Unlock your Samsung Galaxy Alpha (S801)

OS: Android 4.4.4 (KitKat), upgradable to 5.0 (Lollipop)

CPU: Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400

Display: 4.7 inches, 60.9 cm²

Battery: Removable Li-Ion 1860 mAh battery

1. Use the Tenorshare 4uKey for Android app.
2. Make a hard reset (factory reset).
3. How to use a low battery to unlock a phone locked with a graphic key.
4. Delete 'gesture.key' and 'password.key' using Aroma File Manager.
5. Restore access to your smartphone using your Google Account.

1. Use the Tenorshare 4uKey for Android app.

Connect your phone to PC and launch Tenorshare 4uKey for Android.
Press the Remove button in the menu that appears on the PC screen.
The program will warn you about deleting all data on the phone, to continue working, click OK.
Wait until the end of the operation, and put the phone into recovery mode.
Click the Next button and follow the instructions on the screen. After rebooting the smartphone, the screen lock will be disabled.

2. Make a hard reset (factory reset)

To get started, turn off your smartphone.Simultaneously press and hold for about 10-15 seconds one of the button combinations:
Volume down button + Power button;
Volume up button + Power button;
Volume down button + Power button + Home button;
Volume down button + Volume up button + Power button.
Select Recovery using volume up/down buttons to navigate through the menu and confirm selection by pressing the power button.
Select Wipe data/factory reset. by using the volume buttons to move through the menu and confirm the selection by pressing the power button.
At the end, confirm the reset operation.

3. How to use a low battery to unlock a phone locked with a graphic key.

You need to ensure that the phone battery is discharged. To speed up the process, make sure that the screen is constantly lit.
When the battery has a few percent left, the phone will report this and open the menu with power settings, that is, it will unlock the phone.
You need to quickly open the menu item with security settings and disable the lock.

4. Delete 'gesture.key' and 'password.key' using Aroma File Manager.

Turn off your phone and prepare a memory card.
Transfer the Aroma File Manager program using a computer to the phone's memory card. Insert the memory card back into the phone.
Using the combination of volume and power buttons, put the smartphone into recovery mode.
In recovery mode, select the Install zip option. Then select Install zip from sdcard, Choose zip from sdcard, go to the archive folder with this program and select it.
You need to go to the /data/system folder and delete the files 'gesture.key' and 'password.key' (for the Android 4.4 or lower operating system) or 'getekeeper.password.key' and 'getekeeper.pattern. key' (for Android 5 operating system or higher)
Restart your smartphone. The block will be removed.

5. Restore access to your smartphone using your Google Account.

After unsuccessful attempts to unlock the phone, Forgot password? will appear on the phone screen. Click on it.
You will be asked to enter your Google Account username and password.
Remove the screen lock in the settings.

Thomas Nilan
Smartphone Expert

Thomas Nilan is a mobile phone expert with in-depth knowledge of the Android and iOS operating systems, who understands the settings of various hidden features that allow you to expand the capabilities of your smartphone, as well as get information about what is going on inside the phone for future repairs. He is an authority in his field, which has allowed him to become a ghostwriter for several technology publications, and he enjoys writing small mobile applications for testing smartphones.