Alternative Ways To Unlock Your Android Phone

There has to be an easier way for your Android phone to know it’s you besides a passcode, a PIN, or a pattern lock, right? A fingerprint reader is a good start, but they still have a way of failing even when you swipe your fingertip perfectly on the sensor, thus returning you to the need to enter a PIN or swipe pattern to unlock your own device.

Keep your phone unlocked while it’s in your pocket
Here’s how you do it: Tap Settings > Security > Smart Lock, confirm your screen lock, tap On-body detection, then flip the On switch.

Keep your phone unlocked at home, at work, or near another specific place
Tap Settings > Security > Smart Lock > Trusted places, then tap Add location. You can then pick a place—like, say, your home—by swiping on the map with your finger, or tap the Search button to search for an address.

Keep your phone unlocked near a ‘trusted’ device
To set up a trusted device, tap Settings > Smart Lock > Trusted devices, then tap Add trusted device.

Unlock your phone with your face
To get started, tap Settings > Security > Smart Lock > Trusted face, then tap Set Up. Your Android phone will then scan your face, essentially taking a mugshot that it can use for comparison’s sake. A single face scan is enough to turn on the “trusted face” feature, but you can (and should) scan your face more times—ideally with different lighting, or with your glasses (if you wear them) both on and off.

Unlock your phone with your voice
Tap Settings > Security > Smart Lock > Trusted voice, then follow the prompts to set your Android device to unlock itself when it hears you say “OK Google.” If you haven’t already, you’ll need to “train” your phone to recognize your voice by saying “OK Google” three times.

All set? Lock your phone, then say “OK Google.” A “Listening...” prompt will appear on the screen; you can either go ahead and say a voice command, or tap to dismiss the prompt and swipe up to jump to the home screen.