If you’ve not forgotten yet, the most prominent way of flashing a locked Android phone is by hard reset—which doesn’t
require going through the phone’s settings. Basically, all you’ll need is to power off and boot the device into recovery
mode to perform a hard reset.
Mind you, resetting your phone will erase everything you’ve stored on it. Although it’ll help you recover the locked
Android phone, it won’t keep your data. So, be sure you have a substantial backup before embarking on resetting it at all.
Some Android devices have different ways of booting into the recovery mode, but you can try this common way first. Here’s
how to flash a phone that is locked via recovery mode:
- First, shut down the phone and wait for a few seconds.
- Press and hold the Volume down button + Power button
- Release the Power button once the logo shows up.
- Wait till you see the “No command” with the fallen robot screen, then press the Power + Volume down buttons again to
enter the recovery mode. - Use the Volume down button to highlight “Wipe data factory reset”
- Select it by pressing the Power button.
- Use the volume button to highlight “Yes” and confirm with the power button again.
- Wait for a moment to complete the process, then select “Reboot system now” to power on your phone.
That’s it. You’ve successfully learned how to flash a phone that is locked by hard resetting it. Meanwhile, kindly note
that while the hard reset has removed your lock screen and lock password pattern, you’ll still have to pass through
Google’s Factory Reset Protection (FRP) before you can access the phone properly. That should be relatively easy if you
can log in to the Google account linked to the phone. Isn’t it? Yes, it is.
Factory Reset Protection exists on the Android system to prevent thieves from unlocking your phone by hard reset without
your consent. Inability to confirm your Google account after resetting the phone may render the phone useless until
professional intervention.