Unlock With WiFi
Unlock With WiFi unlocks your phone when you’re connected to your home WiFi network. What does “unlock” mean? It means you don’t have to enter your password/pattern/PIN when you turn on your phone. When you’re at home, or work, you don’t need to worry about losing your phone, so why should you have to enter your password?
How does it work?
When you get home and connect to your WiFi network, your device will unlock. Then when you leave, and the WiFi disconnects, the device will lock again. You have to enter your password the first time after you connect to your WiFi network. This is so that if someone steals or finds your phone, they can’t just bring it to your house to unlock it. After you enter your password once while connected to your WiFi network, you won’t have to enter it again until you leave/disconnect.
What else does it do?
You can also set a lock delay, for when you’re not at home. The default delay is set to 5 seconds (you can adjust it), so when you turn the screen off, the device won’t lock until 5 seconds have passed. That way, if you remember something you forgot to do, you can turn it back on without entering your password. This feature is considered experimental at this time. It works on most devices, but isn’t guaranteed to work on all devices.
There are also options to:
- Turn off WiFi when you leave home
- Turn on GPS when you leave home*
- Turn off GPS when you get home*
- Turn on Bluetooth when you leave home
- Turn off Bluetooth when you get home
- Turn off Auto Sync when you leave home
- Turn on Auto Sync when you get home
- WidgetLocker integration (New!)**
* This feature is not guaranteed to work on all devices. Android normally doesn’t allow apps to turn the GPS on/off, but UWW uses a hack that works on some devices.
** Works best with WidgetLocker version 2.2+.
UWW works on tablets too!
Known Limitations:
This app won’t work if your employer enforces a password policy on your phone. Many corporate Exchange email users have this.
If your screen won’t go off, or comes on randomly, try disabling the lock delay in the Unlock With WiFi settings.
Unlock With WiFi is incompatible with Juice Defender, Green Power, BatteryFu and other apps. See the FAQ.
Make sure to exclude Unlock With WiFi from your task killer apps, or it won’t work properly.
Unlock With WiFi doesn’t work on the Samsung Fascinate if it’s been upgraded to Android 2.2 (stock Samsung ROM). It also doesn’t work at all on the Samsung Charge.
See the FAQ for more details http://benhirashima.com/unlockwithwifi/faq
Tech support is only available in English.
License Agreement
By downloading this software, you are agreeing to the End User License Agreement, which can be read here: http://benhirashima.com/unlockwithwifi/eula. It’s pretty standard stuff.
Hi.
Great app, I’ve wanted this setup for a while.
It works on my HTC Desire HD (2.3.3), but now my volume buttons unlock the phone when near my home WiFi.
Just thought I’d report that in. Let me know if you need more specifics. And thanks for the app.
Hi Andre. Glad you like the app. See this post about the volume buttons.
Hi
I’m also very pleased with the app, it works really good (on HTC Desire, still with FroYo).
But I’ve got the same problem as Andre: If I put my phone in the pocket, the volume buttons (and the power button) turn on the screen and cause therefore unwanted “inputs” on the screen and draw the battery.
Since I’m not a power user I don’t want the get root on my phone as suggested in your post. So, would it be possible to have a key combination to lock the device manually when “unlock with wifi” is used?
(Currently I’m using “Screen off and Lock”, but this app can’t overcontrol “unlock with wifi”)
Regards, Mick
Hi Mick. Unlock With WiFi 2.0 will be coming out soon, and should solve this problem. Stay tuned!
Hi. Bought this app, a great idea. But why cant I use this but still have the slide to unlock the screen in addition to pressing the wake / power button? With the current setup my phone keeps unlocking itself in my pocket, even if I am at home. Then it could call someone. Please get back to me.
UWW 2.0 has just been released today, and the new Device Admin mode will preserve your slide-to-unlock screen. Try it!
Excellent will give it a try and let you know how it goes. What about the wifi thing I mentioned below?
Not sure what you meant about that. Please email me so we can figure it out.
Okay I see on your FAQs that slide to unlock is coming in 2.0, so when is that due? Also my phone turns off Wifi itself when in sleep mode and re-connects when woken up. Will 2.0 allow that to continue and still work? I use a Samsung Nexus S. Thanks!
Appears I’m the 1st question re your new version 2.0, Yippee!!!
I think the new unlock protocol requires the phone to have a password when locked? That’s a change and inconvenient for some of us (easy to say when we are not designing the software).
I think I’ll stick with v1.1, losing the “Turn on/off BT function.
GREAT implementation of an idea.
Thanks
k
D@M!!! Should have read your write-up re v2.0 before I posted my stupid comments in post 10.
That said, I use “Unlock With WiFi” when I am home and my phone is sitting on my desk. There is no need for the slide to unlock screen to prevent me from accidentally turning on the phone in my pocket.
I’ll still stick with v 1.1 and this is still a GREAT implementation of an idea.
k
Cool little app. In the future it would be awesome if we can see a WidgetLocker support, because right now they can’t work together.
Hi there, doesn’t work on my Samsung Galaxy S1 with Android 2.3 – I’m actually wondering if it should, I heard Google blocked API access for unlocking the screen from apps in this version of Android…
It certainly does work on the Samsung Galaxy S with Android 2.3. If you are having a problem, please press Bug Report in UWW, and send me the log, along with a description of the problem. Thanks.
Dear UWW Users, please don’t use this comments section to ask tech support questions. Email me directly, and I will be happy to help you with your problem. Thanks.
But I couldn’t find your email adress anywhere, neither on this site nor in the program where there is only a link to this site
You can email me from the Android Market. Find UWW in the market and scroll down to where it says Send Email.
Hello, nice app but if forgot or don’t work passowrd, what to do ??????????????
Must reflash cellphone??????????
Thank you for reply
If you forgot your password, you’ll have to do a factory reset. This has nothing to do with Unlock With WiFi.
I can’t uninstall the app in my tablet… how to?
You must first disable Device Admin mode, or just select Uninstall from the menu.
Running the paid version on a Nexus S in a house with multiple wifi devices. Works perfectly. One very nice addition to the product would be the ability to select an app to start when the device is unlocked. Something like Clock would be perfect.
I love the Unlock with wifi app for android. I have a feature request. Not sure it is possible, but thought I would ask.
Is it possible to add to the current app or create a new one that does the same thing with blue tooth? For example, when my phone connects to my car’s blue tooth, I would love not to have to enter the unlock code after the first initial unlock.
Thanks for the great app.
Glad you like the app. Please see the FAQ about unlocking with Bluetooth. It is coming, but it will be a while.
Hi i have an issue trying to uninstall this app from my atrix.Can u help me?
Please see the FAQ.