Pattern Locks Are Unsafe: Secure Your Oppo A78 Phone Now with These Tips

Pattern locks have been available for about as long as people can remember, and they have been hugely popular with people thanks to how easy it is to simply swipe your screen and unlock your smartphone, as against, say, keying in the 4-digit PIN/ 6-digit PIN. However, pattern locks are easy to crack, and today, we bring you all you want to know about pattern locks and how to create a hard pattern lock. Further to this, we also tell you how to move beyond pattern locks and what to do in case you forgot the hard pattern lock you just set and are unable to unlock your smartphone.

Part 1: What You Need to Know About Pattern Locks

Pattern lock is an Android-only feature that makes it easy for users to have a modicum of security on their smartphones. Most users do not prefer using and remembering a PIN to unlock the smartphone. Creating a pattern makes it easier, somehow.

There is a 9-point grid on which you swipe your finger from point to point, in any direction, and when you take your finger off, that pattern you swiped becomes the key to unlock your smartphone.

Pattern locks were exceedingly common only a few years ago, and they are not recommended for use any longer due to concerns (mentioned later in the article).

1.1: Popularity and Usage

Old habits die hard, or so they say, right? That’s because it is true. We are creatures of habit, and pattern locks have been around for a long, long time. We are accustomed to pattern locks. So, even with even easier technologies such as fingerprint recognition and face recognition, we tend to gravitate towards the familiar old pattern lock.

The only thing is, there is a reason why pattern locks are no longer the preferred option to use for unlocking your smartphones. As it happens, that reason is security, and it can be very easy for humans to take a swipe (pardon the pun) at your pattern lock. And guess what? The research conducted suggests that they would get it right with an unsettling accuracy.

1.2: Advantages and Drawbacks

With on-the-go lifestyles, our smartphones have become indispensable and contain some of the most sensitive aspects of our lives – IDs, credit and debit cards in digital wallets, photo and video memories, business documents – you name it, the smartphones have it, on the go. This has opened our lives up to the public at large, and if someone steals our smartphone or, best case, finds it, the only barrier preventing them from being privy to all that wealth of our sensitive information is that screen lock – the pattern lock that we set on our smartphones. That’s it – the single pattern lock stands between malicious actors and our data. You might be beginning to realize just how crazy this is.

Advantages of Pattern Locks

There are two advantages to using pattern locks. One, they are better than nothing. Two, they are easy to use. And that’s about it. There is no third advantage to pattern locks. We might think we set a hard pattern lock that nobody could guess, but, as research proves, we might be thinking too low of human prowess.

Disadvantages of Pattern Locks

Security, or rather, the lack of it, is the lone disadvantage of using a pattern lock. What good is a pattern lock that can be easily deciphered? Sure, they are easy to use, and they are better than not having anything, but would you really want to protect your life’s data with something that could be, as researchers found out, breached in under 5 attempts? We don’t think you do!

The research found that 64% of test subjects who were shown videos of people unlocking their phones could correctly guess a 6-point pattern lock, that too after viewing the video only once! That number shot up to 80% if they were allowed to see the video again. That is simply astounding and a nightmare for security. When it comes to PINs, only 11% could guess a 6-digit PIN after viewing the unlocking video once, and that number shot up to 27% when they could see the video two times.

Part 2: How To Create a Hard Pattern Lock (Including Remembering Complex Patterns)

Now, if you must continue using a pattern lock, let’s help you know how to create a hard pattern lock that would not be as easy to decipher as easy pattern locks. For that, you should know how people use pattern locks, the kind of pattern locks they create, and the ones that are the most commonly used pattern locks. That way, you can avoid those fallacies and create a hard pattern lock for your smartphone.

2.1: The Pattern Locks People Use Most Commonly

Marte Loge, an M.Sc. Computer Science student, gave a presentation on pattern locks at DEFCON 23 and made a bold claim. She said, “Tell me who you are, and I will tell you your lock pattern.”

