How to fix a Galaxy Note8 that won’t take PIN or passcode all the time (screen won’t unlock)
Today’s article covers a couple of issues on the #GalaxyNote8 that involves unlocking the screen. In the second problem mentioned below, a Galaxy Note8 has a weird problem not showing the keypad when a user tries to unlock the screen. Another case talks about how inconsistent a Note8 is when it comes to reading the PIN or screen unlock passcode. We hope you’ll find our suggestions in this post helpful.
Problem #1: Galaxy Note8 rebooted itself to Recovery Mode
Phone has been working fine. Today I attempted to put it in a selfie stick, and suddenly the screen flashed a message with the Android cartoon-ish symbol and something about deleting data. I tried, with no success, to turn the phone off. Currently my phone screen reads as follows and I’m terrified that I’ve accidentally deleted everything. What should I do? I’m quite unsophisticated about these things. I’ve left the phone turned on, and haven’t done anything to it. I’m not sure how much battery charge is left. I’m from USA, but currently vacationing in Ireland. Phone screen reads like this – Android Recovery samsung/greatqltesq/greatqlte 8.0.0/R16NW/N95)USQU3CRC2 user/relase-keys Use volumeup/down and power Reboot system now (this line is highlighted in green) Reboot to bootloader Apply update from ADB Apply update from SD card Wipe data/factory reset Wipe cache partition Mount /system View recovery logs Run graphics test Power off . . (lots of space, and then at bottom of screen as below) . . #fail to open recovery _cause (No such file or directory)# #Reboot Recovery Cause is [UNKNOWN]# Support SINGLE-SKU File-based OTA Supported API: 3 should_wipe_data —Wiping data … —Wiping data … [PDP] CheckDir : [/cache/pdp_bkup] is 0 Formatting /data … Formatting /cache … Data wipe complete Formatting /cache … E: [libfs-mgr]Error fetching vrity device number: no such device or address E: [libfs-mgr] Couldn’t get verify devide number! E [libfs-mgr] Error removing device mapping: No such device or address Successfully verified dmverify hash tree.
I’ll appreciate any help you can offer!!! — Susan Kiley
Solution: Hi Susan. For some reason, it appears that your phone has booted itself to Recovery Mode. Recovery Mode is another software environment that runs independent of Android. Normally, the only way to access Recovery Mode is when you press the right button combinations (Volume up, Power and Bixby buttons) while the phone is off. If your Note8 was never turned off before it booted to Recovery, there must be some software issue that caused it. We don’t know the full history of your device to tell you why this is so but instead of finding the why, let’s instead focus on things that we can do.
Try restarting from Recovery Mode
While on recovery, highlight the Reboot system now using the volume buttons. Once you’ve done that, press the Power button to reboot the device. This should send a command to the system to restart itself.
Clear the cache partition
Should nothing happens after selecting Reboot system now, the next option that you can try is to wipe the cache partition. If successful, wiping the cache partition will delete the system cache and restart the system back to normal mode. As usual, use the Volume buttons to select wipe cache partition option, then press Power button to confirm the action.
Factory reset
Finally, if the first two options won’t work at all, consider doing the wipe data/factory reset option. This will factory reset your Note8 and will most likely help in this situation.
Problem #2: Galaxy Note8 won’t unlock after an update, keyboard won’t show
I did the Verizon update on my Samsung Note 8. I can’t access the keyboard to type in my password. Tried soft reset, tried cache clearing, tried letting it die and charging, spoke to Samsung, Google and Verizon FOR HOURS — and they blame each other and tell me to do a factory reset. I CAN’T lose everything, PLEASE! I had the same issue in August with my Blackberry Priv-and an android update locked me out. I have refused to reset it. 2 phones in 8 MONTHS that I will LOSE EVERYTHING (not to mention I had to buy a new phone, refusing to do a hard restart on Priv!) Please, I use my phone to help manage my medical care, have IRREPLACEABLE INFO in there! I have PRAYED and checked the internet. I haven’t seen the same issue! It has flashed an error with the touch sensor–and another–it vanishes too quickly. PLEASE–ANY HELP!! — Robin
Solution: Hi Robin. Samsung and Google put some mechanisms in place to help users who may be locked out of their devices. Obviously, the required password or screen lock are there to ensure that only you can access your device. Unless you can provide the PIN or passcode, there’s no way somebody can get inside your phone at all. This also means that if ever you lock yourself out for some reason, the only way out for you will be to factory reset the device.
