Help Work Profile Has Taken Over Lockscreen. Any way to unlock?

[Iteria]

I have just enabled a work profile on my phone for my job. I didn't expect that the lock screen would use the work profile password. I don't know the password. My company's tech support has been no help. ADB is not enabled on the phone. And I made the stupid decision to restart the phone, so biometrics don't work. My personal google account can't seem to reach my phone anymore.

The phone is a Samsung S10e. Is there any way to to remove the work profile or unlock the phone using my personal passcode (which is a password)? I would would even take just recovering the photos on the phone and then factory resetting the phone. That's really the most important thing to me right now. I want all the photos in the original resolution, not the reduced resolution they are current backed up as.

 

[Hadron]

I've no experience with "work profiles", because as far as I'm concerned if my employer wants me to have a "work phone" they can pay for it themselves, but they don't get to touch my private property. So if there are any subtleties related to work profiles I won't know about them - hopefully someone else will.

However the purpose of the lockscreen password is to prevent a thief accessing your data, so if there was a way of doing what you ask that would defeat the whole point of the lockscreen. As such if any such method existed, it would be regarded as a bug and patched once discovered. I know of no way of doing this. What I will say is do not reset the phone until you've been able to back the photos up: there are paid shills out there who will tell you that this, that or the other software tool will be able to recover your photos, but they are lying: your phone's storage is encrypted, and the encryption key will be lost if you reset the phone, so there is no way you will get your photos back after a reset.

I think you need to lean on your company's IT people. If it's using a password that comes with the work setup (I assume you have tried your own password) then they have set it, so someone will know it. If they think you need the phone for your job with them then this problem of their making is preventing you from doing your job. And as it has your personal data on it resetting isn't an option, so they need to sort out the mess they have made.

 

[Iteria]

I've no experience with "work profiles", because as far as I'm concerned if my employer wants me to have a "work phone" they can pay for it themselves, but they don't get to touch my private property. So if there are any subtleties related to work profiles I won't know about them - hopefully someone else will.

However the purpose of the lockscreen password is to prevent a thief accessing your data, so if there was a way of doing what you ask that would defeat the whole point of the lockscreen. As such if any such method existed, it would be regarded as a bug and patched once discovered. I know of no way of doing this. What I will say is do not reset the phone until you've been able to back the photos up: there are paid shills out there who will tell you that this, that or the other software tool will be able to recover your photos, but they are lying: your phone's storage is encrypted, and the encryption key will be lost if you reset the phone, so there is no way you will get your photos back after a reset.

I think you need to lean on your company's IT people. If it's using a password that comes with the work setup (I assume you have tried your own password) then they have set it, so someone will know it. If they think you need the phone for your job with them then this problem of their making is preventing you from doing your job. And as it has your personal data on it resetting isn't an option, so they need to sort out the mess they have made.

I have tried working with my company's IT and it hasn't gotten anywhere. If I was able to get them to help me I wouldn't be asking on this forum. So giving me the advice to talk to my company's IT isn't helpful. I wasn't given a password and IT tells me they can't reset it.

I want to know how to get the photos, etc off the phone. Because the work profile is a separate thing from the personal profile, it doesn't seem outside of the realm of possibility that I can get at the personal profile files when I do have the password to that part. If that is not possible, then my only recourse is is to factory reset because I have been arguing with my tech support and I have made no headway and that's why I'm here.

If you know that this is impossible, then I would appreciate you stating that so I can take the only path that is left to me.

 

[puppykickr]

Let's try something simple.

Do you have the owner's manual (not the folded single piece of paper called the Quick Start Manual)?

It should be available on a PDF file if you don't.

Inside it, there should be instructions for setting a security PIN.

Because you did not set this number yourself, I am hoping/guessing that it could still be set to the factory default.

I don't know how many digits are in your device's PIN, but if memory serves correctly it is usually all zeros.

A question- did you try your normal PIN yet?

I ask because when I was using a work profile, there was no separate PIN- the same PIN worked no matter which profile I was using.

This only makes sense, because if there was a company PIN, then anyone else with that PIN would be able to unlock everybody's device.
That would be very insecure.

 

[Iteria]

I looked up the manuals and I don't see a factory default for the pin. That said, my phone isn't asking for a pin. It's asking for a password. That's s just the kind of unlock type I use, even before having this work profile enabled. I have tried my normal password. And every work password I have. Nothing works.

 

[Dannydet]

Chalk this up as a loss I'm afraid

 

[puppykickr]

I looked up the manuals and I don't see a factory default for the pin. That said, my phone isn't asking for a pin. It's asking for a password. That's s just the kind of unlock type I use, even before having this work profile enabled. I have tried my normal password. And every work password I have. Nothing works.

Well, that is not good.
As I said before, I never had this issue with the work profile, and have not heard of it before.

Was this device originally a company phone or your own device?

Did the company actually require you to use the work profile?

These questions are important, as the answers may/may not be relevant as far as how to get your personal data back.

It may sound tacky, but if blame can be assigned to someone besides yourself, you may have ground to stand on.