Unlock your Samsung Galaxy S5 mini

OS: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), upgradable to 5.1.1 (Lollipop); TouchWiz UI

CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A7

Display: 4.5" inc

Camera: 8 MP, Single

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 smartphone to PC and open the 4uKey for Android program.
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.
After finishing the lock removal process, put your phone into recovery mode.
Click the Next button, then follow the steps recommended by the program to restore the device to factory settings and reboot it. After rebooting the smartphone, the screen lock will be disabled.

2. Make a hard reset (factory reset)

Turn off your phone.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.
Using the volume buttons to navigate through the menu, select Recovery and confirm 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.
Finally, confirm the reset operation.

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

You need to make sure that the battery of the phone is discharged.
When the battery has a few percent charge left, the phone will notify you and open a menu with power settings, that is, the lock will be removed.
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 remove the memory card from it.
Copy Aroma File Manager to your phone's memory card. Insert a memory card into your smartphone.
Using the combination of volume and power buttons, put the smartphone into recovery mode.
In recovery mode, select the option Install zip -> Install zip from sdcard -> Choose zip from sdcard, go to the archive folder with this program and select it.
After starting the program, you will need to go to the folder /data/system and delete the files 'gesture.key' and 'password.key' (for Android 4.4 or lower) or 'getekeeper.password.key' and 'getekeeper.pattern.key' (for Android 5 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 need to enter your Google Account username and password.
Remove the screen lock from 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.