She presented the following statistics to support her claim:

• - In her research, she found that 77% of people started with one of the 4 corners when creating a pattern lock.
• - 44% of people started with the top-left dot and 15% with the top-right, while the bottom-left was preferred by 14% of her test subjects.
• - People set 5-point pattern locks on average, and most users were content with a 4-point pattern.

These are some of the most common pattern locks people create:

• - patterns in the shapes of alphabets,
• - patterns in the shapes of numerals,
• - patterns in any other simple shape, such as square, triangle, star, etc.

To understand how this is a security nightmare, the possible combinations for a 4-point pattern are a measly 1624, whereas by adding just 1 more point to the pattern and creating a 5-point pattern, the number of possible combinations becomes 7152, an increase of 5528 combinations. In stark contrast, creating a 9-point pattern would give you over 140,000 possible combinations!

2.2: How to Create a Hard Pattern Lock

Knowing what most people do when creating a pattern lock, it becomes easy to avoid those mistakes and instead create a hard pattern lock for oneself.

• - Do not start creating a pattern lock from any of the 4 corners of the grid.
• - Never use your first initial as your pattern lock.
• - Never use the shape of a numeral as your pattern lock.
• - Use all 9 points on the grid to create your pattern lock, and contrary to popular belief, you can go over the connecting lines several times, creating a hard pattern lock that would not be as easy for people to decipher!

Part 3: Going Beyond Pattern Locks

You might think that now that you have set a hard pattern lock, you are good to go. Hardly. Technology has evolved, so have methods to break into your device.

Step 1: Set a 6-digit PIN

The minimum you should do today is set a 6-digit PIN to unlock your phone. Consider this a necessary investment into the safety of your data residing on your smartphone.

Step 2: Use Fingerprint Recognition (or Face Recognition on Apple Devices)

All modern smartphones released over the last decade have come with fingerprint recognition. Using fingerprint recognition requires you to set a 6-digit PIN and then set a fingerprint to unlock your device. You can set additional fingerprints, too.

This way, your device is the most secure it can be today. In case your fingerprint is not recognized for any reason, the phone falls back on the 6-digit PIN that you can enter and unlock your phone.

While face recognition is available on both Android and Apple devices, it is truly secure only on Apple devices. This is why Apple iPhones released after the iPhone X in 2017 have come only with Face ID. They fall back on a minimum 6-digit PIN (called Passcode in Apple world) to unlock in case the face does not get recognized in the first attempt.

Part 4: How To Unlock Phone If Hard Pattern Lock Forgotten

Just in case you set a hard pattern lock and promptly forgot that abstruse pattern you just set, we have a tool for you to quickly unlock your phone in case of a forgotten hard pattern lock: Wondershare Dr.Fone - Screen Unlock.

Dr.Fone - Screen Unlock (Android)

Remove the Hard Pattern Lock on Your Oppo A78 If You Forgot!

• Remove all Android screen locks (PIN/pattern/fingerprints/face ID) in minutes.
• Bypass the FRP lock of Samsung without a PIN or Google account.
• Everyone can handle the lock screen without any tech knowledge.
• Provide specific removal solutions to promise good success rate.

4,008,671 people have downloaded it

Download the latest version of Dr.Fone from the Wondershare website and launch the app.

Step 1: Click Android under Toolbox > Screen Unlock.

Step 2: Click Unlock Android Screen.

Step 3: Select your device manufacturer.

Step 4: Prepare your device to unlock the screen.

When the greyed Next button becomes available, click it and wait for your device to be unlocked.

All data on the Oppo A78 device is wiped under this method. Select Samsung phones may be unlocked without data loss. Check this list for devices that may be unlocked without data loss.

Closing Words

Whether it is an easy pattern lock or a hard pattern lock, the fact is that pattern locks are antiquated and a security nightmare. A minimum 6-digit PIN must be used, and using fingerprint recognition is the preferred way to go for Android devices. Using fingerprint recognition will require that users create a 6-digit PIN. On Apple devices launched after 2017, there is Face ID, Apple’s marketing term for face recognition. If you did indeed still set a hard pattern lock, only to promptly forget it, use Wondershare Dr.Fone – Screen Unlock (Android) to seamlessly unlock your phone right now.

