Untangle

Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................ 3
Untangle ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Effect: ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Method 1 - Pattern Peek (Works best in good light) ....................................................................... 4
Prepping the phone.......................................................................................................................... 5
Getting the actual peek ................................................................................................................... 5
Additional Notes: .............................................................................................................................. 6
Method 2 - Algorithmic Approach ...................................................................................................... 7
Key things you need to know ......................................................................................................... 7
Method ............................................................................................................................................... 9
Method 3 Algorithmic method with known starting point........................................................... 10
A reason to pick up the phone ..................................................................................................... 10
Practising your algorithm: ............................................................................................................. 11
Extra random notes:....................................................................................................................... 11
Remember!...................................................................................................................................... 11
Method 4 Progressive testing ....................................................................................................... 12
Android pattern restrictions ........................................................................................................... 12
Effect ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Method: ............................................................................................................................................ 13
Testing ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Progressively drawing the pattern ........................................................................................... 13
Some thoughts!................................................................................................................................... 14
Thank You ........................................................................................................................................... 14

Introduction
There are 389,112 different patterns that can be used to lock an android phone.
Compared to 10,000 combinations for a 4 digit pin, a pattern unlock is significantly more
secure..until now!
The methods you will learn will make it very easy to unlock any android phone or tablet that has
been secured using a pattern.
This isnt just mentalism, its the real deal, you are actually unlocking someones phone.
For entertainment purposes only.

Untangle

Effect:
In a nutshellyou unlock the spectators phone
The performer asks for the spectators phone. He discusses how long they have had it, why they
chose this particular model etc. The performer then asks if it would be okay if he tried to guess the
unlock pattern.
The performer explains that there are around 390,000 combinations of patterns on android
compared to 10,000 combinations with a 4 digit pin on iPhones.
The spectator says that the performer can try if he likes.
The performer opens the phone with the correct pattern on the first try

Method 1 - Pattern Peek (Works best in good light)

First off I have to give credit here to Michael Murray of Mind FX fame.
While I came up with the following idea independently Michael came up with this idea long before
me, in fact a variant of the following method is in his excellent book A piece of my mind and he
uses it to unlock iPhones, there is a lot to his method so if you want to use this to unlock an iPhone
you should really pick up his book, it is full of fantastic nuances which make it possible. His book also
mentions in passing that this can be used to unlock android patterns.
His book is pretty amazing and I totally recommend it.
I also want to give some credit to the research done by the following folk: Adam J. Aviv, Katherine
Gibson, Evan Mossop, Matt Blaze, and Jonathan M. Smith Department of Computer and Information
Science University of Pennsylvania
I found their research paper after coming up with and trialling my methods. However these guys
have already done some great work on systematically proving the real dangers of what they call
smudge attacks. I have included some of their findings in the notes and key points sections later in
this book.

Prepping the phone

Hold the spectators phone and using your thumbs or just a finger almost like a windscreen wiper,
slowly move them at an angle across the screen. This leaves an even smudge on the screen and will
make the peek easier to see. The spectator must not see you doing this.
Michael Murray suggests transferring some oil from the bridge of your nose or forehead onto your
fingers and thumb. This oil can now be used when wiping the screen and makes the peek even
easier to spot. Thanks Michael for letting me include that excellent tip!
It is important to note that the aim here is to get the phone screen as uniform as possible. If you
were using a variant of this method whereby you use your own phone, you would prepare your
phone in advance by wiping it on your sleeve or jumper or something.
Also, I try to make the smudges at about a 30 degree angle. If you make the smudges at a 90 degree
or a 180 degree there is the potential that the smudges will mask the initial part of the pattern
unlock.

