Enable Device Password on Android Smartphones

The following steps explain how to set up a device password on Android smartphones.

Note: These settings are general instructions only. Android™ is available on many devices and different versions exist in the market. As such, some of the names, information or settings below may vary depending on the device you have. This guide was made to provide instructions on as many devices and versions of the Android OS as possible. Some screen lock options are only available on certain version of the Android OS.

  1. Open Apps.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Select the My device tab or Location & Security.
  4. Select Lock screen.
  5. Select Screen lock.
    • If you have an existing device password, the device will prompt for you to input the password.
  6. Select one of the following screen lock options:
    • Swipe: no security, swipe from left to right to unlock.
    • Face unlock: requires looking at the phone to unlock.
    • Face and voice: requires looking at the phone and voice to unlock.
    • Pattern: requires inputting a pattern to unlock.
    • PIN: requires a numeric pin sequence to unlock.
    • Password: requires alphanumeric to unlock.
    • None: no security.
  7. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the screen lock.