Seven lock screens, from a keypad to a safe’s dial

The seven styles at a glance

Sealed has seven lock screen styles: Keypad, Vault Dial, Padlock, Rotary, Cryptex, Three Turns and Knock. Each one is a different hand on the same lock. The table says what each asks of your passcode, and each name leads to a page of its own.

Why a style is not a stronger lock

Every lock screen style is another way to enter your passcode, so it changes how you enter it and not how many combinations it has.

That matters when you choose. A long passcode behind a keypad is harder to guess than a short one behind a beautiful dial. Pick the length first, then pick the style you enjoy. How long a passcode takes to guess puts numbers on the length question.

What a style can change is how the code looks to someone standing next to you. A row of tapped digits is easy to read over a shoulder. A dial that turns, or a rhythm tapped anywhere on the glass, gives a watcher less to copy at a glance. Treat that as a small help, not a promise.

How to try them

To choose a lock screen, open Settings, then Passcode & Unlock, and tap Lock Screen: each style has its own page to try it on, with a Use This Lock Screen button.

1. Swipe through the pages. Each one is the real lock, alive.
2. Try each one with a few made-up codes. Turn it, pull it, tap it.
3. Notice which one you can work without looking twice. That is the one you will still like in a month.
4. Tap Use This Lock Screen, or keep the one you have.

Choosing by how you use your phone

• You open the vault many times a day. The keypad is the fastest. A style is a pleasure the first hundred times and a chore after that, for some people.
• You often unlock in a crowd. A longer code matters more than the style. Pick a style that takes the length you want.
• You forget numbers. A word or a rhythm may stay with you better than six digits.
• You like objects. Brass wheels, a steel door, a telephone: pick the one that makes you smile, because you will see it every day.

Which styles change your passcode

The Keypad takes any passcode. Rotary, Three Turns and the Vault Dial read the one you already have, if its length fits. The Cryptex, Knock and sometimes the Padlock change it.

Choosing Cryptex or Knock replaces your passcode with the word or the rhythm, and Sealed says first if that removes a decoy or duress passcode. The Padlock can too, as its own page explains.

If a decoy or duress passcode would go with the old one, an alert says so first, and you can cancel there. The decoy vault page and the duress code page explain what those codes are for.

A way back if a style gets in the way

Rotary, Cryptex, Three Turns and Knock always keep a way to type the same passcode instead: the keypad, or the password field for the Cryptex.

The Vault Dial and the Padlock show a keypad button too. A Dial Only or Padlock Only switch in Settings can take it away, for those two styles only.

So a cold hand, a bad day or a cracked screen doesn’t leave you outside. The wrong tries still count the same way. The wait is part of every vault: it doesn’t need Break-In Alerts or Sealed Pro.

Free or Pro

Every lock screen style except the Keypad is part of Sealed Pro. Anyone can try every style in Settings first.

Where Sealed helps, and where it doesn’t

It helps you open the vault in a way you like, and anyone can try every style before paying. Every lock screen style except the Keypad is part of Sealed Pro.

It doesn’t do these things:

• Add combinations. Every lock screen style is another way to enter your passcode, so it changes how you enter it and not how many combinations it has.
• Stand in for a good passcode. A short code is short in every style. See the passcode guide.
• Keep your old codes in every case. Choosing Cryptex or Knock replaces your passcode with the word or the rhythm, and Sealed says first if that removes a decoy or duress passcode.
• Stop a person who already knows your code. A known code opens the vault in any style. Break-in alerts only react to wrong tries.