Getting the actual peek

Hold the phone so that the screen is facing away from you and ask the spectator to unlock it. The
screen goes bright and no smudges are visible to the spectator due to the strong backlighting and
the straight angle you are holding the phone at.
Face the phone towards you and state how it is interesting how a persons home screen tells an
awful lot about them. You have plenty of time to get your peek now.
Tilt the phone slightly and you will see the pattern traced on the screen in grease and smudge!
(Lovely)
It is much easier to see it if you hit the power button and turn the screen black. Just make sure you
wipe away any trace of the evidence before handing the phone back
Give the spectator a short personality reading based on their home screen. If you dont have their
pattern by now you can close the effect as a simple personality reading and leave it at that.
However, if you peek the pattern (which you should definitely do) you can just hit the power button
and test the peeked pattern in both directions to determine which one it is. Then you can ask them if
it is ok for you to unlock their screen. The rest is presentation
If you manage to wipe the phone clean during the home screen reading you can hand the phone
back and ask them if you could try to unlock their phone.
At this point you can start mentioning that there are almost 390,000 combinations which is much
more secure than the 10,000 combinations with a 4 digit pin.
Place your finger at the starting position of the smudge pattern, switch on the power button and
give a tiny swipe up to access the unlock screen. Now follow that smudge trail which is either still
visible on the phone or in your short term memory to unlock the phone! Use some presentation
here and depending on your premise you should be glancing at the spectator or possibly touching

their forehead. You could even make this effect more visual by putting the phone down and asking
them to stand up. Take their hand in the air and do a kind of pseudo contact mind reading effect,
moving their hand in the air to divine their unlock code.then unlock their phone.
Make sure you wipe the phone of any remnants of the smudge trail you just created when you
unlocked their phone before handing it back.

Additional Notes:
Please experiment with this a little before performing it. I have found that it is not suitable for dark
environments as you need some light to reflect off the screen to make the smudge trail visible.
Just before I get the peek I orient the phone so that the light source is reflected in the top portion of
the screen, this gives the best view for you of the smudged pattern.
For preshow purposes you can obtain the pattern by taking a photo of the spectators camera screen.
For best results take the photo holding your camera at an angle of about 60 degrees. Adjust the
contrast on the photo to identify the smudge. It was found in research that virtually any directional
lighting source that is not positioned exactly at a complementary angle to the camera will render a
recoverable image of the smudge. So when looking at the phone to identify the smudges with the
naked eye, simply tilt the phone so that the light source is not directly behind you and hitting the
phone at the same angle as you are viewing it.
Reference academic paper: Smudge Attacks on Smartphone Touch Screens Adam J. Aviv, Katherine Gibson, Evan Mossop, Matt Blaze, and
Jonathan M. Smith Department of Computer and Information Science University of Pennsylvania

Method 2 - Algorithmic Approach

The performer asks for the spectators phone. When he picks it up he (secretly) immediately
presses the power button, and swipes up and starts trying certain patterns in a methodical
fashion. While doing this: he discusses how long they have had it, why they chose this particular
model etc.
While trying various patterns, as long as contact is maintained on the screen you can pause in your
inputting of the pattern. So you can draw half of the pattern, turn the phone around to look at the
back (keeping your finger on the screen) and then complete the pattern as you look at another part
of the phone. Also, you do not have to look at the screen straight on as you input different lock
codes. Practice inputting patterns while the phone screen is only partially visible to you.
Between each attempt at a different pattern, you can hit the power button to turn off the screen
and flash it at the spectator as you examine the outer shell of the phone, this will subconsciously tell
them that you are just looking at the physical form and not actually trying to interface with the
software.
Some of the things you can pretend that interest you could be scuff marks, the casing characteristics
(magnetic clasps, bumps, etc), any dirt in any sockets or ports, dirt on the camera, scratches on the
screen.
If you cant get the right pattern all this work is not for nothing as you can lead into method 1 saying
that you would be interested in seeing their home screen to get a full picture of the type of person
they are.
Once you have the correct pattern you can ask if it would be okay if you tried to guess the unlock
pattern.
You explain that here are around 390,000 combinations of patterns on android compared to 10,000
combinations with a 4 digit pin on I phones.
The spectator gives you permission to try if you like.
You open the phone with the correct pattern on the first try!

Key things you need to know

So here are some key things you need to know about unlocking an android phone:

You have 5 attempts and then you are locked out for a 30 second cool down period and then
you can try another 5 times

Certain patterns are more popular than others

There are many variables to pattern selection including ease of input. Creating a pattern
input with a 30 degree angle is quite difficult so no-one really uses it, this immediately

reduces the potential number of patterns by 50% to 158,410 patterns (still 15 times as
secure as a 4 digit pin)

The pattern more than likely starts in a corner and according to data collected, there is no
correlation between left/right handedness and which side the pattern starts on

Method
For this method you need to learn a set of the most common patterns that you can try without
having to think about them.

