Malfunctioning Swipe Login

[clayto]

Somehow I have 'caught the infection' of an unwanted swipe login which does not work, or let me in. Every swipe, repeated many many times (up, down, left right) is reported as 'incorrect'. Fortunately after numerous fails it offers me the option to enter a PIN CODE which does work, so eventually I can access Settings. I expected to be able to remove/disable the swipe login there but I cannot, as it asks for swipe again and without the PIN option --- a ridiculous Catch-22 impossibility.

How do I get rid of swipe login without a system reset (no thankyou!)

PS I meant to add that my tablet is Samsung Tab A with Marshmallow, a few months old.

 

[Traveller]

What happens when you factory reset the tablet?

 

[clayto]

Thanks for replying. I do not want to do a factory reset and lose all the work I have done customising the tablet over the past months. It would not be so bad if all the new apps and files could be moved to the SD card but not much is movable. I have tried, with the help of some apps but still have a card with plenty of spare GB while the tablet is running out of free storage.This is a big negative for many Androids, in contrast to Windows. I could hardly believe it when I first discovered it.

If I could not open and use the tablet at all I suppose a reset might be the only option. Fortunately, I have found how to reduce the annoyance to some degree, it takes about one or two minutes of failed swipes before the PIN option is offered, so after that I can start work.

 

[Traveller]

That's up to you of course, but a factory reset is highly recommended here. It's one of the first troubleshooting steps with Android, along with installing apps one at a time until you detect the one that's giving you an issue. Regardless, there are ways to back up the setup on your tablet so you don't have so much to replace when the time comes. I would recommend doing some research into them, because at some point you're going to lose your data.

 

[PitCarver]

Anything from Cheetah Mobile installed?

They're bad about installing added lockscreens, among other things.

 

[Spider]

That's up to you of course, but a factory reset is highly recommended here.

Factory reset: How Do I "Factory Reset" My Tablet?

If there are no instructions there specifically for your tablet, try some of the methods for other tablets. One of them will probably work and you won't hurt anything by trying.