nastybynature

If you try to enter the pattern incorrectly too many times it will take you to a screen that says you have too many pattern attemps and it asks for your Google username and Password. No big deal right. WRONG!!

Apparentlythis has been an issue since the G1.

It WILL NOT accept your correct username and password. I tried to use username@gmail.com. I tried username@googlemail.com as some suggested on an older G1 post on google mobile help. Nothing works. They talk of doing a wipe or factory reset of your phone in one post but that is not the way to reset the Moto droid.

I talked to phone support at VZW and they put me through to tier 2 support and they told me to go to a store and see if they could help me. They replaced my 2 day old Droid at the store and now I am afraid to use the pattern lock feature.

kabbie_mcfeely

Have you tried removing the battery ?

__________________
Thats what Android said ...

nastybynature

Coming from a BB Storm that was the first thing I tried. But in case I wasn't clear in my post..... I worked with VZW support on this for a couple of hours and when i took it to the store, they worked on it for an hour before they said they COULD NOT fix it and they would have to replace it.

athflying

Sorry but that wasn't the case with a G1. If you made the wrong pattern to many times, it would lock you out for a cerain period of time. I am not sure what happened after that, but I had my phone G1 for over a year and never heard of this being an issue.

Robobandit

The droid will lock you out temporarily as well.. not sure what happened in your case.

nastybynature

Sorry...? I am sorry. I guess I should of posted proof of my statement being complety true. What I am talking about is talked about in the below links. Also if you click the "Forgot Pattern?" on the moto droid button during the temporary lock out the same will occur.

BUG: Inable to login after "too many pattern attempts" with CORRECT username/password - Google Mobile Help

Issue 3795 - android - Couldn't unlock phone after "too many pattern attempts" - Project Hosting on Google Code

T-Mobile G1 Forum - Too many pattern attempts, now I can't login


I have since found out how to do the Hard Reset that should fix the problem but I am not going to try on my phone.

This is how you do a Hard Reset:

You can hard reset your Motorola Droid phone if you want clear all of the data off of the device and start fresh. Here’s how it’s done.
1. Turn the Droid off. If it won’t turn off, take the battery out then place it back in.
2. Open the keyboard and press the X key while pressing and holding Power. The device will power on. Keep holding the buttons downuntil a yellow triangle appers.
3. Press the Camera and Volume Up buttons at the same time to get to the menu. (I had to press them several times).
4. Use the direction pad to the right of the keyboard to select the Format option.

sly

My girlfriend decided to play what I assumed was a harmless "guess my pattern" game. Needless to say, I appreciate the hard reset information greatly. I am EXTREMELY disappointed that such a serious bug exists.

Google, WTH?

nastybynature

Actually after doing a hard reset the bug disappeared on my droid. Now when I do 20 misses on the pattern lock and it asks for my google info it gives you a reset pattern screen.

Watashi

When I first got my phone, I made a rediculously hard unlock pattern and I forgot it (it might not have been that hard, but I was probably high). All it did was lock me out for 30 seconds and I tried again (took me the whole 30 seconds to figure it out and remember it.

So I don't think this bug is on all the phones, maybe look at your manufacture date (mine is 40/09...I think) if yours is older maybe a bad software batch??

Last edited by Watashi; 11-14-2009 at 12:25 AM.

nastybynature

After 5 missed tries it locks you out for 30sec. After the 15th it warns you that after 5 more missed tries you will have to enter google info. After the 20th missed try it takes you to a screen that says you have to enter google info to unlock it. Now when this first happened Sunday after they went on sale, it WOULD NOT take the correct google info. Just said invalid username or password. No one was able to fix it and my phone was replaced at a VZW store.

Now that I know the hard wipe sequence I did it again on purpose on the 2nd droid that was given at exchange for the first one and it did the same thing. Now I found that after the hard wipe it no longer gave invalid username and password and would unlock the phone without having to do a hard wipe.

in other words you did not miss it 20 times on a row to get to this screen we are talking about. Try missing it 20 times in a row waiting for each 30sec lockout that occurs after 5 missed tries. Then see if your google info will get you back in.

radikal

i have nothing to hide, dunno why some do

__________________

doomedromance

That's odd. It worked fine when I did it. Now that I realized I can't remember a pattern worth shit I don't use it. But it didn't give me any trouble logging in to my gmail account. I did it on the launch day or day after I forgot.