Mastering Lock Screen Settings: How to Enable and Disable on Oppo A78

In the modern world, the use of smartphones has become such a common trend that everyone would feel abnormal if they don’t have a smartphone of their own. So big the demand is that all IT companies are trying their best to introduce as well as innovate several excellent brands of smartphones. To support the function of smartphones, by far there have been numerous operating systems existed. Among them, Android is one of the most popular as well as trustworthy OS.

Just like any other smartphone, all Android devices have their ways to protect the data stored inside a smartphone from being corrupted or leaked. One of the simplest and most easy-to-use ways is to make use of the lock screen.

The lock screen has proved to be a traditional yet efficient way to help you protect your Android phones. In this article, we will provide you with an informative piece of writing about everything you need to know when it comes to the Android lock screen, and ways to enable and disable it.

If you have spent time searching and looking for features of your Android devices, you will find the process of enabling a lock screen is a piece of cake.

· Step 1: On the main screen of your Android devices, tap on the gear icon - which is the icon representing the Settings menu. Once you have chosen it, you will see a drop-down menu on the screen. In the options provided, tap on the Security bar.

· Step 2: Under the tab whose heading is entitled Screen Security, tap on the first bar in the list called Screen lock.

· Step 3: Once the step is done successfully, Android will give you plenty of choices about ways to lock your Android devices’ screens. Among these ways, select one particular type which you feel is most convenient as well as free-risk. After that, type in your PIN code to confirm the choice and finally activate your lock screen feature as you wish.

Part 2: How to Disable Android Lock Screen

To certain customers, the lock screen can do more harm than good, and they would prefer to disable the screen lock on their Android devices. This process is also an easy one to follow, as long as you still hold good memory of the security code.

· Step 1: On the main screen of your Android devices, tap on the gear icon. It will directly lead you to the Settings menu of the phone. After that, a drop-down menu will appear with several choices and bars. Among them, tap on the Security option to begin your work.

· Step 2: Under the heading called Screen Security heading, you will be shown 3 choices. Tap on the first one, which is entitled Screen lock.

· Step 3: Once you have done the previous step, a brand new screen will appear and then you will be asked to fill in your PIN code. This is a step that helps guarantee that you are the true owner of the Android device.

Step 4: As soon as you have confirmed the right PIN code in the bar provided, you will then be presented to the next drop-down menu. A similar screen will appear which shows you plenty of choices. Tap on the top of that list, which is a bar called None.

Step 5: In the end, you have successfully disabled the screen lock on your Android devices. You are now capable of using it without any hesitation about the screen lock.

Part 3: Common Problems of Disabling Lock Screen

The process to disable the screen lock on Android may seem easy to handle as well as straightforward to several customers, but there are still some annoying problems that users have to deal with while trying to disable the lock screen.

What are the top 2 common problems?

Below are the two most common problems faced by Android users during their efforts to disable the feature of screen lock.

1. In the Screen Security choice, the None bar can not be chosen.

Description of the problem: There is a sentence below it stated: “Disabled by administrators, encryption policy or credential storage”. All the space of the None option is in white and grey.

The solution to this problem is quite simple. Once you have made sure you are suffering from this nasty one, try to follow these below pieces of advice to see if it is capable of giving you a hand.

Step 1: Open the Settings menu from the main screen. Then tap on the Credential Storage. You will see a drop-down menu like the screenshot below.

Step 2: Continue to tap on the Clear Credentials (Remove all certificates) option. Then next click on the OK button. Wait for some seconds until your Android device has finished the process.

Step 3: To make sure that the previous step has been performed successfully, try looking at the bottom of the drop-down menu. If the Clear Credentials (Remove all certificates) are grey out and can not be selected, then you have managed to do it.

Step 4: Now that the problem is solved, you can feel free to turn back to your Screen lock option in the beginning and disable the feature of locking screen Android as usual.

2. You have mistakenly encrypted your SD card. You want to disable the encryption, only to realize that it requires you to set a new screen lock code. But when you come to the Screen lock menu, all the options but Password have been greyed out.

