Hard Reset on Sony devices, remove the pattern, restore factory settings. Unlocking XPeria S (incorrect pattern)
Many users of modern Android smartphones are very concerned about the security of their personal data stored in the device’s memory. This is why they use password protection. Pattern locking is an alternative to a digital password combination and is used on every second smartphone.
But you've probably encountered a situation where the pattern key is forgotten and there is no way to unlock the device. And we will consider mainly owners of Sony Xperia series smartphones. So what should we do?
The first and most classic pattern unlock
Turn on your screen Sony Xperia, where the graphic key entry page is displayed. You need to enter the wrong combination several times in a row for the system to report that the ability to enter the key is temporarily blocked. This restriction will last for 30 seconds, but it is during this time that an additional button appears marked “Forgot your pattern?”.
Choose this option. What's next? The system will prompt you to enter the name of your personal Google account and finally require you to provide a password. If the data turns out to be correct, the system will prompt the user to select a new graphic key.
The second method is a complete system reset
A forgotten pattern lock on a new Sony Xperia smartphone can be bypassed by completely resetting the system. Of course, this method is extremely radical, but if you did not manage to set up a Google account and did not really use the device, then such a system will not bring unnecessary worries into your life.
Resetting the system or installing factory settings is an optional feature of the device, which is specified either from the Android menu or using a hotkey combination. The hotkey combination specific to your Sony Xperia model can be found on the Internet, but usually it is a combination of the power button and volume rocker.
After the system is restored to factory settings, all data will have to be entered, as when you turned on the smartphone for the first time. Time, date, account data - all this must be recorded when turned on. The picture password will be disabled, but can be reactivated in the settings menu.
Video instructions for unlocking Sony Xperia
Software unlocking of a pattern key
We described 2 current ways to solve the problem above. There is also a third possible way out of a difficult situation - using software.
You can unlock the pattern on your Sony Xperia smartphone using PC Companion software. The phone will have to be connected to the computer with a standard USB cable, and all the main steps will be performed on the computer monitor in the program window.
You can download the latest version of PC Companion here:
Video (with explanation in English) showing all three methods:
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The presence of such a code protects our mobile device from unauthorized access. But what should someone do? forgot sony ericsson phone lock code? Let's try to figure this out.
Problems with the lock code on Sony Ericsson phones. What if we forgot it?
By default, all devices from this manufacturer have the code set to 0000. If it does not work, most likely the combination is different due to the fact that the user himself changed it. The blocking code usually includes from 4 to 8 numbers.
If we have just purchased a mobile device, the blocking is most likely disabled. You can enable it through the general settings of our phone. Go to the “Blocks” item through the “Security” menu and select the “Phone Protection” item. We turn on the protection. Enter the lock code. As already mentioned, the default is 0000.
To change the set code, go back to the “Phone protection” item and select “Change code”. Next, follow the instructions of our mobile device.
What should a user do if he forgot the lock code for his Sony Ericsson phone and can’t remember it? To ensure security, the mobile operator, as well as the support center of the mobile equipment manufacturer, have the right to find out such a code. If there are no such reasons, it is best to contact the service center for help from specialists.
How to reset the lock code on a Sony Ericsson phone if we have forgotten it, by ourselves?
One of the most effective methods is a hard reboot, that is, a hard reset. This will reset the settings to factory defaults. Please note that the method of resetting the settings depends on the specific model of our mobile device. This is especially noticeable in the way you access the system recovery menu.
You can also reset the settings to the factory state using special utilities. Before working with any of the programs, you should definitely check the availability of firmware drivers. Depending on the platform our phone is running on, the lock code will be reset to 0000, or will appear in the flash era window.
You can reset the security code using the SETool2 Lite utility. Open it and select the model of our device in the “Phone Type” item. Click “Repair/Unlock”. The phone turns off, after which we press and hold the C key and insert the USB cable.
A notification should appear in the “Log” window that the device is disconnected (“Phone detached”). Close the program, disconnect the mobile device, remove and install the battery back. Turn on the phone again.
You can also reset the code using the XS++ utility. Open it and select the connection item (“Connect”). On the disconnected device, hold down the C button and connect the USB cable. After the device is detected, check the “GDFS” item. Go to the “Locks” tab, and from there to “Phone Lock”. Once the reset is complete, close XS++ and turn off the mobile device. We remove the battery and install it back, and then turn on our phone.