Space Mountain

Guys chill out. The phone just came out and there are bound to be many many many bugs. There will be fixes eventually.

martin515

I just tried it and I was able to change the pattern, must be an isolated problem

aaron19953

Really ? Then why did you buy a smart phone ? hehe

I don't know about you, but if i lost my phone, i don't think i'd want anyone flipping through my contacts, files, emails, VPN connection, picasa and so on ..

You probably have data on there that you'd want to hide, you just don't realize it yet.. I lost a PDA once and it made me nervous for months.

-=<> Aaron <>=-

zim2704

Just read in another post that when you enter your username leave off the "@gmail.com" and that will allow you to reset the password.

minyangmao

Hi all,

It seems like only some phones may have this bug, but it is a significant number. See this thread:

Issue 3006 - android - Google credentials don't unlock phone after failing too many pattern attempts - Project Hosting on Google Code

FYI: entering the username without the @gmail will NOT work; I've played with this bug over and over again without success; luckily I know my lock pattern and was trying to figure this out just in case I do forget my lock pattern at some point in the future;

as to someone's question - why someone would want to lock their phone: some of us use our phones for business purposes, thus there is sensitive data in there that needs to be protected. Anyone that finds a solution gets a gold star from me. =)

minyangmao

Hi guys,

Let's try to get Google's attention about this issue; make some noise on this forum where Google monitors stuff:

Issue 4784 - android - Google credentials don't unlock phone after failing too many pattern attempts - Project Hosting on Google Code

Thanks!

melmigs

Same exact thing happened to me last Friday when I got the phone, I was locked out of the phone all day during a conference, couldn't do anything except stare at it and see the notification LED blink and read little parts of texts/e-mails I was getting (really frustrating ). Went to a Verizon store after the conference was over, they played with it for what seemed like forever, we changed my gmail password numerous times, and they finally gave me a new phone after 2 1/2 hours... needless to say, I haven't set a lock pattern for my new phone

nastybynature

Sensitive information related to my job.

kyle.kline

+1, ran into this issue, another individual tried to get into my phone and "bricked" it. I was able to use the workaround to get back in the phone. But I have to use the workaround everytime after my phone sleeps or I turn off the display myself, because it goes back to wanting my google password, which doesn't work.

Issue 4784 - android - Google credentials don't unlock phone after failing too many pattern attempts - Project Hosting on Google Code

At least I can get into it to back up anything that isn't stored on google's servers.

boycan

If I cant remember my lock pattern in 20 tries the chances I will remember my google sign in is very unlikely :-)

JustROLLIN

I set a different pattern last night and immediately forgot what it was... But, I had no issues with using my Google login info to reset it. Worked perfectly for me.

__________________
Give it. Get it.

TheOldFart

Just out of curiosity, how many dots do you people use for your pattern lock? I only use 5, mainly so that it doesn't take too long to unlock.

dave412_4

My sister constantly try to guess my pattern to unlock my phone on my moto droid. She has tried so much to were i have to put the username and password. I only have had to do that once but it worked fine. I even used the same pattern when recreating the new one.

vincentp

I don't use the lock pattern, but I have to ask the original poster anyway. When you were trying "username@XXXX.com", did you ever just try "username"? The only reason I ask is because on any Google page, you log in using the user name only, not your e-mail address.

__________________
The following statement is true
The previous statement is false

Motorola Droid / Bugless Beast V0.8 / Full Desire Theme & Lock Screen / 1100Mhz

dave412_4

i think your right for the life of me i cant remember when i had to do it.

minyangmao

"username", "username@gmail.com", and "username@googlemail.com" all do not work if you are unfortunate enough to have a Droid that carries this particular bug. the issue does not appear to be a wrong entry, as the phone does not attempt to connect to the network when "checking" the correctness of the entry. Question for those for whom this is NOT an issue - does your droid seem to contact the network when you enter the username and password, or does it seem to pull it out of some in-phone hidey hole?

gotwillk

i remember this happening to me once too BUT it did not brick my phone. my coworker was playing with my phone and he tried to guess my pw too many times. got that screen to enter your gmail/google info or whatever. i entered in my gmail acct associated with the phone. didnt work. tried again. didnt work. and then, i forgot what i did, but i think i just hit "cancel" or the back button and backed out of that screen somehow, and got back to the unlock screen, entered my pw, and it unlocked.

