Samsung Galaxy S3: How to Lock and Unlock Memo in S Memo App

In certain condition, you might have to write down something important for further use, for instance when you're discussing something with your friends and want to summarize the conclusion or else. Well, aside from using the paper and pen, you can also utilize S Memo app inside your Samsung Galaxy SIII to do so.

See also: How to Create New Text Memo Using S Memo on Samsung Galaxy S3

The benefit of using S Memo app to write your note is the easiness to find the required memo without having to throw you in the trouble to search the memo among other piles of paper. In addition, you can also secure your memo by locking the memo using your own lock code so the others who don't know the code will not be able to read your memo.


How to lock memo?
Below are the steps to do so:
  1. Open S Memo app.
  2. The list of your memo will displayed here.
  3. Tap the Menu key then select Lock.
  4. Tap the desired memo you wish to lock.
  5. Tap the Done button located at the upper right corner.
  6. Enter the desired lock number you wish to use to lock the memo followed by re-entering your lock number to confirm.
  7. Tap Continue button.
  8. The selected memo has been locked.

How to unlock locked memo?
The steps listed below will show you how to unlock memo, either temporarily or permanently unlock:
  1. Open S Memo app.
  2. To temporarily unlock the memo, tap the memo then enter the unlock number (the same as the lock number). Once you close the memo, then it will be locked again.
  3. To permanently unlock the memo, long tap the memo then select Unlock option followed by entering the unlock code.

Well, by knowing how to lock memo, now you can secure your important memo to avoid unauthorized people reads your memo. And of course you still be able to open your memo using the unlock code anytime you want. So, hope this helps :)

25 comments:

  1. I can't find the s memo on my SM T310. There's the S planner, where I can enter a memo, and there's the T memo which is text memo, but I can't find your S Memo app.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Genie White,
      Thanks for coming.
      CMIIW, so is it a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.8.0?
      If so, you can find S Memo in the application menu, it's usually named as "Memo" and the icon is displayed as the "square with the letter T inside" icon.
      Hope this helps :)

      Delete
  2. I forgot my pin! Is there some way to override it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alyssa Fortier,
      Thanks for coming.
      Theoretically, you won't be able to open a locked S Memo file in your phone without entering PIN/Password. But, I've just found a trick to read content in a locked S Memo. Here are the steps:
      1. Connect your phone to PC.
      2. If you use Windows PC, open Windows explorer then navigate to your Phone drive.
      3. Open Phone/Application/SMemo/cache folder.
      4. Copy all files in this folder to your PC and then open these files using Windows Photo Viewer.
      5. Now, you should be able to view your S Memo contents (either it's locked or not).

      Delete
    2. What the meaning of phone to PC ?

      Delete
    3. Hi Ruba Joo,
      Thanks for coming.
      Did you ask for the meaning of "connect your phone to PC" in my reply in the Alyssa's comment?
      If so, the meaning of "connect your phone to PC" is plugging the micro USB cable into the micro USB port at the bottom side of your phone and then plug the other end to the USB port in your PC to make them connect so that you can transfer files between your phone and PC.

      Delete
  3. How do I unlock my S Memo file if I never assigned a pin/password? ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lisa,
      Thanks for coming.
      If you didn't put any pin/password on your S Memo file, then you don't need unlock it to open it. Simply open the S Memo app and then tap the required S Memo file to open it.

      Delete
  4. I did your suggestion to recover galaxy note s memo and it is a happy ending... Thank you verrrry much....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Maz ANTO,
      Thanks for coming.
      I'm so glad to know that you can find something useful here :)

      Delete
  5. I am unable to open the forgotten password T memo by following the above steps ? can any 1 help to resolve this ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi R.L.Sampath Kumar,
      Thanks for coming and I'm sorry for so late answer.
      Sadly to say that now S Memo no longer saves the memos as .png files. It now saves them as .sfm files. That's why I have to confirm that the steps to see a locked memo in my reply for Alyssa Fortier's comment can no longer be used.
      FYI, I've tried to open a .sfm file using some apps in my PC but to no avail. If you have or can find an app that can handle .sfm file, you can try opening a locked memo in that app.

