--> Mobile mythbusting: All needed to know about Nokia’s security code !

There’s countless reasons to love the internet. One, we especially relish, is the ability to source information on literally anything. This information, though, isn’t
always as reliable as you’d hope, which has lead to an astonishing rise in the number of urban legends and myths. Happily we’ve got just the man at hand to help dispel some of the more popular misconceptions about mobile tech. Wayne Spillet is Community Manager at Nokia Support Discussions, a global community, which has been helping Nokia users out for eight years. In that time, Wayne has seen it all making him the perfect Mr Mythbuster. Today’s he going to set the record straight when it comes to your Nokia device’s security code.



What is the security code?

The security code, sometimes also called the lock code, protects the data in your phone in case somebody tries to access it without your permission. The code can be activated so that you need to enter it each time the phone is switched on, and after the phone has locked itself after a period of inactivity. By default, the security code of a Nokia phone is 12345, but you can choose a code between 5 and 10 digits. Some Nokia phones have even accepted alphanumeric passwords.

Why is this important?

Quite apart from the contact information of your friends and family, your modern smartphone probably has access to your e-mail plus your accounts in services like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin et cetera – if so, it is wise to protect your phone from potential identity theft. If you have a company phone with access to your company mail, calendar etc. then there is a very real chance that your company forces you to use a security code.

 

What if I forget my code?

It is very important that you choose a code that is easy for you to remember, but not something that somebody else could easily guess such as your birthday. If you do forget your code, then your local Nokia Care services can usually set the phone back to “out-of-the-box” condition, but this process will wipe all of your personal data and apps, so we hope that you will never face this situation.

Why can’t resetting the code be simpler?

If there was a simple way that we could tell you to reset your phone’s security code, then it is likely that soon everybody would know about it and then the system would no longer be secure. Our Nokia Care agents cannot easily verify that the person who calls us or chats with us online is the real owner, so it really is safer if you take the phone to one of our Nokia Care points to be reset where you can offer proof that you own the phone, such as your purchase receipt.

What if I do lose my phone data?

If you have a Nokia Lumia phone, your contacts are automatically synchronised with your Microsoft Account so you should never lose them. You can also easily make regular backups of your text messages, photos and details of your installed apps simply by activating the backups in Settings>Backup. The data is then automatically restored to your phone once you get it reset when you link your Microsoft account back to the phone.

If you have a Nokia Asha or one of our Series 40 models, you can easily back-up your contacts, messages, calendar, settings et cetera to your memory card, this can then be restored to the phone after the code has been reset.

Hopefully, this has answered all your questions. If not, share what more you’d like to know in the comments below and we’ll ask Wayne to help.

 Source: conversations.nokia.com