Android gurus to the forum please.

All of a sudden, and it doesn’t seem to want to go away, I get this
instead of my pin unlock page..

What’s going on, I don’t want it.

First noticed after downloading the St John’s ambulance first aid for cyclists app from the play store..I uninstalled it just in case but no change. Rebooted ( turned off and on ) several times to no avail..

It’s alternative lock screen, google changing your lock screen. It would seem something you’ve downloaded has over ridden you regular lock screen.

Are you trying to do an ice contact? I know it’s not helpful but the Sony phone I have has got an ice contact built into the lock screen.

No not trying an ice contact.

That looks alarmingly like comic sans in which case you deserve everything you get.

I don’t choose the fonts..

Switch off, clean your screen, switch back on?

With a wet cloth?

Which bit has changed? The padlock icon? Presumably you can get into the phone by swiping the padlock? What happens?

Can you just go back into your screen lock settings and put it back to the PIN unlock screen?

The whole thing has changed..when I used to wake the phone my chosen wallpaper with a keypad would appear. I would then enter my pin and the phone would unlock. I have no idea where this picture or the whole padlock swipe thing came from. The picture is not in the wallpaper. I’ve gone into settings several times and re-ticked the pin unlock option but the above screen/padlock appears every time. I’m baffled.

I’ve got a setting “show slider before secure unlock” which shows, or hides the padlock before entering the pin. Its in the security menu in settings.

You don’t get up to until 7am? 😯

Seriously, have you been prompted within your browser to up grade a codec? Ive been browsing video clips on places like Daily Motion and been told to upgrade my MX Player Codec yet I only ever view clips with vlc.
Maybe hostageware? Although I would have thought you’d have been ‘contacted’.

Might be worth checking if there is a default lock screen app. Go to setting and application manager and reset defaults.

@ dan1980 – I don’t have a setting “show slider before secure unlock” I’ve looked in the Settings- security menu and the display menu. Where else might it be.

@ muggomagic- I’ve Settings-General-Apps…which tells me which Apps are running but I don’t seem to have a reset defaults option under this menu..

Top left corner of your screenshot seems to show an Android OS update symbol. Has anything else been installed recently? Anything showing in the notifications?

The android symbol top left is the advanced task killer icon which I enable by sweeping down and touching the icon. The only thing I installed was the cycling first-aid app which I’ve since deleted hoping to cure this problem.

is that *instead of” or *before* your pin unlock?

My phone by default had something like that when it was first set up, hold the padlock to unlock or swipe it onto one of the points to activate a widget

I had to set up my pin unlock. I’m using CyanogenMod

settings -> lock screen -> screen security – > screen lock

beej – Member
Top left corner of your screenshot seems to show an Android OS update symbol. Has anything else been installed recently? Anything showing in the notifications?

I did wonder whether you have updates set to automatic and the phone has done a software update…..and part of the change is updating this screen?

What phone is it? I think both Android phones I have owned have had a ‘lock screen wallpaper’, which is what the image you see is. On my Xperia, you can change it by going to Settings>Display>Personalisation>Lock Screen although if everything else has changed (wallpaper, text colour etc, then it might have applied a ‘theme’ which will be in a similar place within settings.

tymbian – Member
The whole thing has changed..when I used to wake the phone my chosen wallpaper with a keypad would appear. I would then enter my pin and the phone would unlock. I have no idea where this picture or the whole padlock swipe thing came from. The picture is not in the wallpaper. I’ve gone into settings several times and re-ticked the pin unlock option but the above screen/padlock appears every time. I’m baffled.

So what happens when you swipe the padlock? Does that just unlock the phone or does it then take you to the PIN code screen?
I suspect it just unlocks the phone with no PIN required, which is weird as whenever my phone had done a software update it has kept all of these settings.
When you re-tick the pin unlock option, does it then go through the process of re-setting your PIN? I don’t think it will remember your last one. If it doesn’t do this, then there’s something very strange going on.

Have you installed any other new apps recently? I’d be thinking about getting some kind of virus checker on there and seeing if it comes up with anything.

Have you tried Googling “phone name screen lock reset” or something similar? Could be a common issue on that handset?

Going back to what people were saying about an ICE contact, could it be that the St Johns first aid app created one for you? Try re-installing the app and checking the setting within it!?

I had lost my pre installed unlock keypad altogether and it was replaced by the screen/ padlock thing above so I downloaded and installed a pin unlock app and Now when I use the pin I can unlock the phone but it opens to the above padlock screen and hasn’t replaced it.

What phone is it? And is it running ‘pure’ android? It looks like some ‘messed-about-with’ version of Android to me, like is installed on Samsungs vs the ‘pure’ version on a Nexus phone.

how can you “lose the pre-installed” ??

I’d be tempted to do a factory reset and start again …..

Have you applied a theme? That would change the lock wallpaper.

Incidentally, as a general rule, Android task killers are a bad idea.

Whatever version of “messed-about with” android you have you shuld be able to set a pin unlock (or at least a swipe pattern on older versions). My advice would be to uninstall the third party pin unlock app and change from swipe unlock to pin unlock in the android settings.

Whatever version of “messed-about with” android you have you shuld be able to set a pin unlock (or at least a swipe pattern on older versions). My advice would be to uninstall the third party pin unlock app and change from swipe unlock to pin unlock in the android settings.

+1 to all of that.

I was just suggesting that if he’s using a tweaked version of android then the PIN options might be in a different settings menu rather than through the standard android path.

Not tweaked, rooted or otherwise messed about with. Phone is an LG G2. Even when I go to settings-display-lockscreen-pin and enter a pin the keypad doesn’t appear when I wake the phone.

You didn’t mention that you had installed another unlock app…..

tymbian – Member
Not tweaked, rooted or otherwise messed about with. Phone is an LG G2. Even when I go to settings-display-lockscreen-pin and enter a pin the keypad doesn’t appear when I wake the phone.

Is this with the third party app still installed, or have you uninstalled that?
I would uninstall any third party app that might be affecting things and go from there. It sounds like it could be over-riding the stock android security settings?

With it uninstalled..

I’ve settings-display-lockscreen-secured with pin

When waking the phone though the above padlock slide screen appears.

Have you got an option to “Bypass lockscreen on wake”?

(In settings -> security on mine)

When you have the padlock displayed, can you either press it, or drag it to one of the white spots to get to the pin entry stage?

No I don’t seem to have that option. Its almost as if it’s a “theme”

Even if I select no lock screen in display settings I still get it, it must be controlled from somewhere else but darned if I can think where..

If you go to the play store, and select my apps, then installed, it’ll give you a chronological list of apps installed to your device (most recent first) Have a look for anything odd there.

I had a Go locker update which I’ve now deleted and it seems to of cured it. Big thanks to Dan & everyone else…

to reset default apps (which sounds like it could be the issue here). Go to settings – apps, then in the top right corner should be 3 dots (a menu button of some sort) then from that menu hit “Reset default apps”.