[APP][4+] SkipLock Beta - Skip the lock screen (Formerly Unlock With WiFi) 4/17

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Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
The app is now live on Google Play.

Thanks to all my beta testers for helping me iron out the wrinkles. I will still post beta versions here when I have new features that need testing.

FeatureGraphic-White-600.jpg

Tired of entering your password all the time? SkipLock lets you skip past the lock screen when you're connected to a designated wifi or bluetooth device. When you're at home or in your car, your phone is safe and you don't need to be typing in that damn password all the time. When you're connected to your wifi network, or any bluetooth device, you can go straight to the home screen when you press the power button. You can even have it keep the phone unlocked while you're connected to a bluetooth keychain or headset. As soon as the phone gets out of range, it locks.

This is a public beta. SkipLock is a complete rewrite of Unlock With WiFi. Why rewrite it? This blog post explains the reasoning behind it.

Here are the new features in SkipLock:

  • Pattern and face unlock supported on rooted devices
  • Completely redesigned Android 4+ user interface
  • No background service = less memory usage and more reliable
  • No status bar icon required (but it’s still an option). Tray-only notifications also an option.
  • If you have notifications enabled, you can now tap the notification to instantly lock the device
  • Even more cool stuff coming later

Many of the existing features from Unlock With WiFi will also be in the new app. Some of them are:

  • Automatically turn off wifi when leaving home
  • Automatically turn on/off bluetooth
  • Automatically turn on/off sync
  • WidgetLocker integration
  • Lock delay has been removed because Android 4+ supports it natively now

If you have a bug to report, press Bug Report in the app's menu. This will send me some diagnostic information that will help me figure out what's wrong. This is the quickest way to get a response. You may post more general questions in this thread, and I will try to answer them, but bug reports sent directly to me take precedence.

SkipLock requires Android 4.0 or above. Root is required for patterns and face unlock. Only PINs and passwords are supported without root.
 
Last edited:

Bionic22

Senior Member
Jun 17, 2013
167
31
Crashes

This seems like a really great and useful app. However I can't seem to access it. Every time I click on the app it just crashes.

Running Droid Bionic with Jelly Bean [4.1.2]
 
Last edited:

D3_

Senior Member
Mar 9, 2010
1,262
419
London
sorry, corrupted apk file! i just uploaded a new one that works.

Seems to work fine on my Nexus 5.
Only tested the WiFi setting though, not bluetooth.

Are there any plans to unlock with NFC too? I should be getting an NFC ring soon and I'd love for it to work with that, so when I grab my phone there's no PIN/password but when others get hold of it it requires a PIN/password.
 

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
Seems to work fine on my Nexus 5.
Only tested the WiFi setting though, not bluetooth.

Are there any plans to unlock with NFC too? I should be getting an NFC ring soon and I'd love for it to work with that, so when I grab my phone there's no PIN/password but when others get hold of it it requires a PIN/password.

i would love to do that too, but unfortunately, the NFC reader is not active unless the phone is already awake and unlocked. that goes for most phones anyway. obviously, there are some exceptions, like the moto x.
 
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D3_

Senior Member
Mar 9, 2010
1,262
419
London
i would love to do that too, but unfortunately, the NFC reader is not active unless the phone is already awake and unlocked. that goes for most phones anyway. obviously, there are some exceptions, like the moto x.

True, but there are plenty of custom ROMs and even xposed modules which allow you to enable NFC with the screen off or with the screen on and the phone locked.
Still, if it's not something you're willing to add, there's nothing I can do to change that. The app works great as it is.
 

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
True, but there are plenty of custom ROMs and even xposed modules which allow you to enable NFC with the screen off or with the screen on and the phone locked.
Still, if it's not something you're willing to add, there's nothing I can do to change that. The app works great as it is.

hmm, that's interesting. maybe i'll look into it when i get a chance.
 
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Bionic22

Senior Member
Jun 17, 2013
167
31
It works!

My phone was locked and by adding my WiFi network as an exception, the phone was automatically unlocked.

I'll test it out tomorrow when I leave my house and when I get back to see if it re-locks when i leave my wifi network/unlocks itself upon reaching my wifi network.
 

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
My phone was locked and by adding my WiFi network as an exception, the phone was automatically unlocked.

I'll test it out tomorrow when I leave my house and when I get back to see if it re-locks when i leave my wifi network/unlocks itself upon reaching my wifi network.

great! thanks for the feedback. try to test it with bluetooth too, if you can.
 
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D

Deleted member 2736178

Guest
I don't know how you did it, but this works on stock rooted HTC One with pattern lock! Your previous app and some other apps do not, but this one works perfectly! When does this beta expire?

Take my money! :)

Side note: does not work on nexus7 with CM 10.2 (4.3) pattern always shows even when skiplock notification says its unlocked. Going to submit report from app


Thanks for this! I have missed this function since using HTC One. And will use this on my Nexus 5 when it arrives too
 
True, but there are plenty of custom ROMs and even xposed modules which allow you to enable NFC with the screen off or with the screen on and the phone locked.
Still, if it's not something you're willing to add, there's nothing I can do to change that. The app works great as it is.