Here is the first set I use if I do not know the starting point of the pattern:
o
o
o
o

Z
N
S
L

Rotated e

I use the mnemonic ZeNSLE to remember the list and I start in the top right hand corner
COOMG is the next set of 5 I use
The Os start in the top right corner and there are two of them because you can try one clockwise
and one anti-clockwise

Method 3 Algorithmic method with known starting point

If you know the starting point of the pattern it is much, much easier to unlock the phone.
So how do you find out the starting point? Here are a few methods:
1. Ask your spectator to unlock their phone but stop them just before they use the unlock
pattern, if you time it right you will pick up from the motion of their hand where the starting
point is.
2. Ask their friends to have a go opening it, now ask the spectator to show their friends the
unlock pattern, just so they know I am not using any trickery
While they show their friends try to catch the starting point, how long it takes, some motion
etc. Dont try to peek the entire pattern this way as it is too obvious. I would turn away once
I have the first bit of information.
Ask the person to show their unlock pattern to their friends. Get one of their friends to try it
out just to confirm that it works (by getting a friend to do it they will move slower leaving
more of a smudge, so now you can try it both ways)
3. Just ask them where the pattern starts. There are 389,000 combinations and knowing the
starting point brings the amount of combinations down to 33,000 which is still 3 times as
secure as a 4 digit PIN. I have found that it is perfectly fine to ask the spectator where the
pattern starts. I actually tell them that it starts here (pointing to the top left corner) and say
right, if they say yes its a hit, if they say no, just say, oh, which corner does it start in.
Another way of saying it is using this script Which corner does the pattern start in, here?
(pointing to the top left corner)

A reason to pick up the phone

You may feel you need a reason to pick up the phone in the first place.

You could do this as part of a name reveal. Ask if you could see their phone and then take a
look at it to get a feel for what type of person they are. If you cant unlock the phone you
can use the phone to help you guess the name they would have chosen (after they peeked
the name that is)
You could ask them to unlock their home screen, openly view this and link it back to the
word, name reveal somehow
You could do some cold reading based on their phone.
You could take a good look at it before moving into another effect, the checking out of the
phone will just make them wonder if it was somehow linked to your
deductive/influence/mindreading ability

Practising your algorithm:

So using your own android phone or tablet, you can practise cycling through the top 5 common
patterns really quickly and unnoticeably.
You should have 2 sets of 5 patterns that you can do easily. Also, I have a set of patterns I use if I
know the starting point
These are S or Z O O L G G

Extra random notes:

Select a spectator that does not look like the kind of person that is into computers or phones, they
will be more likely to use one of the first five unlock patterns (ZeNSLE).

Otherwise they could have a pattern like this one:

Also, apparently many people use their first initial as a pattern unlock
So letters such as O, L, M,N,Z,W,b,d,p,G,e,C,R,S,U,V

Remember!
ZeNSLE
COOMG
S/ZOOLGG

Method 4 Progressive testing

I really struggled with writing this method so hopefully I have explained it ok for you. It is a bit like a
progressive anagram but without letters!!

Android pattern restrictions

There are some restrictions when generating your lock pattern on an android phone.

A pattern must consist of at least 4 dots

No dot can be used more than once
You cannot leapfrog a dot

The above restrictions are great for us because nobody really thinks about them.
Because the pattern must be at least 4 dots that means we know that there WILL be a direction
change in their pattern. We also know that their pattern will consist of at least two lines.

Effect
I want you to think of a simple unlock pattern.
Focus on the first part, yes the straight line; it starts in a corner doesnt it? Is it this corner, no, this
one maybe.
So focus again on the first part, its a straight line going all the way, down isnt it? Now focus on the
next part, not the straight line, your finger changes direction at this point yeah? A big turn, like 90
degrees or something, now focus on the next bit of the pattern, it is another straight line isnt it, it
goes all the way to the other side/corner.
Wait theres more isnt there, another change in direction, a bit like life really, full of twists and
turns, my you are a complex person.
Focus on the next bit, yes, a straight line all the way to the end, There is more though, one more,
here we change direction and we move it like so and.Bingo