This is pretty weird, but actually, it is one of the most common troubles that many users have complained about. But to your surprise, the solution is very simple and easy. All you have to do is to reset your password, but with a little change. Your password MUST include at least ONE NUMBER in it. Confirm your new password then you will be able to disable the lock screen Android as usual.

Bonus Tip: Remove Android Screen Lock If Forgotten Password/Pattern

As much as the lock screen can protect the personal information on the phone, it can also cause much trouble if you forget the lock screen password or enter the wrong password too many times. So here comes the need for phone unlocking software . One of the best is Dr.Fone - Screen Unlock (Android), which can help us bypass forgotten Android screen locks without any data loss（limited to Samsung and LG series phones）. Other Android brand phones will be wiped out all the data once starting to unlock with Dr.Fone

Dr.Fone - Screen Unlock (Android)

Remove 4 Types of Android Screen Lock without Data Loss

• It can remove 4 screen lock types - pattern, PIN, password & fingerprints.
• One-time payment for unlimited use of multiple devices within a specified time period.
• Work for Samsung Galaxy S/Note/Tab series, LG G2/G3/G4, etc.
• Besides, unlocking the screen lock, it also works best to unlock the Samsung FRP lock in devices with Android 5.0 and higher.

3981454 people have downloaded it

Steps on How to Unlock Forgotten Password in Android Phones

Step 1: Launch Dr.Fone and click on Screen Unlock from the primary window.

Step 2: Connect your Android device to the computer via USB cable. The program will recognize the phone directly. Select the phone model or “I can’t find my device model from the list above” to continue.

Step 3: Follow the instruction on the program exactly to set the phone to Download Mode. First, you will need to Power off your Phone. Secondly, Press on Volume Down, Home button, and Power button simultaneously. Thirdly press the Volume up button to navigate until the phone enters Download mode.

Step 4: After you set the phone to Download mode, it will begin to download the recovery package. When the recovery package is downloaded successfully, the lock screen on your Oppo A78 devicewill be removed. You won’t lose any data during the whole process.

Forgotten The Voicemail Password Of Oppo A78? Try These Fixes

You can always stay in touch with friends, family, and coworkers thanks to voicemail support, which is provided by most cell phones. However, forgetting the voicemail passcode is simple when we must remember many codes to open various devices. Fortunately, there are workarounds you can use to get back into your voicemail mailbox. Keep reading to find out what to do if you forget your voicemail password.

Part 1: 3 Easy Ways To Reset Or Change Your Lost Voicemail Password

1. Contact your carrier

Your carrier can also unlock your voicemail. Get in touch with your carrier and ask for an unlock. For unlocking, your account may need to satisfy certain conditions. The request can take a few days to be processed after you submit it.

Get in touch with your carrier to find out the status of your unlock request.

The actions following should be followed when your carrier certifies that the voicemail has been reset.

• Take your SIM card out.
• Put the new SIM card in. Your gadget will turn on, and you will be able to generate a new voicemail password.

2. Use your code to reset password

To change your Voicemail password, use star codes. Fortunately, this process is quick and easy, and you won’t need to contact customer care to change your password.

Use the star code as follows:

• Type #793# into the dialer app on your phone.
• Press the Call key.
• Await the instructions.

This will change your voicemail password to your phone’s last four digits.

You can also reset your voicemail password, which means that you can generate a new code by resetting it from the settings. Let’s have a look at how you can do this.

• Open My Wireless from your account summary.
• Select the Oppo A78 device you wish to manage by scrolling to My Devices & Add-ons.
• Choosing Manage my device.
• Look under Device choices & settings, choose Reset voicemail password, then adhere to the on-screen instructions.

3. User carriers’ apps or websites

All of the apps/websites below enable you to reset a voicemail password because they are purely user carrier apps or websites that are recommended officially.

1. Vxt

Their voicemail is visually shown via the app.

Your voicemails will be converted to text by Vxt, which will then provide a preview on your lock screen.

