Help Forgot pattern with DATA and WIFI OFF

[gnexuslte]

I changed my pattern on my Galaxy nexus on Verizon not knowing that I had Data and WiFi off, and now I put in the wrong pattern on too many times and can only unlock my phone using my Gmail account and Password... Unfortunatley, I have DATA and WiFi OFF so it cant verify if i have the correct info or not.. I logged on to my google account on my laptop perfectly fine, but i cant on my G-Nexus LTE because I dont have data or wifi on! Any help? Please.. ANYTHING but hard resetting my phone I have at least 2000 pictures of family on it and I havent backed up in ages... I have an app where i can turn on and off data and wifi from the status bar, so even being able to at least bring the status bar down to turn those ON will be sufficient.

I AM rooted and unlocked bootloader and i am on ICS build 4.0.4

 

[Rxpert83]

I don't have your device, but if your device has an SD card the pictures should be on there and you wont lose them.

If you don't have a SD card, you'll have to wait for some device specific help

I'm pulling for ya

 

[Rush]

Hello and welcome aboard. Wow! Bummer... Hopefully the below suggestions might be of some help.

If you are talking about a screen lock password, then after a fixed number of incorrect entries your device should prompt you for the password for the gmail account the phone is registered to. If that doesn't work, shut off the device, log into the gmail account on a website and change the password using Google's Password Recovery.

Once the new password is confirmed, turn on the device and try using the new password. The above does rely on you having either 3G or WIFI enabled on your device, and if it's not, the only other solution would be a full factory reset!

I hope this helps!

 

[clicq]

I can't help you with the pattern lock, BUT, if you have USB debugging enabled, you should be able to transfer your files over using adb (or a tool that backs up files using adb). I have a PIN lock set on my phone, and adb works even if the phone is locked.

 

[colchiro]

A factory reset (format data) does not delete your pictures or the contents of your sdcard, just your apps and settings.

Unless someone knows a way to turn on data via adb, a factory reset is your only choice.

 

[viebroccoli]

If you have a removable microSD card, you could always pull it and throw it into a microSD card reader. Transfer your data on the card to your computer, and voila! Then you can return the microSD card reader for your money back since you'll probably never need it again (unless this situation happens again).

EDIT: Of course, that isn't going to help you log into your phone, but just a sure way of backing up data.

 

[RobDickson]

I can't answer your question, but would like to point out two things:

1) The Galaxy Nexus doesn't have an SD card.

2) A factory reset WILL delete all your pictures.

 

[veccster]

I can't answer your question, but would like to point out two things:

1) The Galaxy Nexus doesn't have an SD card.

2) A factory reset WILL delete all your pictures.

I can't answer either but I'd like to second what he said above. I rebooted and lost everything on my phone - pictures, music, settings, etc. The only pictures that were saved were the ones that instant uploaded to picasa.

That is one hell of a spot you're in. Sorry man, hope you can get it figured out. Try calling vzw or visiting the store before shutting her down.

 

[An UrgeTo Dance]

Plug your phone into your computer, even though it is locked you should be able to move files between it and your PC. Another thing that may work is to reflash your ROM without wiping data, only cache and dalvik. This may turn data and wifi back on.

 

[RobDickson]

I don't like the idea of being able to copy files from an unlocked phone, but, if you're right, it will solve this problem.

 

[An UrgeTo Dance]

I don't like the idea of being able to copy files from an unlocked phone, but, if you're right, it will solve this problem.

Yeah just tried it and couldn't move anything, flashing a ROM again should still work I believe. You could also do a data wipe in Clockwork recovery and it won't delete your pictures unless for some reason they are in /data which they shouldn't be.

 

[ashishbadetia]

i had the same problem problem with my HTC EVO 3D(ICS 4.0) & i solved it without the need of factory reset.

The following method will probably solve your problem:

1.Restart the phone (open the screen lock and press the power button to restart)
2.Let the phone load properly
3.Open the screen lock again... DO NOT TRY TO ENTER YOUR USER NAME OR PASSWORD FIRST.
4.JUST GO FOR THE STATUS/NOTIFICATION BAR it will drop down.now u can turn on the wifi from the status bar.
5. BE CAREFUL - if u first try to enter ur username or pass. and then go for status bar(drop down) it will not fall . so be careful to go for the status bar first.
6. If by mistake u enter the username or password before pulling the status bar, u will need to restart the phone and again follow the above steps.
7. This process will only work once after restart.

 

[1080p]

i had the same problem problem with my HTC EVO 3D(ICS 4.0) & i solved it without the need of factory reset.