We recently bought a neighbor girl, my daughter’s friend, a Sony Xperia Tipo smartphone. Naturally, no one read the instruction manual. And about the fact that if a graphic key, PIN code or password is installed, then it is imperative to remember them and enter them correctly. And if you enter the key or password incorrectly more than 10 times, the smartphone will be blocked. And if you lose the answer to your security question or your mailbox, the screen will be locked forever and without losing important data, such as contacts, messages, personal settings, it will not be possible to restore the functionality of the smartphone. Yes, even in this manual, instead of warning that you will have to reinstall the operating system, it simply says “Contact Sony customer support for more information.”
So the children decided to guess the graphic password. Of course, it was administered not only 5 times, but 20-40 times until complete failure.
Only two days passed from the moment of purchase until the unfortunate moment of blocking. And during this time, hundreds of pictures and songs had already been downloaded to the smartphone. Naturally, no one wanted to lose anything. And since there is such a possibility as locking the screen, then there are certainly ways to unlock it. Well, at least, that’s what the children reasoned after spending half a day trying to enter the answer to a security question or the name and password of a Google account. As it turned out, the answer to the security question was written, completely meaningless and without any attempt to remember it. And the password to the Google account was forgotten, and in addition, the SIM card with the phone number recorded during registration was also missing.
So it was also not possible to recover the password to your Google account. It’s strange, but he also didn’t want to understand the data from other Google accounts. Apparently, when registering an account from a phone, some information about the phone itself is saved there. The next day, with my help, we scoured the entire Internet, but not a single method proposed for unlocking the screen of the Sony Xperia Tipo smartphone worked. Even doing a Hard Reset didn’t work. It seems that Android is the same as everywhere else, but the functionality is different. Marvelous.
A terrible thought crept in: “All that’s left is to reinstall the OS.” The same thought once flashed on the Internet. Why is the thought scary? Yes, because there is already a bad experience updating the OS on Nokia. It’s true that Symbian was installed there and the update was performed at the service center, but the result was still unpleasant. Either the buttons don’t work, or they work when they shouldn’t, or other troubles. I had to go to the service center again and restore the OS so that everything would function correctly. But there is nowhere to go, we must save the situation. The phone is new. We started looking for ways to reinstall the OS on a smartphone. We found two recommendations: “Sony PC Companion” and “Update Service”. Both programs are from Sony, both are in Russian, but somehow it didn’t work out right away. Thus ended the second day of unsuccessful searches for a solution to the problem.
The next day we decided to go back to the primer and read the instruction manual, where we found a quick and short solution. Apparently the situation was already known and therefore it was immediately recommended to “Contact Sony customer support for more information.” We went to the www.sonymobile.com server, after digging around and not finding anything in the support section, we went to the support contact page https://support.sonymobile.com/ru/contactUs/ and found the phone number 8-800-100-8022. We immediately call there and ask the question “how to unlock the screen of a Sony Xperia Tipo smartphone.” In response we hear “only reinstalling Android will help.” Moreover, it is recommended to do this with the Sony PC Companion program. You can get it on the page https://support.sonymobile.com/ru/xperia-companion/. There on the page you will see
System requirements:
- Broadband Internet Connection
- Intel Pentium 4 3.6 GHz or equivalent AMD processor
- 500 MB of free hard disk space
- RAM 2 GB
- 1 free USB 2.0 port and USB cable
- Microsoft Windows XP SP2 (32-bit), Vista (32/64-bit) or Windows 7 (32/64-bit)
The installation instructions say “Run the program and follow the instructions,” but it’s not that simple either. There are several special moments. And the very first thing is that the focus failed under Windows XP. Windows XP could not get drivers from the Internet itself. I will show you where this happens later in the screenshots. Therefore, I recommend performing the recovery operation on Windows 7. It did a great job.
Second: The requirement of broadband internet has the maximum impact on download and installation speed. I can’t say exactly at what speed the server issues the OS installation package, but at a speed of about 4 Mbit, the installation/download time was about 30 minutes.
So let's get started.
How to unlock a smartphone step by step instructions
Step 1. Download the Sony PC Companion program
Surely you have already downloaded and installed “Sony PC Companion”. It weighs about 27 MB, unlike the “Update Service”, which weighs about 42 MB and is intended exclusively for updating software. At first I didn't take her seriously. I thought that it was intended to synchronize a PC and a smartphone, well, as a last resort, update the software. But the support service explained how to restore the old OS.
When you turn it on for the first time, the program will begin to update, so you will have to wait. After the update, you may need to enable it again. And so we turn on the program and see the first screen.
In the first column “Support Zone”, move the mouse cursor over the “Start” button and it will be highlighted in blue:
![](https://i2.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani2.jpg)
Step 2. Find the item "Phone/tablet software update"
Click the left mouse button and go to the next screen. There are three sections here, but we will be interested in the first section, “Updating phone/tablet software.”
![](https://i2.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani3.jpg)
We move the mouse over the "Start" button under this item. She turns blue and we press her.