Method:
In real life this would be a lot more fluid.
There are two things going on,

testing for the end of the pattern

Progressively drawing the pattern

Testing
I will explain the testing bit first. Basically, as you get a confirmation for a straight line you draw the
line and lift your finger, if it is the end of the pattern you now have it unlocked. If it is not the end of
the pattern you can quickly redraw what has been confirmed so far. If you do this without the
spectator seeing you can get a hit each time, saying I am feeling like there is more to this
patternor something similar.
So basically, the main reason for testing is to see if you are at the end of the pattern.
You can test 5 times before you will have to stall the spectator for 30 seconds to get another 5
attempts
But remember, once you get the starting point for the pattern, you are one ahead as you know that
there must be at least two lines which will include 1 directional change (so maybe you are 2 ahead)
Progressively drawing the pattern
So this is a bit trickier, there are in fact around 390,000 potential patterns but once you get the first
confirmation of a straight line, this number decreases exponentially (otherwise this process would
take a long time!!).
It should be obvious to you that when testing to determine if you are at the end of a spectators
unlock pattern you can simply overtest using your algorithm from method 2 (your knowledge of
patterns that are used). So if it is a downward line at the start I would test the downward line plus
the directional change and the next line (an L shape) to make sure that the pattern is not finished at
that point. Lets say it started in the top left hand corner I would test for an L, an inverse N, an O, a U
and the rotated G and the rotated S, This should pretty much get it. Just remember that you are
testing to make sure their pattern doesnt just stop short (remember, not all dots have to be used)
You can test while milking the fact that the previous test failed. You know the pattern contains more
directional changes and lines so you tell the person that (say something along the lines of now I can
tell you are a complex person so I KNOW that you pattern would not simply stop here, you are also
quite logical so I think you would make a 90 degree directional change) throw in some compliments
and cold reading to support your knowing and you can give yourself plenty of time to test
The method here is to systematically and progressively test the pattern and use the feedback from
the spectator to build the next piece of the pattern.
Effectively, the spectator is bit by bit telling you the pattern, only they think that you are telling
them.

Some thoughts!
I think it is important to have a full appreciation of the above methods. I primarily favour the pattern
peek, but knowing the various algorithms makes you faster at peeking and also allows you to work
with partial peeks (where only part of the smudge is clear).
When I first started performing this I ran into a little problem. Not everyone has a pattern unlock on
their phone. Younger people tend to use them more but just be aware that not everyone uses the
pattern unlock. This can be a problem as it totally diminishes the effect if you have to ask somone if
they use a pattern lock or not. If you ask them you are also losing the element of surpriseand we
dont like that, do we?!
The way I work around this is that I use it as a lead into another effect. I recently discovered Tequila
Hustler on the mindFX site and I must say it is a perfect effect to mask your checking of their phone
(you can use any name revelation effect etc if that suits you better).
I ask for their phone, and examine it slightly. I wipe the screen and then take a look at their home
screen. If there is no lock or a different system than the pattern unlock I simply examine the home
screen (musing to myself) and then launch into the next effect. If there is a pattern unlock I follow
the same process as above, the only difference being I throw in the pattern unlock along the way. If I
use the smudge method I keep the unlock till the end of the tequila hustler effect.
Is unlocking a phone impressive?...of course it is!
The only situation where this can be less impressive is if you do this for people you know. The
problem here is that people will jump to the conclusion that you saw them enter the pattern at an
early stage and that you memorised it.
When you think about it, it really is an amazing feat to guess someones unlock pattern, but with
some people, they dont actually realise just how good it is. This is where you need to leverage off
what you just did to help them realise that you know them better than they can imagine.
By just looking at you, examining your phone and by talking briefly to you I can unlock your phone.
Id like you to ask yourself, if he can unlock my phone what else does this guy know?....dont worry,
Im pretty good at keeping secrets..

Thank You
I would like to thank you, the reader for your interest in my methods and I hope you have lots of fun
blowing minds! If you have any questions or feedback feel free to contact me at
contact@mindjester.com
If you liked my material you may want to check out some of my other releases:
Take note Drawing duplication and peek systems with post it note
Riven Forcing, peeking and switching system using a small pad of post its

7th sense my take on pencil reading

Dice code divine a 4 digit number generated by the spectator using a dice