What to do if Galaxy S10 lock out after an update | won’t boot up or open up

The latest issue that some Galaxy S10 users have encountered so far is about the latest software update as of this writing. Basically, what’s happening is that the Galaxy S10 appears to lock out users after update has been installed. There’s is no official explanation from Samsung why this is happening but they do suggest to fix the issue by implementing a factory reset. First of all, this is definitely not acceptable since this can mean that users who did not back up will lose their data. Secondly, this is clearly a software glitch and is not supposed to happen. Although this is not universal, there’s sizable number of users reporting the same trouble at this time so it can be a real trouble for Galaxy S10 users. Anyway, this post is to help those affected by the problem. If you are one of the unfortunate few to have it, follow our solutions below.

What to do if Galaxy S10 lock out after an update | won’t boot up or open up

If your Galaxy S10 lock you out after an update and you have no idea how to proceed, any of the solutions below might help. Learn what to do in this situation by following this guide.

S10 lock out after update fix #1: Unlock device using your Google account

Some Samsung Galaxy users reported that their Galaxy S10 acted weird after installing the latest update by asking for a password to unlock the screen. This occurred even if the users themselves were not using a password at all. The thing is, your Galaxy S10 do have passwords although you may not be actively using it at this time. This password can be for your Samsung account and/or Google account. In some cases, using either one can unlock the device. Make sure to try either one to see if this will allow you to unlock the device.

For security reasons, there are only a number of possible attempts allowed to unlock any Android device using a Samsung account or Google account credentials. Make sure that you are absolutely positive that you have the correct password for either account before unlocking the device. To do that, try to log out to your account first using a web browser in another device. To see if you have the correct Samsung account credentials, visit their sign in page: https://account.samsung.com/.

To see if you have the correct Google account credentials, visit https://accounts.google.com/servicelogin. Be sure that you are using the Google account added to your phone.

If none of the passwords from both accounts work, do the rest of the suggestions below.

S10 lock out after update fix #2: Restart device

Restarting your Galaxy S10 might work in this situation as well. You must do this troubleshooting steps if using your Samsung account or Google account won’t help. There’s a couple of ways to restart your device. Try restarting it normally first by pressing the Power button to access the boot menu. Then, select Restart option and see if that works.

Some users have reported that they are unable to even access the boot menu so what you want to do in this case is to perform a soft reset instead. Simply press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power key at the same time for 10 seconds or until the device’s screen turns on. This simulates the effect of having disconnected the battery from the device. If this works, this may unlock the device.

If doing the regular restart won’t help, then try this:

1. Press and hold the Volume Down button first and don’t release it.
2. While holding it down, press and hold the Power key.
3. Keep both keys held down for 10 seconds or more. 

The second restart procedure tries to simulate the effects of removing the battery pack. On older devices, disconnecting the battery is often an effective way in fixing unresponsive devices. Hopefully, your wifi troubles will get fixed by this procedure. If nothing changed though, proceed to the next suggestions.

S10 lock out after update fix #3: Unlock device with Android Device Manager

If you enabled Android Device Manager on this device, you may be able to fix Galaxy S10 lock out after update issue using ADM. To check if you did registered your S10 with Google’s ADM service, you can visit their ADM page first using another phone or computer. If you are positive that it’s active on your S10, here are the steps to unlock it:

1. Go to the Android Device Manager from a computer.
2. Find your Galaxy S10 on the screen.
3. Enable “Lock & Erase” feature.
4. Follow the given steps on the page to lock your phone.
5. Set a temporary password.
6. Enter the temporary password on your Galaxy S10.
7. Create a new password.

S10 lock out after update fix #4: Unlock device using Find My Mobile

Like Google, Samsung has its own service to remotely allow your device to be unlocked. This service is called Find My Mobile. In order for it to work, you must have registered your device in Find My Mobile website or service. And like ADM, it also requires some things. Below are the necessary things that must be met in order for you to use it:

• phone’s Remote Controls feature must be on
• Google location service must be on
• phone must be connected to wifi or mobile data

To check if Find My Mobile is active on your S10, visit Samsung’s Find My Mobile site first using another device or computer.

If you’ve already registered your device to Samsung’s Find My Mobile service before and the rest of the requirements are met, you can then do the following to unlock your phone:

1. In your computer, go to Samsung Find My Mobile website and sign in.
2. If you have multiple devices registered, make sure to select the correct one in the upper left hand side of the screen.
3. Click on the arrow icon to begin searching for your device.
4. Once the service has located the device, scroll down the options on the right until you see Unlock My Device option.
5. Click Unlock My Device.
6. Enter your Samsung password.
7. Click Unlock.

S10 lock out after update fix #5: Restart to Safe Mode

If your Galaxy S10 lock out after update issue remains at this stage, the most likely reason for the problem may be a system glitch, which unfortunately, may only be fixed by a factory reset. Instead of wiping the phone right away with a factory reset, we suggest that you try to see if you can let the phone run to safe mode first. This will allow you to create a backup of your personal data such as photos, videos, documents, apps, etc. If you have previously created a backup of your files before installing the update, we suggest that you skip safe mode and perform factory reset instead.

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
3. When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
6. When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.

If your device restarts to safe mode successfully, you can begin to create a back up. We suggest that you use Smart Switch to the task. Smart Switch can be installed on a computer or to another phone. If you have a computer and want to save your files to that device, then you need to install Smart Switch to it first. 

These are the steps to install Smart Switch on your computer:

1. Open the internet browser on your computer and visit the installation page for Smart Switch app.
2. In the middle of the page, click on the appropriate download link for Windows. There should be three different options :
3. Get it on Google Play
4. Download on the Mac Store app
5. Get it on Windows.
6. Click the Get in on Windows option.
7. Follow the rest of the installation instructions by first clicking on Run button.  Afterwards, select the appropriate settings for you.
8. Confirm that you accept the terms of the license agreement by clicking the two check boxes.
9. Click Next.
10. Wait for the installation to finish. This should take a few moments.
11. Complete the installation process by clicking the Finish button. After that, the newly installed Smart Switch app will run automatically.

How to use Smart Switch for PC to backup Samsung Galaxy phone

Now that you’ve successfully installed Smart Switch, you can start creating a backup of your personal data. Backing up with Smart Switch is very easy. Here’s how:

1. Begin by opening the Smart Switch app on your computer.
2. Connect your Android device to your computer via USB cable.
3. Make sure your phone is unlocked.
4. On the Smart Switch app click on MORE at the top right.
5. Click Preferences.
6. Click Backup items tab. In this tab, you will be able to customize what items to copy and keep as back up. All items are selected by default by if you want to speed up the copying process, you may want to select the important boxes only.
7. Once you’ve selected what items to include in your backup, click OK. Otherwise, simply click Cancel.
8. Click Backup.
9. Tap Allow on your phone if Smart Switch asks for permission.
10. Once the backup is complete, you get a breakdown of all the data that was successfully backed up. Click OK to finish.

S10 lock out after update fix #6: Factory reset

The most effective solution to this problem so far is factory reset. This is definitely not an acceptable way to deal with such an issue but Samsung has only this to suggest. If your Galaxy S10 lock out after update issue continues at this point, you should boot the device to Recovery Mode in order to factory reset it. Here’s how it’s done:

1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
4. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Bixby button at the same time.
5. While still holding the Volume Up and Bixby keys, press and hold the Power button.
6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.

 

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