If you previously set up Android Device Manager (ADM) before the update, there’s a chance that you may unlock your device through it. In order for ADM to work, you should have the username and password for the Google account that’s on your phone. If you have multiple Google accounts, make sure that you use the correct one.
To unlock your Note8 using Android Device Manager:
- On your computer, open Android Device Manager and sign in using your Google account.
- Now that you’re logged in to Android Device Manager, find the right device you’re working on. If you only have one device associated with this Google account, then you’ll see your Note8 right away.
- Under the smartphone info you will see a button named “Lock” or “Lock & Erase” or similar. Click on the option that says Lock and follow the on-screen steps to lock the device.
- If ADM asks for a temporary password, create one that you can easily remember.
- Afterwards, go back to your Note8 and use the temporary password to unlock it.
Remember, ADM option will only work if you configured it beforehand and if your Note8 is connected to the internet in order to receive the changes from Google. If this workaround won’t work for you, or if the keyboard will still not show so you can enter the temporary password, you’re out of luck. You have no other choice but to do a factory reset.
Problem #3: Galaxy Note8 won’t take PIN or passcode all the time
Hello! Randomly, my phone will forget my PIN number. I enter it correctly to rouse the phone from sleep, but it says ‘wrong PIN’ even though I have entered it correctly. I have to restart the phone, and then it does accept the PIN. I would like to refresh the software or something, but don’t know how to. The phone is not rooted. Thank you! — Susannah
Solution: Hi Susannah. If you’re positive that you enter the correct PIN or screen unlock code every time, then there must be an issue with the software. Before you start troubleshooting the issue, make sure that this has nothing to do with the touchscreen itself. Try wiping the screen with a clean, soft cloth to remove grime or dirt that may be blocking the keypad. If you’re using a screen protector, consider removing that as well to ensure that the normal sensitivity of your Note8 is maintained.
If there’s no physical issue with the touchscreen itself, try our suggestions below.
Clear the cache partition
A corrupted system cache can lead to all sorts of issues. To check if you have a system cache issue, make sure to clear the cache partition by doing these steps:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
- Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
- When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
Install Android and app updates
At times, mundane things fixes issues effectively. When it comes to mobile computing, installing updates for the operating system and apps may be ordinary but they may be able to address on-going problems. By default, your Note8 is supposed to install apps automatically. If you changed this behavior before, make sure that you manually check for updates.
To check for Android updates, go to Settings > Software update.
To check for app updates:
- Open Google Play Store app.
- Tap More settings icon at the left.
- Tap My apps & games.
- Wait for the app to check for updates.
- Tap UPDATE ALL button if you have multiple apps that needs an update.
- Restart your Note8 and check for the problem.
If you get apps outside of the Play Store, make sure that you check for updates for them from their publisher. Third party apps that’s not distributed via Play Store won’t receive updates via Play Store so be sure to get them from the developer only.
Reset settings
Some bugs are fixed by simply reverting software settings to their defaults. If you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to reset all settings of your Note8 to their defaults by following these steps:
- Open Settings app.
- Tap General Management.
- Tap Reset.
- Tap Reset settings.
- Tap RESET SETTINGS button to confirm.
Factory reset
As your last resort, you can always return the software environment of your device back to their default settings by wiping the device. Factory reset will delete personal data so be sure to create a backup before doing it.
To factory reset your Note8:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
- Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
- Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
- When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.