Android phone asking for the previous Google account after a reset?

You’ve reset an Android phone, or bought one second-hand, and instead of the usual setup it says “Verify your account” or asks for a Google account that was previously on the phone. You can’t get any further without it.

This is a security feature, not a fault, and in most cases it can be sorted out without paying anyone. This guide explains what the screen is and the order to try things in.

What this screen is

Google calls it Factory Reset Protection, often shortened to FRP. It has been part of Android since version 5.1, so almost every Android phone in use today has it, whatever the make.

When a phone is signed in to a Google account, Android remembers that account. If the phone is then reset in any way other than through its own Settings menu by the person signed in, it asks for that same Google account before it will let anyone set it up again.

The idea is simple. If someone steals a phone and resets it, the phone is still no use to them without the owner’s Google password. The downside is that the same lock catches honest owners who have forgotten their password, and people who bought a phone the seller never signed out of.

Why a reset doesn’t clear it

A factory reset is exactly what triggers the lock, so doing another one won’t help. Wiping the phone with buttons in recovery mode, using a computer, or putting in a new SIM card won’t remove it either. The phone checks for the right Google account every time it’s set up.

Make sure it’s the Google lock

A few other screens look similar but mean something different, and the next step depends on which one you have.

• It asks for a Google account or says “Verify your account”. This is the Google lock, and the rest of this guide is about it.
• It asks for a Samsung account. Some Samsung phones have a separate lock tied to Samsung’s phone-finding feature. That Samsung account needs entering or removing as well.
• It names a company, school or lender, or says payments are overdue. The phone is managed by an organisation or is on a payment plan. Only that organisation or lender can release it.
• It says the phone is blocked or reported lost. That’s a different problem. Our guide to buying a phone that turns out to be blacklisted explains your options.

If it’s a Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO phone asking for a Mi account instead, see our guide to Xiaomi phones asking for a Mi account.

Doing it yourself, or letting us handle it

What to try, in order

1. It’s your own Google account and you’ve forgotten the password

Use Google’s account recovery on a computer or another phone. Go to accounts.google.com/signin/recovery and follow the steps. It may ask for a recovery email address, a phone number or a code sent to another device you’re signed in on.

Once you’re back in, remember the security delay above. Samsung and LG both say to wait 72 hours after a password change before trying it on the phone, so if it won’t take the new password, leave it for three full days and try again.

2. It belongs to the previous owner

If you bought the phone second-hand, contact the seller. The most reliable fix is for them to type their Google account details into the phone themselves, which means meeting up or posting it back.

1. 1

   Ask the seller to sign in on the phone

   Once their account is accepted, the phone finishes setting up. They can then sign out in Settings, under Accounts, before handing it back.

2. 2

   If that isn’t possible, ask them to remove it from their account

   They can sign in at myaccount.google.com, open Security, find the phone under Your devices and sign it out. This may help, but on a phone that has already been reset it doesn’t always clear the lock.

3. 3

   Reset the phone properly once you’re in

   After their account is removed, a reset from inside Settings won’t bring the lock back, and you can set the phone up with your own Google account.

Keep your messages with the seller in writing. If they can’t or won’t help, a written record makes it easier to ask the marketplace or your card provider for your money back.

3. You have the original proof of purchase

If the phone is yours but you can’t get back into the account at all, take the phone and its original receipt to the shop or network you bought it from, or contact the phone maker’s support. With proof that you own it, they may be able to help. What they can do varies by maker and by country, so ask them directly.

4. None of these work

That’s when it’s worth finding out exactly what’s on the phone before spending any money, which is where our check comes in.

A word about “FRP bypass” tools

Search for this problem and you’ll find videos, apps and download links promising to skip the Google screen. We’d steer clear of them.

• Many come from unknown sources and ask you to install files that can carry malware.
• Most rely on gaps that phone makers close in updates, so they often stop working or leave the phone half set up.
• Opening up the phone’s software this way may affect its warranty.

They also don’t change who the phone belongs to on record. A phone that has been reported lost or stolen stays reported, whatever happens to the setup screen.

Where our check can help

We want to be straight with you about one thing first. Nobody can read the Google account lock from a phone’s records, ourselves included. Any site that says it can check FRP status from the IMEI is guessing.

What our diagnosis can do is check the records that are available. It looks at whether the phone has been reported lost or stolen, whether a payment-plan lock is on it, which includes Samsung’s lender lock, and whether it’s tied to one network. Those answers change what you should do next, and we explain them in plain English.

If you tell us the phone is stuck on the Google screen and nothing in its records rules it out, we can offer a Google account lock removal. We ask for proof that the phone is yours first, we can’t promise the result, and we never work on a phone reported lost or stolen.

If your phone is locked right now, start on our page for people locked out of an Android phone.