Removing your Android Activation Lock

In most cases, a factory reset does not remove the activation lock. For example, if the phone is factory reset with the Google account still signed in, it will still ask for those credentials once it turns back on. It's safer to remove the account before performing a factory reset to ensure it is fully removed.

Note

If the Google account password is changed before resetting the phone, the message “Please sign in using one of the owner’s accounts for this device” will show. It means the Google account on the phone is locked for 72 hours, and you have to wait for it to reset..

Removing your Google Activation Lock from your Phone's Device Settings

The steps to remove your Google account from an Android phone may vary by model. Here are the general steps, though some phones might skip some steps.

Go to Settings.
Tap Accounts or Users & Accounts.
Select the account type, which in this case would be Google.
Tap the email address.
Tap the menu icon (three vertical dots) on the top right-hand corner).
Tap Remove account.
Confirm by tapping Remove account again.

If you can't do the steps above, you can remove the Google Account from the phone by going to your Google account online.

Removing your Google Activation Lock Online

Step 1

Log into your Google account. Go to Device activity & notifications under Sign-in & security.

Screenshot of the Google activation lock menu. Under the Sign-in & security settings menu, there is a link "Device activity & Notifications" that is highlighted.

Step 2

Next click on Review devices under recently used devices.

Screenshot of the Device activity & notifications menu. At the bottom of the screenshot, under "Recently used devices" the "Review Devices" hyperlink is highlighted.

Step 3

Choose the phone you want to remove from your Google account and click the red Remove button next to account access.

Step 4

A confirmation window will appear. Click Remove.

Screenshot of a prompt asking the user to confirm if they wish to remove access. Removing access will sign you out of your Google Account and connected apps on your device. The user is presented with two buttons "Remove" and "Cancel."

Step 5

A message will appear saying that access has been removed from your device.

Screenshot of a pop up confirmation saying "Access removed. If you lost this device, use Android Device Manager to erase your data and protect your Google Account."

Step 6

To check, look at the list of recent phones. The chosen phone will say Access removed.

Screenshot of the "Recently used devices" screen, there is a device listed on the page and under the "Account Access" setting it states "Access removed."

After removing the Google account access online, go to the phone's settings to reset it. On some phones, you might need to enter the Google account info during setup after a hardware reset.

Removing Samsung Factory Reset Protection (FRP) from your Device

The Samsung reactivation lock is available on all Samsung phones running Lollipop 5.1 or higher. This setting is also known as Factory reset protection (FRP).

Follow the steps below that match your phone the best:

Removing the factory reset protection (FRP)

These steps work for most Samsung devices.

On the phone's home screen, tap Apps.
Select Settings.
Tap on Accounts.
Tap on the account you wish to remove.
Select More in the top right corner of the screen.
Tap on Remove Account.

Your Samsung factory reset protection has now been removed.

Galaxy S5

You must have data or Wi-Fi enabled to complete this process.

Go to Settings.
If your device is in tab view, go to the System tab.
Tap Security.
Uncheck Reactivation lock.
Review the turn-off reactivation lock warning and tap Ok.
Enter your Samsung account password and tap Confirm.If you forgot your Samsung credentials, tap the Forgot your ID or password? link. It will open a browser where you can find your ID or reset your password on the Samsung site.

Your Samsung reactivation lock is now disabled.

Galaxy S6