Phone 'locked' - help please!

[niftyfifty]

DS has to put a security code in his phone before he can access it - a sequence of dots, not a number.

While wearing gloves today(!) he managed to put the wrong code in 5 times, which has now denied him access.

He has tried to go to his Google account on the phone but is getting the message 'incorrect user name/password', so is having no luck there either.

If I take it to one of those places that advertise they unlock phones, will he lose all his contacts? Or, if we take it back to the shop it was bought from, should they be able to do anything? Any ideas or suggestions gratefully received.

The shops that you see advertising unlocking are to do with breaking the tie a phone might have with being locked to a particular network, and only accepting those network sim cards.
Your best bet is to ring the network provider. They might be able to give you a master unlock code to put in.
Failing that you might have to connect the phone to the computer and reset it. Try reading the user manual or having a google on the internet with the make and model of phone, and the problem and it will probably come up on a forum somewhere!

Thanks charlotte you can see how technically minded I am

Didn't think of ringing the network provider, will give that a go, or try & find the user manual!