This guide will provide you with details on the different ways that you can do this and offer some troubleshooting solutions for any issues that you may encounter during the process.
Why is There a Lock Symbol on My Text Message
The lock symbol on your text message indicates that you have initiated the lock set for the message. You may have done this by accident, causing the lock symbol to appear seemingly out of nowhere. This is the only reason that the lock symbol appears on text messages on Android. You will have had to either purposely or unknowingly activate the text lock settings for that message for this icon to appear. If you have accidentally turned on the text lock for a message on your Android device, you can use the information in this guide to help you unlock it. As long as the text message has a lock symbol next to it, you will not be able to delete that message. You will need to unlock the text message before it will be able to be deleted. This may be frustrating but the process is extremely simple.
What Does the Lock Symbol Mean on My Text Messages
The lock symbol next to one of your text messages means that you have initiated the text lock features for that message. When you turn on the text lock on your Android device, any attempts to delete that text message while the lock is enabled will fail. This means that you will be able to preserve any text messages that you wish to save using this method and they will not be at risk of being deleted. Many people do this as a way to keep up with the text messages that they have sent or received that contain important information. Even if you delete the entire conversation, the locked text messages will still remain in your conversations. The only way to delete a text message that you have put a text lock on is to unlock the text message. Once you have unlocked the text message, you will be able to delete the message like you would any unwanted text message. The instructions for unlocking a text message on certain Android devices will be included in the section below.
How to Unlock Text Messages on Android
You should use the method below to unlock text messages that you have accidentally locked on your Android device. Unlocking the text message is the only way to remove the lock symbol and allow you to delete the message like you normally would. Step One: Open your messaging application where the locked text message appears. You will need to locate the actual message not just the conversation that it appears in. Step Two: Find the text message that is locked and displaying the lock icon. It will be easy to locate as it will be the only one that is displaying the lock icon. Step Three: Hold down on the text message with the lock symbol until a menu appears. You will need to hold down on the text message for a few seconds for this menu to appear. Step Four: Tap the unlock option in this menu. The unlock option replaces the lock option in this menu for text messages that are already locked. Once you have done this, you will be able to delete the text message at your discretion and the lock symbol will have been removed. This is the only way to remove the lock symbol from your text message on your device once it has been locked. You can also use this method to lock any text messages that you wish to save by entering into the same menu and choosing the lock option. On some models of your device, you can also simply delete the whole conversation and when prompted, confirm that you wish to also include protected messages in the deletion process. If you attempt to delete the whole conversation and see the prompt asking if you wish to include protected messages, selecting this option will also remove the locked text messages from your device. If you wish to keep text messages that you have put a lock on, you will need to ensure that you do not select the “Include protected messages” option. This will ensure that you can delete the conversation and reserve the locked text messages for later viewing. If the following method does not unlock your phone, you should consider restarting your messaging application or updating your phone. This can resolve any bugs or glitches that could be causing your device to not function properly.
How to Unlock Text Messages on Google Pixel
You should use the method below to unlock text messages that you have accidentally locked on your Google Pixel device. Unlocking the text message is the only way to remove the lock symbol and allow you to delete the message like you normally would. Step One: Open your messaging application where the locked text message appears. You will need to locate the actual message not just the conversation that it appears in. Step Two: Find the text message that is locked and displaying the lock icon. It will be easy to locate as it will be the only one that is displaying the lock icon. Step Three: Hold down on the text message with the lock symbol until a menu appears. You will need to hold down on the text message for a few seconds for this menu to appear. Step Four: Tap the unlock option in this menu. The unlock option replaces the lock option in this menu for text messages that are already locked. Once you have done this, you will be able to delete the text message at your discretion and the lock symbol will have been removed. This is the only way to remove the lock symbol from your text message on your device once it has been locked. You can also use this method to lock any text messages that you wish to save by entering into the same menu and choosing the lock option. On some models of your device, you can also simply delete the whole conversation and when prompted, confirm that you wish to also include protected messages in the deletion process. If you attempt to delete the whole conversation and see the prompt asking if you wish to include protected messages, selecting this option will also remove the locked text messages from your device. If you wish to keep text messages that you have put a lock on, you will need to ensure that you do not select the “Include protected messages” option. This will ensure that you can delete the conversation and reserve the locked text messages for later viewing. If the following method does not unlock your phone, you should consider restarting your messaging application or updating your phone. This can resolve any bugs or glitches that could be causing your device to not function properly.
How to Unlock Messages on Samsung
You should use the method below to unlock text messages that you have accidentally locked on your Samsung device. Unlocking the text message is the only way to remove the lock symbol and allow you to delete the message like you normally would. Step One: Open your messaging application where the locked text message appears. You will need to locate the actual message not just the conversation that it appears in. Step Two: Find the text message that is locked and displaying the lock icon. It will be easy to locate as it will be the only one that is displaying the lock icon. Step Three: Hold down on the text message with the lock symbol until a menu appears. You will need to hold down on the text message for a few seconds for this menu to appear. Step Four: Tap the unlock option in this menu. The unlock option replaces the lock option in this menu for text messages that are already locked. Once you have done this, you will be able to delete the text message at your discretion and the lock symbol will have been removed. This is the only way to remove the lock symbol from your text message on your device once it has been locked. You can also use this method to lock any text messages that you wish to save by entering into the same menu and choosing the lock option. On some models of your device, you can also simply delete the whole conversation and when prompted, confirm that you wish to also include protected messages in the deletion process. If you attempt to delete the whole conversation and see the prompt asking if you wish to include protected messages, selecting this option will also remove the locked text messages from your device. If you wish to keep text messages that you have put a lock on, you will need to ensure that you do not select the “Include protected messages” option. This will ensure that you can delete the conversation and reserve the locked text messages for later viewing.
Final Thoughts
This guide has provided you with all of the information that you need to unlock your text messages on Android devices. The devices that you can use this method for include Android, Google Pixel, and Samsung devices. Locking a text message on accident is extremely common. When a text message becomes locked, you will not be able to delete the message as you would normally. You will need to use one of the methods detailed in this guide to unlock your text messages on your device. Once you have unlocked the text message, the lock symbol will be removed and you will be able to remove the text message from your conversations as intended. This guide provides step-by-step details on how to do this on Android, Google Pixel, and Samsung devices.
