Droid 4 -- Screen Locked -- Yikes!

[Websquad]

About two months ago I enabled the screen lock on my Droid 4 -- this is the one with the nine dots that you swipe to unlock.

Yesterday, I was fatigued from a gym workout and used an incorrect swipe, and it prompted me to swipe again. I did, using the same (stupid) incorrect swipe action. After four more times, I was locked out for 30 seconds. I waited and tried again. As I now recall, I tried variations on the same incorrect swipe. Again, after the fifth attempt in this set I was locked out. Not knowing there was a limit, I continued this silly practice, until after the 30th attempt I was locked out for good, with the only way in being my gmail account.

So when I got home I got my Gmail account's password updated (fortunately, my desktop computer was the gmail default address), logged on, and changed my password. I logged off and on a few times just to make sure the password worked -- and it did.

Back to the Droid 4 -- it would not accept the combination of my gmail log on and new password.

I called Verizon and they had two solutions (1) master reset -- I loose everything on the device! and (2) call Google -- but Google was not home on the weekend.

Any ideas?

bob
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[bweN diorD]

i thought i read something about having to use an old password, see if that helps.

 

[Websquad]

I only had the original password that I used to create the account when I purchased the Droid 4, and the new password which I changed to yesterday. I've tried both.

 

[bweN diorD]

here is a quote directly from Motorola,

Unlocking the Security Lock when locked out:
Enter the correct pattern or passcode to unlock the handset after a security lock has been set.
If you forgot the pattern or your passcode is not working, the handset will allow you to log-in with the Gmail information you programmed into the handset during set-up.

You will need to try entering a pattern or passcode at least five times. If you fail to draw the correct unlock pattern or passcode on the screen after five attempts, the phone will prompt you to wait for 30 seconds before you can try again.
Press OK or wait for 30 seconds before attempting again.
After you press OK, the lock will come back again with a button on bottom right that states Forgot pattern.
Tap Forgot Pattern.
You will be prompted to sign in using your Google/Gmail account and then to create a new screen unlock. You can skip entering a new security lock.


If you forgot or are unsure about your Google password, but you know your Gmail login or Google account name, you can have Gmail send you a password change request link to your other email address through your computer. Click Here for our detailed FAQ on Gmail password reset. Summary of process is below.

• 1. Please use a computer to visit http://www.gmail.com.
     
  2. From the Gmail login page click on the "Can't access your account?"
     
  3. Follow the steps in that guide to recover your Gmail login information. Click Here for our detailed FAQ on Gmail password reset
     
  4. Once your login information is recovered, please use that information to unlock the handset using initial steps above. If you recently created your Gmail account or changed its password, allow up to an hour to try the new password.
     
     Note: You must have had a Gmail account setup on the handset before you locked the handset to reset your passcode through Gmail.
     

Your phone can still be powered off when locked. Turning the phone back on will return to the lock screen.

• If all of the above steps do not assist in unlocking your phone, you can perform a factory reset as a last resort. All the data you have previously entered on your handset (not SDcard) will be deleted and you will need to start new. Contact Motorola Customer Service or your carrier for help in resetting your device back to factory defaults.
  

 

[Websquad]

Problem fixed !!

As it turned out, I had more than one Google Mail account. Alas, I was using the wrong account, and that was the heart of my problem. However, in the research to this solution, I found that Google has no general Gmail support via telephone -- it is all on-line. If you are interested in buying ad words and other Google services, there is a chance you can get Google real-time telephone support; apparently this is not available for Gmail issues.

---

THE KEY to the solution is to determine what your Gmail recovery address is, and this seems to be the page where you can access the recovery address: https://support.google.com/accounts/. Once I found the recovery page, it was easy to enter the recovery address and get an Email with both of my Gmail account names -- after that, it just took a few seconds to get my password updated on the Gmail account associated with my Droid 4, and then to enter the Gmail address and the new password into the Droid 4 to get it unlocked and create a new screen guard swipe pattern. No data was lost and I'm back in business! Thanks to all of your for your help and patience. No