Bypass forgotten Android PIN
or pattern
Use cases
● You or your friend accidently forgot the PIN / Pattern
● You have found your old android phone, could not recall the PIN / pattern
● Unfortunately someone has expired and you need files, images & video from his
phone.
Pre-conditions
● The device has a unlocked bootloader.
● The device is rooted and USB debugging is enabled on the same.
● The device has USB Debugging enabled and the connected computer is
authorized on the android device.
● The device is connected to internet and you have credentials of google account.
● None of the above
The device has a unlocked bootloader
1. Find Custom recovery .img file for your device
2. Flash the same using fastboot mode
3. Open file manager in custom recovery
4. Delete following files (if found) from /data/system
a. Gatekeeper.password.key
b. Gatekeeper.pattern.key
c. Locksettings.db
d. Locksettings.db-shm
e. Locksettings.db-wal
The device has USB Debugging enabled and the
connected computer is authorized on the android
device.
● You can use android PIN brute force using tools like CiLocks over ADB
➔ The said tool is suitable for
PIN based lock screens only
➔ This is a time consuming
process
Approximate time required for a brute force attack
PIN length Approximate time required
4 digit Around 7 Days
5 digit Around 70 Days
6 digit Around 695 Days - 2 Years
7 digit Around 6945 Days - 19 Years
8 digit Around 69445 Days - 190 Years
10 digit Around 6944445 Days - 19026 Years
The device is rooted and USB debugging is enabled
on the same.
1. Connect the device to authorized computer
2. Go to android shell using adb - adb shell command
3. Switch to root account using su command
4. Delete following files (if found) from /data/system
a. Gatekeeper.password.key
b. Gatekeeper.pattern.key
c. Locksettings.db
d. Locksettings.db-shm
e. Locksettings.db-wal
The device is connected to internet and you have
credentials of google account.
● Try some wrong attempts on the pattern lock
● After error message “Forget Pattern” option will appear.
● Then you can reset the same with the help of your Google account credentials
This method is suitable for pattern locks of Android version 4.4 and older
None of the Pre-Conditions satisfied
● Factory Reset (Erase Everything)
● Android PIN brute force using HID enabled device
○ This is a time consuming process.
○ This method is suitable for PIN based lockscreens
only
Thank You !