Yes, the S3 supports nfc from the lockscreen on some ROMs
 

rob4711

Member
Sep 26, 2005
16
5
My Feedback

Thank you for this great little software. You can also achieve this with software like lama or tasker. But I dont need such big toolkits. So your app fits perfectly on my device.

Here are my thoughts:

* starting an app when a network is in reach - great for car-users to start their favorite mp3-player etc.
* simple geofencing to re enable wifi/bluetooth
* turning on/off different system profiles (so you dont have to take care of all settings...it´s all build into the os)

Keep on coding!
 
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Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
thanks for the feedback, guys. good to hear it's working! for those who asked, yes it's time limited. the current version will expire at the end of november, but if i feel that more testing is necessary, i will update the app and extend the time limit.
 

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  • 35
    The app is now live on Google Play.

    Thanks to all my beta testers for helping me iron out the wrinkles. I will still post beta versions here when I have new features that need testing.

    FeatureGraphic-White-600.jpg

    Tired of entering your password all the time? SkipLock lets you skip past the lock screen when you're connected to a designated wifi or bluetooth device. When you're at home or in your car, your phone is safe and you don't need to be typing in that damn password all the time. When you're connected to your wifi network, or any bluetooth device, you can go straight to the home screen when you press the power button. You can even have it keep the phone unlocked while you're connected to a bluetooth keychain or headset. As soon as the phone gets out of range, it locks.

    This is a public beta. SkipLock is a complete rewrite of Unlock With WiFi. Why rewrite it? This blog post explains the reasoning behind it.

    Here are the new features in SkipLock:

    • Pattern and face unlock supported on rooted devices
    • Completely redesigned Android 4+ user interface
    • No background service = less memory usage and more reliable
    • No status bar icon required (but it’s still an option). Tray-only notifications also an option.
    • If you have notifications enabled, you can now tap the notification to instantly lock the device
    • Even more cool stuff coming later

    Many of the existing features from Unlock With WiFi will also be in the new app. Some of them are:

    • Automatically turn off wifi when leaving home
    • Automatically turn on/off bluetooth
    • Automatically turn on/off sync
    • WidgetLocker integration
    • Lock delay has been removed because Android 4+ supports it natively now

    If you have a bug to report, press Bug Report in the app's menu. This will send me some diagnostic information that will help me figure out what's wrong. This is the quickest way to get a response. You may post more general questions in this thread, and I will try to answer them, but bug reports sent directly to me take precedence.

    SkipLock requires Android 4.0 or above. Root is required for patterns and face unlock. Only PINs and passwords are supported without root.
    4
    New version

    this version extends the beta until the 23rd. aiming to launch this weekend.
    3
    i'm thinking about removing the options for turning on/off bluetooth, sync, and wifi. i know you guys won't be thrilled about this, but here's my reasoning: these features are the domain of automation apps (like Tasker), but SkipLock isn't an automation app. some people see these features and think that it is an automation app, and start asking for more automation features, which i really don't want to add. i want SkipLock to do only one thing well, and that's unlock your phone. doing one thing well is better is better than doing one thing well and one thing poorly. as an automation app, SkipLock is pretty poor. i get a lot of 3 and 4 star reviews saying something like "awesome app, but would be five stars if it turned on wifi when i get home". instead of seeing the wifi auto-off feature as a bonus, they see the fact that it doesn't have auto-on as a flaw. when people think that SkipLock is an automation app, they start to think that lots of things are missing from it. if they only thought of it as an unlocking app, then they would see it as being 100% complete.

    do you guys see where i'm coming from? i know it's irrational to remove perfectly good features from the app, but the fact is that app consumers' perceptions are irrational, and i have to deal them. i'm quite confident that removing the automation features will increase customer satisfaction and increase the app's rating (as least for those who don't know what features were removed). it's crazy, but true. i guess what i want to know is exactly how pissed you, my existing users, will be? do i have your blessing?
    3
    New version

    fixed a bug where wifi didn't turn off when leaving home. also bluetooth and sync on/off were affected. also switched to a better bluetooth icon.

    update on the NFC unlocking: i've run into a snag and it seems it's going to take longer than i thought to finish it. it looks like i'll have to write my own xposed module in order for it to work the way i want it to. so i'm putting NFC on the back burner for now.

    i've decided to leave the automation features in the app. no plugins needed.

    my plan is to release SkipLock as soon as i implement the in-app payment for the upgrade from trial to free. my goal is to make that happen before christmas at the latest, but hopefully sooner.
    3
    thanks for the feedback, guys. good to hear it's working! for those who asked, yes it's time limited. the current version will expire at the end of november, but if i feel that more testing is necessary, i will update the app and extend the time limit.