Carrier: US Cellular, AT&T, MetroPCS, T-Mobile, Verizon, Alltel, Cricket

2. YouMail

YouMail is an Android app that helps you to control visual voicemail. Additionally, it provides some great call-blocking features. With the help of this program, unsolicited calls will never longer ever reach you.

Carrier: US Cellular, AT&T, MetroPCS, T-Mobile, Verizon, Alltel.

3. Visual voicemail from AT&T

You can view the caller’s name and phone number before listening to their message, which makes monitoring your voicemail incredibly simple.

Carrier: US Cellular, AT&T, MetroPCS, T-Mobile, Verizon, Alltel, Cricket

Part 2: FAQs

1. How To Know My Default Voicemail Password?

Depending on your carrier, the default voicemail password is either the last seven or final four digits of your phone number. Your voicemails should be accessible if you dial the number without the area code. In this way, you can quickly get your default voicemail password.

2. Can I Remove My Voicemail Password?

From your mobile device, dial 123 to see the password for your voicemail. To enable (add) or disable (delete) your voicemail password, choose option 4. To enable or disable the screen password, select option 1. If your password has been deactivated, dialing 123 will not ask you to enter one.

3. How Can I Receive Voicemail Messages From Another Device?

You may access your mailbox on another phone if your phone is out of reach or the battery is dead. Make a call to your phone number from a different one. Tap the pound key (#) on the phone’s dial pad after the prerecorded “Please leave a message” greeting has begun to play. Enter the pin from your voicemail to start receiving messages from another device.

Bonus Tip: Best Tool When You Forgot The Phone Password

Dr.Fone - Screen Unlock (Android)

The Best Tool to Remove the Phone Screen!

• Completely unlinked from the previous Google account, it won’t be traced or blocked by it anymore.
• Remove all Android screen locks (PIN/pattern/fingerprints/face ID) in minutes.
• Almost all Samsung phones and tablets are supported (Currently for Android 6-14).
• Provide specific removal solutions to promise good success rate.

4,008,670 people have downloaded it

Dr.Fone - Screen Unlock (Android) is the ultimate solution when you are sort of a person who always forgets passwords and does not even have any technical knowledge. We always recommend you use easy and safe tools; Dr.Fone - Screen Unlock (Android) is one of them. Here’s how you can use this tool when you forget the phone password and want to recover it on your own.

Step 1: Connect your phone

Installing Dr.Fone on your computer is the first step. From the list of available tools, select “Screen Unlock” from the drop-down menu.

Click here

When connecting your locked phone to the PC you wish to save the wallpapers after unlocking it, you should think about utilizing a USB cord. You must select the “Unlock Android Screen” option on the program.

Step 2. Select Unlock Android Screen

In this interface of Dr.Fone, please select “Unlock Android Screen” to keep your unlock process, or your phone cannot be unlocked as you wish.

Step 3. Select device model

Besides a part of Samsung and LG models, “100% Remove Screen Lock” includes most Android phone brands. Please choose your phone brand, and don’t make it wrong!

Here is the brand list; you can check it and find your phone brand.

Step 4. Enter into Recovery Mode

Then follow the instructions on the program to get the Android phone into Recovery Mode. Here we take 3 different models of Samsung phones as examples.

Note: Different brands have different steps to enter the Recovery Mode.

Go to the Recovery Mode on Samsung phone with Bixby

Go to the Recovery Mode on Samsung phone without Bixby

Go to Recovery Mode on Samsung phone with Home Button

Step 5. Instructions to Wipe Cache Partition

Good! You’re now in the final step, be careful to choose the correct options so that the whole process will be perfectly over.

Now no pattern or password is on your phone screen to bother you!

This is how you can easily get rid of phone lock issues.

The Bottom Line

The voicemail function on your mobile device is a crucial tool for improving your interpersonal relationships. You must always have access to it because of this. You may use your iPhone or Samsung smartphone to receive a temporary code even if you forget your password. Alternatively, you can follow instructions for resetting your passcode on the carrier’s app or website.

Have you ever experienced voicemail lockout? Which technique did you employ to fix the issue? Did you know how to reset voicemail password on Android? Comment below with your thoughts and let us know.

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