Can't enter my phone as I can't type the unlock code. What should I do?

[Windows Central Question]

Can't enter my phone as I can't type the unlock code. The keypad is pure black, although the lock-screen works fine. How can I solve this?

I definitely do not want to hard reset the phone as I need the pictures on it.

Please help.

 

[gpobernardo]

If you're referring to a Windows Phone, then you could try performing a soft reset on your phone, by pressing and holding the power button and the volume down buttons for at least 15 seconds or until your phone reboots - this will force a soft reset but should not erase your user data.

You would need to create a Windows Central account in order to respond to this thread.

 

[Asvin Peiris]

Hey,

I tried that and unfortunately it doesn't work. When tryin gto make an emergency call, I can see the dial pad. I also can open the camera in locked mode. But when I swipe up from the lock menu, the pin keypad is pure black and I don't think it even types anything. Tries several restarts too.

Any other suggestions before hard reset? Maybe a way I can get the pictures out?

Thanks,

A

 

[noersetiawan]

Try to locate call and lock the phone from windowsphone.com and set a custom message, probably it will unstuck the lock screen.

 

[gpobernardo]

Hey,

I tried that and unfortunately it doesn't work. When tryin gto make an emergency call, I can see the dial pad. I also can open the camera in locked mode. But when I swipe up from the lock menu, the pin keypad is pure black and I don't think it even types anything. Tries several restarts too.

Any other suggestions before hard reset? Maybe a way I can get the pictures out?

Thanks,

A

Have you tried noersetiawan's suggestion?

It's strange that performing a soft reset didn't work. Here's something you can try: since you can open and launch the camera, go ahead and take a photo; then, try to view the photo using the gallery viewer at the corner of the screen (it should look like a padlock icon) - that should force you to enter the unlock code through the keypad.

What phone are you using by the way? If it has an SD Card, then you could simply turn your phone off, remove the SD Card from your phone, connect it to a PC and then copy the images from the SD Card to your PC - that is if the photos are set to be stored and saved on the SD card.

Let us know what you find.

 

[heickelrrx]

Hey,

I tried that and unfortunately it doesn't work. When tryin gto make an emergency call, I can see the dial pad. I also can open the camera in locked mode. But when I swipe up from the lock menu, the pin keypad is pure black and I don't think it even types anything. Tries several restarts too.

Any other suggestions before hard reset? Maybe a way I can get the pictures out?

Thanks,

A

Connect your phone with computer. And browse it manually. It doesn't matter if you can't type as long as you can unlock it

If you can't unlock it you can try completely discharging the battery. And recharge it

 

[gpobernardo]

Connect your phone with computer. And browse it manually. It doesn't matter if you can't type as long as you can unlock it

If you can't unlock it you can try completely discharging the battery. And recharge it

Was thinking of the same, but how can we unlock the phone if the keypad for the unlock PIN in the lock screen is missing?

The discharge method may be worth a try, but the OP indicated that restarting the phone didn't work and so didn't soft resetting, whereas discharging the battery has the same effect as a soft reset - the only difference is that completely discharging the battery can potentially harm the battery itself (Li-ion). I won't recommend this method, but it's the OP's decision to make - it might work after all.

 

[Asvin Peiris]

Sorry guys, for the delay.

So, noersetiawan - I can't do that since there is no internet connection to my phone. There's no way of getting it to connect to WiFi (Can't connect since it tried to unlock) or Data since I don't have a SIM for the phone.

I honestly want to keep factory reseting as a last resort since I have pictures that I so don't want to lose.

gpobernardo - I tried taking a picture and getting the phone to unlock through the camera, but it still doesn't show the keypad. Lumia 1020 btw, no SD.

heickelrrx - Can't do that since I have to unlock the phone if I try to browse using explorer.

Any other Suggestions? No software to read the contents of the phone? Like a recovery tool perhaps?