      Delete
  6. I forgot my pin... What should I do :( ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bachar,
      Thanks for coming.
      Kindly do the following steps:
      1. Open My Files app.
      2. Tap "Device storage".
      3. Tap "Application".
      4. Tap "SMemo".
      5. Tap "Cache" and then copy all files inside this folder to your PC.
      6. Once done, see the extension of the copied files on your PC. If the files are saved as .png files then you can open them using any image viewer app in your PC even when they're locked. If the files are saved as .sfm files then you may have to try finding and installing an app that can open these files on your PC.

      FYI, when my S4 was still using Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, all S Memo files were saved as .png files. But, when my phone was updated to Android 4.4.2 Kitkat, all S Memo files were saved .sfm files. I myself have tried finding an app that could open .sfm files, but I found nothing.

      Delete
  7. Hi,
    My phone is S Duos 2 (Model GT-S7582). I'm confused about the S/T Memo but I think mine is T Memo. Based on that, can someone help how to recover forgotten password on my memo? Or if there's no way to recover it, I would like to remove the password if possible. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bernice Reyes,
      Thanks for coming.
      Try the following steps to recover your locked memo:
      1. Open My Files app.
      2. Tap "Device storage".
      3. Tap "Application" folder.
      4. Tap "SMemo" folder.
      5. Tap "cache" folder. This folder contains with your memo cache. If the file extension is .png, copy the required memo cache to your PC and then open it with the Windows viewer app to view your memo without entering the password. But, if the file extension is .sfm then there's no way to open your locked memo without entering the password.

      Delete
    2. but in device storage "Application" folder is not showing....

      Delete
  8. My phone is galaxy starpro ...and i forget the memo pin .....so please help me....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Shahzeb Saif,
      Thanks for coming.
      Since I don't have a Samsung Galaxy starpro, I can't help you much. But, if you don't mind, you can try performing the steps within my reply for Bernice Reyes' comment in your phone. The point is if memo caches in your phone are saved in .png files then you can retrieve its contents by viewing it in the Windows viewer in a Windows PC.

      Delete
  9. I dont have a applications folder in my files app

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Buddy,
      Thanks for coming.
      May I know your phone's model number and Android version?

      Delete
  10. Hallo, my question: is it possible to remove a saved memo, when I forgot the Password?
    RON

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ron,
      Thanks for coming.
      You can try the following steps to delete locked memo:
      1. Open My Files app.
      2. Tap "Device storage" to explore your phone's memory.
      3. Tap "SMemo" folder.
      4. Long tap the required memo file you want to delete and then select "Delete".
      5. Tap "OK" button to confirm deleting the file.

      Delete
  11. For those of you wondering how to get that memo you locked, not for nefarious purposes I suppose, here are some steps for S Memo. Root the phone. Towelroot is an easy way to do that. Get Root Browser. Navigate to data/sata/com.sec.android.widgetapp.diotek.smemo/sharedprefs. It may or may not be in this location depending on your phone. Just dig around in all the data folders until you find the memo app and get lucky. Open Common_setting.xml. There I found string "PREF_APPLOCK_PIN" and the pin in cleartext next to it. This would be much easier if you were able to search for that string from the parent directory. Some browser apps or if you figure out how to browse from your computer may let you do that.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I wanted to lock one of my memo in t memo app so I opened that memo and selected the lock option given in it and it got locked without asking me for a pin code. Now when i want to open it, it is asking me for a pin code which i obviously don't have.
    Please help me to open it. Its very very important!!

    ReplyDelete

Hi the insiders,
Thanks for coming and I hope you can get something useful here.
Before submitting your comment to ask about an issue, please make sure to provide information as much as possible (at least write your model number and Android version) and describe the problem clearly.
Also, since all comments will be moderated, all comments with irrelevant links(if any) or contain with offensive/harsh word will be deleted.
The last, if you have a question and can't find the relevant article, please feel free to reach me through the Contact us page. I'll be more than happy to reply the email and answer the question :)