

The cost of an individual case depends on the model, encryption and condition of the device. We will give you a binding price after diagnosis — you are under no obligation before then. If we cannot unlock the device, you only pay a processing fee of 29,90 €.

Your model in detail

We have described the procedure separately for the most common devices:

• Forgotten Samsung Galaxy S23 screen lock code
• Forgotten Samsung Galaxy S22 screen lock code
• Forgotten Samsung Galaxy S21 screen lock code
• Forgotten Samsung Galaxy S20 screen lock code
• Forgotten Samsung password — any model

Is your model not listed? The procedure is the same for the Galaxy S, Note, A and M series. Describe your case to us and we will tell you whether it is possible.

We get your data back