![](https://i0.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani4.jpg)
We carefully read the text of the window that appears and do not rush to click the “Connect” button. Since it becomes clear from the text that if you need to update the software, you need to click the “Connect” button.
![](https://i2.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani5.jpg)
Step 3. Read carefully and click the secret inscription
And if you have problems and need to reinstall the software, then click the highlighted text “restore phone/tablet”. This is the secret that allows you to reinstall existing software.
By clicking on the inscription, we get to a Window in which it says that when reinstalling, all contacts (phone numbers) and messages, bookmarks, calendar events and everything that is recorded in the internal memory will be lost during reinstallation. Only what is on the flash drive will be saved.
By clicking on the “Continue” button, we are taken to the next screen, where you are once again asked that you understand that all the data you have accumulated will be irretrievably lost. And until you check the circled box, the “Next” button will not be highlighted.
![](https://i1.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani9.jpg)
Here we wait while the database with phone models is loaded from the server to the computer.
![](https://i0.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani10.jpg)
Step 4. Select our smartphone model
When the entire list of models appears, move the slider located on the right down.
![](https://i0.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani11.jpg)
And somewhere at the end of the list we find our model Sony Xperia Tipo.
![](https://i1.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani12.jpg)
![](https://i2.wp.com/testiruemvse.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/compani13.jpg)
1. The phone’s battery must be charged as fully as possible (point 2), since charging from a PC via a USB cable will not work during a software reinstallation/update. The fact is that the OS is responsible for charging the battery. And during installation, the old OS will be removed, and the new one will only be installed. Besides, you don’t know how long the installation will take. So I recommend charge the battery completely.
2. In paragraph 3 it says to turn off the phone for 5 seconds. In the Update Service program, at least 30 seconds are recommended. I actually took out the battery and waited for about two minutes just to be safe, which I recommend you do too.
3. The phone connects to the computer as an external drive and requires driver installation. It was at this point that Windows XP could not find the driver on the Internet and displayed a device connection error message. The process has stopped. Windows 7 performed the search quickly enough and connected the phone correctly. So I strongly recommend reinstalling/updating the software Windows 7 or later.
When you connect your phone, the program determines the version of the installed software. After this, the message “Software update has started” will appear between the second and third lines. That's all you could do good before the installation began. Now we sit, smoke or drink tea, coffee, I don’t recommend beer (just kidding). The process can take up to half an hour, or maybe longer (it all depends on the speed of your Internet channel).
Step 6. Turn on the phone for the first time after downloading the new OS
Once the download is complete, a new option will appear: “Disconnect the USB cable from the phone and turn on the phone.” That's what we do. Turning on the phone for the first time after loading the new OS takes a very long time - 5-10 minutes. Well, that’s understandable. The operating system must format its memory, install all files, create services, etc. After the phone boots up everything will be as usual, only it will be completely empty as soon as it comes out of the store.
And so, from all of the above, the following conclusions should be drawn, which are also recommendations for users of smartphones of any model:
- All passwords and security questions you enter must be written down and remembered.
- Do not let others play with your smartphone or argue about whether someone will or will not guess your password (especially a graphic one).
- If your phone is blocked, you shouldn’t immediately throw it away and run out to buy a new one. (Try to restore what you have first.)
- Be sure to read the instructions for your phone, there you will probably find useful information and tedious recommendations.
- Feel free to use the recommendations from the instructions and technical support. The company’s specialists are not fools and probably already know about a similar problem.
- If you have lost the instructions or simply don’t have them, search the Internet using the model name of your smartphone on the manufacturer’s website.
Well that's ALL. I think I fully answered the question “How to unlock a smartphone.” Good luck in restoring your smartphone.
Resetting the pattern key through the service menu
Unlocking your phone through the serviceMy Xperia
This article is suitable for both novice Sony Xperia users on the Android operating system and advanced users. Let us make a reservation in advance that this algorithm may not work on other brands of phones, or rather, most likely it will not work, so you should not try to unlock other phones using this method. Remember that you carry out all procedures at your own peril and risk, if you are not confident in your skills, or have already damaged your phone, Sony Xperia smartphone repair will help you.
Please note that the reset described in these instructions will result in the loss of all personal data that is in the phone's memory. We advise you to save all the necessary data to a flash drive in advance.
Step by step instructions
- First you need to press the emergency call button, an on-screen keyboard will appear, and you will need to enter the code from it: *#*#7378423#*#* .
- This code will open the service menu. In it, click on “Customization Settings”.
- Then click “Reset customization”.
- We confirm the action by agreeing to reboot the phone “Reset customization and reboot”.
