Troubleshooting: Why Isn't AppLock Working?

It can be very frustrating when you've locked an app, but it still opens without a password. When AppLock isn't working as expected, it is almost always caused by your phone's system settings interfering with our app's ability to run in the background.

This guide covers the two most common causes and how to fix them.

Cause #1: Your Phone's Battery Saver is Shutting AppLock Down

This is the most common reason for AppLock to stop working. To save power, your phone's operating system will automatically "force stop" apps that are running in the background. You can prevent this from happening to AppLock.

1. Go to your phone's main Settings menu.
2. Tap on Battery.
3. Look for a sub-menu like "App battery management," "Battery optimization," or "Power saving."
4. Find AppLock in the list of applications.
5. Set its background activity mode to "Unrestricted" or "No restrictions".

This tells your phone's system to always allow AppLock to run, ensuring your apps stay protected.

Cause #2: A Required Permission is Disabled

For AppLock to work, it needs certain key permissions to know when an app is opening and to display the lock screen on top of it.

1. Go to your phone's main Settings menu.
2. Tap on Apps (or "Applications").
3. Find and tap on AppLock.
4. Tap on Permissions.
5. Ensure that all required permissions are granted, especially "Display over other apps" (this may be called "Appear on top") and "Usage Access". (this may also be listed outside of the Permissions tab)

Final Step: Restart Your Phone

After you have checked both of the settings above, please restart your phone to ensure all the changes take effect properly.

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Still not working? If you have followed all of these steps and your apps are still not locking correctly, please contact our support team.