Forgotten your Pattern Lock for Android?

If you've forgotten the pattern to unlock your Android phone, it happens! Can't remember the login information to your Google account or the Kids have screwed you again by trying to make your phone more secure because you know it needs to be so secure no one can get in to it ever again!

The easiest way to get back in is to factory reset your phone! I know you didn't want to hear it but there it is. The good news I guess is that the vast majority of your information should be stored on your Sim and external storage ie. Your memory Card.

To Factory Reset the phone without access to the menu its a simple case of using the phones hardware buttons, that is say the volume, selection keys or power key.

For most phones this is to hold Volume Up the Home key and Power Key with the phone off and when it starts up you will be greeted with the factory reset menu, then use the volume keys to Navigate to wipe/factory reset and use the Home key to select. give it a second it should say complete on the screen then navigate to reboot/restart and when its back on you should have the phone setup wizard waiting for you to add your settings like it was a brand new phone.

We have a collection here but drop a comment and we'll come back to you with the correct key combination. Alternately you can search for "*your phone make* hard reset" on Google and it will bring up the most likely options!

I know We've covered this before but I just wanted to make a more direct approach to a single problem 

Free Galaxy S3/S3 Mini and Note 2 Unlock

So with the reveal of the New Samsung Galaxy S4 not far off now I thought it time to be all nostalgic and go back to the Galaxy S3 and re-publish the free unlock method.

This is well versed around the net now and we take no credit for it (Source) but as the site dose focus on unlocking from time to time I'm going to add it to our archive!

Before you start Make sure your phone is running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and that it is already carrier locked (duh) also please note this method only works on certain variants for the Galaxy S3/Note2 and Mini3 not all and finally please note we take no responsibility for bricking your galaxy so don't cry to us if you mess up, this is at your own risk people! 

1. Open the Dialer and type in *#197328640#

2. Main Menu -> [1] UMTS -> [1] Debug Screen -> [8] Phone Control -> [6] Network Lock -> Options  [3]Perso SHA256 OFF Now wait 30 seconds

3. Hit the Menu button and select Back and you should now be in the Network Lock

4. Choose NW Lock NV Data INITIALLIZ and again wait but for a Minute this time

5. Reboot the phone

Bare in mind there is no acknowledgement that the phone is now unlocked so the only way to know is to try another carrier sim. And that the Time waiting is key so don't rush it.

All Credit to Owl47 over at XDA Developers and you can read the original Here with loads of follow up information.

Requesting Phone Unlock Vodafone Ireland and O2 Ireland

If you've been trying to get your Phone unlocked by your provider and that provider is Vodafone Ireland or O2 Ireland I've got some handy links for you! These are direct links to Unlock request forms on their respective sites

Vodafone Ireland - O2 Ireland

Meteor and Three don't seem to have any similar service but here is their Unlock Information.

Meteor Three

Enjoy

Nokia Unlock Calculator

We've added a Free Nokia Unlock Calculator to the site it also has a Master Security Code generator as well and works just great for older Nokia Phones. Click Here or Click Free Nokia Unlock on the menu above to jump to the page. Loads of thanks to the nice people at www.findmethatphone.co.uk.

If your looking for other Handsets or your Nokia is not in the Free Unlock Calculator then you can use our Premium Unlock Service that is located off site at the moment and can be found here.

Enter the Unlock Code in a Blackberry 8520 Curve

So you've got you Unlock Code for your Blackberry 8520 Great, Now what!? Just follow these steps to free up that sucker! Make sure to follow step by step.

1. Boot up your Blackberry as normal with your usual sim in it.

2. Select Settings - Options - Advanced options and then Sim Card.

3. In the Sim Card menu hold shift and type mepd

4. Again while holding the shift Key type mep then you will need to hit the alt key to enter 2 Your trying to type MEP2 

5. You should now have a prompt to enter your Unlock code.

6. Enter the code and hit the Return(The one under del key) and you should see Code accepted.

That should be it all going good you can now put in any sim you want.

How to enter a Nokia Unlock Code



It's really easy to enter the Unlock Code on your Nokia Feature Phone.

Once you have your code from your chosen source ie. your network provider, just take out your current sim and switch the Phone on. At the insert sim prompt you have to enter it in the following way.

#PW+Your Code Goes Here+1#



To get the P W and + you need to use the star or * key.

Below I have the number of times to press the star key to get the Letters and + Symbol.

P: Quickly press * [Star Key] 3 Times

W: Quickly press *[Star Key] 4 Times

+: Quickly press *[Star Key] 2 Times

Once you have the code completed the Phone should show "Sim Restriction Off" If it dose not Don't keep entering the code, Double check it as generally you only have 5 Attempts to enter a Code before the Phone will tell you "Cannot Undo Restriction" if this happens you will most likely have to take it to the Unlock Shop!

You should also be aware the final digit after the last + can vary so again double check before you enter.

This method should also work with Nokia Phones that Turn fully on without a sim and the code can be entered in the same way at the Main Screen.