Android 11: Forgot PIN - how to unlock your smartphone

The PIN is one of the various security options that you can use to protect your smartphone from unauthorized access. However, once you have forgotten the code, you will not be able to unlock the smartphone. In such a case, there are various ways to restore access.

What you can do if you forget your PIN

If you have forgotten the PIN from your smartphone, there is also the option under Android 11 to reset the access code via the "Find my device" function.

1. Go to the "Find My Device" web page in your browser and log in with your Google account.
2. Once you have logged in, you will be shown a map and next to it a list of all devices connected to the account.
3. Select the smartphone you want to unlock from the list.
4. Click "Lock". You then have the option to set a new PIN.
5. The new PIN will be applied directly and you can unlock your smartphone again.

Note that this method only works if you have connected your smartphone to the Google account. This should usually have happened when you set up your smartphone. If you cannot reset the PIN this way, you can still completely reset the smartphone in an emergency. However, all data on the device will be lost and you will have to set it up again afterwards.