Android phones come with many ways to ensure security, and the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ are no different. From basic lock patterns like PIN and Pattern to advanced mechanisms like Face Unlock and Fingerprint unlock, Smart Lock, you have many options to keep your phone secure.
Smart Lock on Samsung Galaxy S20 and S20+ simplifies the process and greatly saves the time you spend unlocking your phone. For example, if you have a Bluetooth wireless headset set for Smart Lock, your phone will remain unlocked when the device is nearby.
As useful as this feature is, keeping it active all the time, especially at your workplace, is not a wise decision. So, if you have the Smart Lock feature enabled for your phone, the best thing to do would be to tweak it to avoid any unwanted incidents. Or you can choose to disable it completely.
Here’s how to turn off and disable Smart Lock on your Samsung S20 and Galaxy S20+.
How to Disable Smart Lock on Samsung S20 and S20+
Stage 1: Open the settings and go to the Lock Screen module. Here, tap on Smart Lock and you will be presented with three options.
Step 2: Now all you have to do is touch the pattern you chose earlier, draw your pattern and turn the switch off.
However, this option has a lot of potential in my opinion. Initially, I used the Trusted Device option to keep it unlocked. However, I soon realized that this wasn’t my best move because my Bluetooth headphones (a pair of OnePlus Bullets Wireless 2 headphones) were always around my neck.
And because of this, my phone remained mostly on throughout the day. And well, you know the consequences.
I disabled this particular mod and enabled Trusted Places mod instead.
Here I can only choose my Home address as one of my trusted places to have my phone unlocked when I’m at home. And the best part is, if you have your Home address set in Google Maps, you don’t have to search for the same.
Once done, all you have to do to test is lock your phone. Yes, you can thank me later.
Temporarily Turn off Smart Lock
Apart from the above, if you want to temporarily turn off Smart Lock, that is also possible.
Stage 1: To do this, open Settings > Lock screen > Secure lock Settings and enter your pattern. Once done, enable the Show locking option.
Step 2: Now, pull down the Quick Settings menu of your Galaxy S20, tap on the small Power button as shown in the screenshot below, then tap on the Lock icon.
This will turn off Smart Lock, unlock options like biometrics, Fingerprint and Face Unlock. Also, it doesn’t even show notifications on the lock screen when on the go.
Instead, you’ll be greeted with the regular Pattern Unlock.
Once you add the pattern, everything will be back to normal. Is not it beautiful?
Fine-tune Lock Screen Unlock Method
The aforementioned Galaxy S20 phones combine several nifty lock mechanisms, and Face Unlock is perhaps the fastest among them.
However, the phone is unlocked only in the most favorable conditions. The light should be perfect and you can wear sunglasses, false mustaches, etc. you shouldn’t wear it.
And, of course, all of this comes into play. Fortunately, there are several built-in methods by which you can remove these limitations.
Set an Alternate View
As the name suggests, you can create an alternate view. So the next time you wear sunglasses, your phone will ask, “Do I know you?” stuntman.
To do this, go to Settings > Biometrics & security and tap on Face Recognition.
Next, confirm the pattern and tap the second option to create an alternate look. This much. Pretty simple, huh?
Brighten Screen
Another limitation of Face Unlock is unlocking in the dark. And trust me, it can get pretty annoying if there isn’t enough light. The circle around the camera continues until it says “We can’t recognize it”.
To avoid this situation, enable the Brighten Screen option. You’ll find it towards the end of the Face Recognition menu.
You can also enable the ‘Stay on lock screen’ option. When enabled, you stay on the lock screen (unlocked) instead of landing directly on the last opened app.
Smart Lock
While there are many customization and optimization options on the table, make sure you choose the one that suits your preferences. In my case, I needed something that was not only reliable but also fast and fast. And the combination of Smart Unlock and advanced biometrics just worked.
Make sure you have a reliable backup method in place, such as Lockdown.
Next: Want to disable Google’s Smart Lock feature? Read the article below to see how to hold on.