Droidood

This is why I use Astro to hide all the personal pictures stored on my phone and never turn on the lock pattern

punkzanyj

Wow, that's really lenient. You forget your PIN at the ATM and you get like 3 tries before you're locked out and have to call customer service.

Yes the username password thing is a problem, but you gotta admit, it takes a hell of a lot of work to get there.

Here's a tip: Use a pattern that makes sense to you. With the dot configuration you can make several letters and numbers, such as J, C, h, L, u, N, T, X, S, 4, 2, z, y, M, W, G and V. I was using a checkmark gesture for awhile.

And as to the "I don't have anything to hide" person? You'd be surprised what can be done with your phone in just a few minutes. My partner didn't lock his phone, and left it on the bus. He realized the second he got off the bus that he lost his phone. Within minutes a group of kids found his phone, went through his call logs and text messages and started sending f*cked up messages to me and to his sister. They said they had killed him, that they had beaten him up, that they were still beating him up. His phone didn't have internet access or gmail access -- imagine what someone could do with just 5 minutes and access to everything on your phone. If they have access to your work email, they could get you fired. If they have access to other important information they could get you sued, you could loose clients, friends, potential dates. A little digging could turn up that your friend who just got a ps3 is on vacation and here's his address, now your unlocked phone has compromised someone else's safety.

It's not about what you have to hide, it's about what someone can do to your life in the time it takes you to realize your phone is missing and try to recover it or have it shut off.

jcran

on christmas day, no less.

Issue 4784 - android - Google credentials don't unlock phone after failing too many pattern attempts - Project Hosting on Google Code

see comment #35

steeguin

I had the same problem, I think i may have found the solution.

I was able to unlock it with the last account that I had added to gmail. So in other words not my primary account.

It would be interesting know if this works for someone else.

chris

dougwilson2000

That is kinda interesting. I have 3 gmail accounts sync'd to my phone. Which account would unlock my phone? How would I find out in advance?

__________________
This is your mobile operator and we just found out you are too dumb to use your phone, so please put it on ground and start jumping on it . Thank you

steeguin

For me it was the last account that I added to android. When I setup my phone I added my primary account first and my secondary accounts next. The one that unlocks the phone is the last account that I entered.

Example

If you added the accounts in this order to droid:

1@gmail.com
2@gmail.com
3@gmail.com

You would have to unlock droid with 3@gmail.com

chris

tsaunders

I only have one account and can't unlock the phone. After I saw this issue I turned off the pattern lock.

__________________
Send me a PM if you need some hosting space for anything android related.

Follow me on Twitter

ivanpk

I can attest that this is true. I set the pattern lock, and was seeing what happens if you do not enter it correctly. It locked me out for 30 seconds, and gives you a link to enter your google account info to reset the passcode. I entered my information and it did not work. After the 30 seconds, I entered the correct password and turned off passcode lock. I will not be using it until this is fixed!

__________________
iPhone -> iPhone 3g -> Blackberry Bold 9700 -> *Switch to VZW from ATT* -> Moto Droid!

Maxxy

I just found a solution for this issue in this thread. Look at the posts 128-129. It worked perfectly for my Magic.

SinfulDragon

REP to you good sir!!!!
I haven't had a pattern lock for some time and just turned it on, no idea what it was apparently because I went through all 20 tries with no success, was about to call VZW but then decided what the hell, why not try my other google account even though its not the primary and presto, unlocked and let me set a new code, not that I'll need it, I'm never turning that shit on again LOL!!!

__________________
Oh my god, it works.... like its suppose to!!!
Is it suppose to do THAT?!?!?!