“How do I access a factory-reset Android phone when I no longer remember the account and password??”

When you first set up a standard smartphone (I’ll discuss burner phones later), you almost surely signed in with some external service — if not, the phone wouldn’t do anything! That sign-in information probably exists somewhere online, and can be recovered.

For example, if yours is a standard Android setup, you probably created or logged-into a Google account, or an account with your telecom carrier (e.g. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.), or with the hardware maker (Samsung, LG, etc.).

In any case, all sites like those have similar mechanisms for account-recovery: You go online using any available device (such as the one you used to send in your question); visit the support site for whatever account you’re trying to recover; and follow the instructions.

In Google’s case, you’d go to https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/7682439 . Here’s what the page looks like:

When you start the recovery process, the site will ask for proof that you’re really who you say you are; it’ll use security questions, a verification email sent to your (separate) recovery email address, or some other means of making sure you’re not just a random person trying to access an account (or phone) that’s not yours.

When you’ve proved that you’re the legitimate account-owner, you then can create or recover the password and go about your business.

Of course, if you’re talking about a burner phone — a cheap, no-contract, cash-only, pay-as-you-go device — then there may be no externally-accessible user account to refer to. When a burner phone reaches end-of-life for any reason, it’s not intended to be recoverable — you toss it (“burn” it) and get a new one. It’s very wasteful and environmentally stupid, but there you go.

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