Help Lock Pattern mysteriously changed on Note 4

[hyllus]

The security on my Note 4 is all jacked up. I've been using the same Screen Lock pattern for a long time. This morning it kept telling me it was wrong until I had to put in the lock password. I was successfully able to unlock my phone but when I try to settings > Lock Screen and change the screen lock, it won't accept the PIN that I used to previously. My questions are a.) what would make my pattern change like it did and, b.) how can I reset the PIN to secure my phone again?

 

[AZgl1500]

to use the same pincode you had before, you must set it to something different, like the Swipe Pattern.

now, go back to the pincode settings and put in your own pincode.
do it all the time.

 

[hyllus]

to use the same pincode you had before, you must set it to something different, like the Swipe Pattern.

now, go back to the pincode settings and put in your own pincode.
do it all the time.

That's the issue - it won't accept my pincode for some reason.

 

[AZgl1500]

If it is a big issue with you, then I suggest you FDR the phone and start over.

 

[SwarajNandedkar]

The automatic change in pattern lock is a serious problem. To solve this, first of all, remove all Untrusted Third-Party applications from your smartphone. Remove the third party file explorer apps like ES Explorer or Root Browser. The ES Explorer is famous for installing the third-party apps in the background.

After removing the untrusted third-party applications, please take a complete backup of your device with any Backup application or In-built backup option. Now, you've to proceed to the Factory Reset or Reset to Factory Defaults. Reset the Device from the Recovery Menu or the "Settings > Backup and Restore."

After completing the Factory Reset, you can set up the new Pattern Lock or choose for the different Lock Method. It'll get solved after Factory Reset most of the times.