The following method will probably solve your problem:

1.Restart the phone (open the screen lock and press the power button to restart)
2.Let the phone load properly
3.Open the screen lock again... DO NOT TRY TO ENTER YOUR USER NAME OR PASSWORD FIRST.
4.JUST GO FOR THE STATUS/NOTIFICATION BAR it will drop down.now u can turn on the wifi from the status bar.
5. BE CAREFUL - if u first try to enter ur username or pass. and then go for status bar(drop down) it will not fall . so be careful to go for the status bar first.
6. If by mistake u enter the username or password before pulling the status bar, u will need to restart the phone and again follow the above steps.
7. This process will only work once after restart.

Galaxy Nexus doesn't have data / wifi shortcuts in status bar. Those were added to EVO 3D by HTC.

But... if you boot into recovery and wipe.... it DOES NOT wipe your storage (pics, etc). I have been trying different custom ROMs and I always wipe before installing the new ROM. All of my files and folders are still there after a wipe.

 

[1080p]

Plug your phone into your computer, even though it is locked you should be able to move files between it and your PC. Another thing that may work is to reflash your ROM without wiping data, only cache and dalvik. This may turn data and wifi back on.

But that could send him into a boot loop...

I dunno what you guys are talking about. A "wipe" only resets the system partition. It doesn't touch the SD Card partition (internal storage).

 

[brigeatenex]

All you could do is that call to your android phone by another phone. You can access to your menu even without unlocking. Enable wifi and connect to the internet, and then type the password. Easy Peasy.

 

[zakariia]

All you could do is that call to your android phone by another phone. You can access to your menu even without unlocking. Enable wifi and connect to the internet, and then type the password. Easy Peasy.

This won't work on Jelly Bean.

I have the same situation and all I want to do now is recover my data before I reset the phone.

My understanding is that If I install ClockWorkMod recovery, I can use ADB to pull the data from the phone without unlocking it. I then found out that to install ClockWorkMod I need to root my phone first.

Is there a way to root a Galaxy Nexus while it is locked?

 

[Turdbogls]

if you are unlocked and rooted, why not just boot into recovery and wipe data and flash the ROM and GAPPS again. this will get you into a clean install without any of your apps, but at least you will have a functioning phone AND all your pictures available.

 

[VoidedSaint]

the user hasn't been here since May 21st of this year, I would assume the issue was resolved. or the user just left and decided not to come back.

 

[malcster]

I find it hard to believe he forgot his pattern

 

[lunatic59]

I find it hard to believe he forgot his pattern

I don't. You'd be surprised what a wonderfully complex and unreliable thing human memory can be.

Now to answer the standing question, I don't believe you need to have the phone rooted to use adb command, but it must be in debugging mode. After than, I can't think of a way to get root if it's locked without wiping your personal data. If it's only thing stored on the SD card like music and pictures, then a reset shouldn't effect them.

 

[iowabowtech]

I have the same situation and all I want to do now is recover my data before I reset the phone.

My understanding is that If I install ClockWorkMod recovery, I can use ADB to pull the data from the phone without unlocking it. I then found out that to install ClockWorkMod I need to root my phone first.

Is there a way to root a Galaxy Nexus while it is locked?

Well, yes there's an exploit to root with an unlocked bootloader up to 4.1.1 I believe. However, it comes with serious limitations not the least of which is an inability to flash a custom recovery, so I'm afraid that won't help you. You're right, cwm would be the ticket but you'd need to unlock the bootloader first and then of course the entire phone is wiped.

Used to be able to access /sdcard via MTP due to a security hole but that was patched on JB so now you have to unlock the screen before MTP transfer is enabled.

And, I'm fairly certain that a factory reset from stock recovery will wipe all of /data including /data/media which is the symlink for /sdcard on this phone. Sort of a cost of doing business with our unremovable card.

 

[zakariia]

If I'm understanding correctly, this guy is saying it is doable:

too many pattern attempts | Adventurous Computing

It seems as though the command on line 14 would unlock the bootloader using fastboot. I installed fastboot and downloaded the USB driver from:

Support - Verizon Wireless Cell Phones SCH-I515 | Samsung Cell Phones

The model number of my Galaxy Nexus (GT-I9250) is different from the one in this support page.

But when I tried to detect my phone with fastboot (line 10) I got nothing.

Do you know where I've gone wrong?

 

[Rxpert83]

Correct. You can get around the lock screen as long as you have USB debugging enabled.

Unfortunately, most people who are unrooted would have no need to have that checked.

 

[val88]

I certainly hope he didn't obtain a stolen phone and we're helping him to break in. lol.
Anyway, maybe the first thing one should do is call verizon and see if they can help you before doing drastic things?

 

[RobDickson]

If it's only thing stored on the SD card like music and pictures, then a reset shouldn't effect them.

I think you're wrong about a hard reset not affecting music and pictures:

1) The Galaxy Nexus doesn't have an SD card.

2) A factory reset WILL delete all your pictures.