- We wait for a while (about a minute), the phone reboots and applies the changes. Do not press any buttons while this process is in progress.
- After the smartphone turns off, start it by pressing the power button.
- Make all the necessary phone settings, select the language, and you're done!
After these simple manipulations, you will find yourself on the desktop of your device. This algorithm should work on most versions of Sony Xperia, but if suddenly it does not work, then repeat the same steps, only with the code *#*#73556673#*#* . On some “machines” this code may simply lead to a restart of the device (the listed codes are one of many service codes for Sony Xperia; you can find the rest of the codes on the official website of the smartphone manufacturer).
If suddenly the methods described above do not work, do not despair, because you can simply use the PC Companion program.
Using this program, only on Sony Xperia you can update, backup data and restore it from backup. This program is quite simple and easy to use. You can find it on the disk that should be in the box of the smartphone you are purchasing.
You can also unlock your Xperia smartphone through the “My Xperia” service. To do this, you need to go to My Xperia on the official Sony website and follow the instructions in Russian.
Sony took care of its customers and made one good program with which you can remove the pattern lock (restore to factory settings) from any Sony phone. It's called Sony Update Service.
List of supported Sony models:
Xperia Z2 Tablet, Xperia Z2, Xperia E1, Xperia T2 Ultra Dual, Xperia T2 Ultra, Xperia Z1 compact, Xperia X Ultra(SOL24), Xperia Z Ultra (Wifi only), Xperia Z ultra, Xperia Z1f(SO-02f), Xperia Z1 (SO-01F), Xperia Z1 (SOL23), Xperia Z ultra (SOL24), SmartWatch 2 SW2, Stero Bluetooth HeadSet SBH52, Xperia Z1, Xperia Z1s (C6916), Xperia M dual, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia C, Xperia M, Stereo Bluetooth HeadSet SBH50, SOL22, Xperia A (SA-04E), Xperia ZR, Xperia L (C2104), Xperia L (C2105/S36h), Xperia Tablet Z (Wifi only), Xperia SP, Xperia Tablet Z ( SO-03E), Xperia ZL, Xperia E, Xperia Z (SO-02E), Xperia E Dual, Xperia ZR, Xperia Z, Xperia V, Xperia VC, Xperia AX (SO-01E), Xperia TL, Xperia VL, Xperia J, Xperia T, Xperia micro, Xperia TX, Xperia tipo Dual, Xperia SL, Xperia tipo, Xperia SX(SO-05D), Xperia acro S, Xperia ion, Smart Wireless Headset Pro, Xperia go, Xperia GX(SO-04D ), Xperia Neo L, Xperia ion (LT28i), Xperia ion (LT28at), Smartwatch MN2, Xperia sola, Xperia P, Xperia U, Xperia acro HD (IS12S), Xperia Acro HD (SO-03D), Xperia S (LT26 ), Xperia NX (SO-02D), Xperia Ray (SO-03C), Xperia acro (IS11S), Xperia ray (ST18), Xperia pro (MK16), Xperia active (ST17), Xperia mini pro (SK17), Xperia mini (ST15), Xperia arc (LT15), Xperia neo (MT15), Xperia acro (SO-02C), Xperia arc (SO-01C), SonyEricsson txt (CK13), s51SE, Xperia neo V (MT11), Xperia PLAY (SO-011D), Xperia arc S (LT18), Mix Walkman (WT13), W8 Walkman (E16), Live with Walkman (WT19), Walkman WT18i, txt pro (CK15), Xperia Play (R800), Xperia Play ( Z1), LiveView MN800, Cedar, Yendo Yizo, Xperia X8 (E15), Spiro, Xperia X10 mini pro (U20), Hazet, Zylo, Aspen, Vizav pro, Elm, Xperia X10 mini (E10), Vivaz, Xperia X10 ( X10), Xperia X10 (SO-01B), Satio, Yari Kita, Aino, Naite, W995, C510, W705, C905, T700, W959, C702, C902, W760, K850, K858, W910, W908.
So, for any of these devices, using this utility you can essentially do a hard reset, reset the settings, or remove the pattern. To do this, you only need a USB cable (which comes with your phone), a computer and, in fact, your phone.
Instructions:
1. Let's move on
2. Launch and Install the program. (OK> Accept> Install> Done). After installation, the program will check for updates and sync.
3. Before starting work, we need a USB cable (included with the phone), a battery level of at least 50%, do not connect the phone at this stage.
4. Click “Start” and select the model of your phone/device, click “Next”.
5. Read the instructions on the screen: Turn off the phone, Press and hold the “volume down” button (depending on the phone model, because it may be a different button) and connect the phone to the computer.
Video using the example of Sony Ericsson W8: