The Samsung Galaxy S24
jdanniel's profile

Tutor

 • 

9 Messages

Thursday, September 19th, 2013 7:47 PM

What's the Absolute Easiest Way to Lock a Samsung Galaxy Express?

Hi everyone.

 

I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy Express as part of AT&T’s prepaid service.  I’ve had it for only two weeks and am still learning how to use it.   It runs Android 4.1.2.

 

I need to figure out how to lock it while it is on.  When it is in my pocket, it somehow makes random phone calls on occasion.  I have a feeling this is common, isn’t it?

 

There are a couple of web sites I found on Google that explain how to lock the phone, to prevent random phone calls, but honestly, I found these sites to be of little value.  They don’t explain the terms very well, and don’t really do a good job of explaining in detail how to lock the phone.

 

So..would anyone please be willing to explain in Plain English the easiest way or ways to lock the phone so it won’t make random calls?  Please keep it simple.  Thank you very much!   Jd

Mentor

 • 

33 Messages

11 years ago

Hi jdanniel, you should be able to quickly lock the phone by pressing the Power/Lock key. Then, when you turn on the screen again, you need to swipe the screen to unlock the phone for use.

 

Lock Screen

 

 

 

 

You can also set a lock pattern, PIN, or password by going to your Settings app and clicking Lock screen > Screen lock. This will prevent your pants from swiping the screen on by accident.

 

Select screen lock

 

 

 

If you need more information, please feel free to ask. Thanks!

2 Attachments

Tutor

 • 

9 Messages

11 years ago

I need help with this.  I'm having a problem.

 

The Power/Lock key works fine.  It does lock my phone.  That isn't the problem.

 

The problem is getting the PIN to work.  I can't for the life of me get it to activate.  I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.

 

Here is what I'm doing:

 

I went into Settings, scrolled down to Personal, and selected Lock Screen.  I see one option, which is Screen Lock.  It says NONE.

 

So, I select it.

 

Now, I see the Select Screen Lock menu.  It is identical to the screen shot in your reply.  I select PIN.

 

I type in my PIN and then tap Continue.

 

I confirm the PIN and press OK.

 

The Lock Screen menu appears, and it now says Screen Lock/Secured with PIN.

====================================================

 

Here's where I have the problem.  I am assuming that if I lock the phone now, when I swipe the screen, the PIN screen will appear and I'll have to enter the PIN number.  Is that correct?

 

If it is, then something's wrong, because there is no PIN screen.  I can swipe the screen and then use my phone.  I do not see a PIN screen at all.

 

Shouldn't there be a PIN screen after I swipe the screen?  Or am I wrong?  If I'm right, then why isn't it appearing?

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Express with Android 4.1.2.  

 

Thank you!

 

Jd

 

 

Tutor

 • 

9 Messages

11 years ago

Following up on my post about the PIN:

 

I'm now even more confused than I was before.  Here's why:

 

The PIN screen DOES appear when the phone locks itself.  The phone is set to lock after 10 minutes of inactivity.  I guess that's the default setting.

 

When the phone locks itself, I unlock it by swiping the screen.  The PIN screen DOES appear.  I reset the secured lock time to 3 minutes, to see if that will help prevent all this darned butt dialing.

 

But here's the problem now:  When I press the Power/Lock key and lock the phone manually, the PIN screen does NOT appear after swiping.

 

The reason I am confused is this:  Why does the PIN screen appear when the phone locks itself, but not when I manually lock it via the Power/Lock key?  Honestly, that makes NO sense to me at all.  I thought I was in control of the phone and not vice versa.

 

So...how do I get the PIN screen to appear when I manually lock the phone?  I don't get this.....    Jd

Professor

 • 

2.7K Messages

11 years ago

Just to make sure, so that we can point you in the right direction, are you sure that it is happening the way that you have typed it in the message above?  Normally, the PIN screen will not appear when the phone locks itself until after three minutes of inactivity (or whatever you have set it to) have passed, while locking it yourself will cause the PIN screen to appear the next time you wake up your phone, even if it is one second later.  It seems that you are experiencing this the other way around according to your post.

Tutor

 • 

9 Messages

11 years ago

Thanks for replying.  I read my posts carefully, and it's correct.

 

I set the phone to lock after 3 minutes of inactivity.  After three minutes of inactivity, the phone does lock.  In order to unlock the phone, I have to swipe the screen.  When I swipe the screen, I do see the PIN screen.  I type in my PIN, and the phone unlocks.

 

So far, so good.  This is what is supposed to happen.

 

Right?  Okay.  Well, that's what is happening.  

 

But the PIN screen is supposed to appear if I manually lock the phone via the Power/Lock key.  Right?  

 

Here is what is happening:

 

1.  I press Power/Lock.  This locks the phone.  The screen goes blank.

 

2.  To "wake up" the phone, I press the Home key at the bottom of my phone.  The screen lights up, and toward the bottom, it says Swipe Screen to Unlock.

 

3.  I swipe the screen.

 

4.  The phone unlocks and I can use it as I see fit.

 

That is what is happening.  It's not what SHOULD be happening, if I understand you correctly.

 

Step 4 should be:

 

4.  The PIN screen appears.  Type in the PIN number, and the phone unlocks.

 

That is what Step 4 SHOULD be.  Right? 

 

Well, it's not what is happening.  The PIN screen does NOT appear.

 

I can't think of any other way to describe what is happening.  This is it.  The PIN screen is absolutely, positively not appearing when I manually lock the phone.  It appears only when the phone locks itself, after 3 minutes.

 

So...what am I doing wrong?

 

 

 

Tutor

 • 

9 Messages

11 years ago

I think I solved the problem.  I tried dabbling with shorter Secured Lock Time settings, such as 1 minute, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, and Instantly.

 

I chose Instantly, and the PIN screen appears.  

 

I also reset the Screen Timeout to 1 minute of inactivity.  

 

This may have solved the problem.  Right now, it works for me, so I'll keep it like this for the time being.

 

Thanks for all the replies and help.   Jd

Professor

 • 

2.7K Messages

11 years ago

I'm glad that you found the right settings for your needs.

Not finding what you're looking for?
New to AT&T Community?
New to the AT&T Community? Start by visiting the Community How-To.
New to the AT&T Community?
Visit the Community How-To.