Samsung Galaxy J7: Disabled By Administrator Encryption Policy Or Credential Storage (Solution)

Samsung phones are usually quite versatile. But as with any other technological advance, the more configuration options you have at your disposal, the higher the chances to bump into different bugs like the error saying “Disabled by administrator encryption policy or credential storage” on Galaxy J7.

On one hand, it’s nice to have so many unlock screen methods. Maybe you’re comfortable with the good old PIN code to lock your screen. Perhaps you’re excited about the idea of using your own special pattern to unlock. Or you don’t want headaches and choose to stick with a simple swipe.

On the other hand, it’s so annoying when your selected method stops working. Or when you discover you can no longer select a new unlock screen method like when you get the message saying disabled by administrator encryption policy or credential storage.

This problem is common among many users, yet it’s the Samsung Galaxy users that report it most often. When this happens, here’s how it goes:

• You usually see the message “Disabled by administrator, encryption policy or credential storage” displayed;
• You also cannot select any other option, since the screen lock is all grayed out.

Looks like your own protection measures have defeated you?

Not a chance!

How to fix the error “Disabled by administrator, encryption policy or credential storage” on Galaxy J7

Adjusting your Android screen lock options happens in the Screen security menu. That’s where you should go, if you:

• Click on the general Settings, tap on Security, and then on Screen security – for previous Android versions;

• Click on the general Settings, and then tap on Lock screen – for the newer Android versions.

Once in there, you should see a list of options, from PIN and swipe to password and VPN.

Hopefully, you remember your unlock key perfectly. Even if you can make your phone to accept a new unlock option, you will have to confirm the change by using your old unlock key. Otherwise said, getting rid of your PIN and replacing it with a simple Swipe will require typing the PIN…

What you do next depends on what you see. Are the other lock screen methods grayed out and you’re getting the “Disabled by administrator, encryption policy or credential storage” error?

Leave it like that for a moment and head back to the general Settings of your phone, where you have 3 simple steps to follow:

1. In the Security menu, look for a tab called “Encryption” – you will probably have to scroll down quite a bit to reach it.

2. If you already have an encryption set, like previously mentioned, you will be asked to type in your PIN code. Do it as many times as you’re asked to.

3. After that, you should be able to decrypt your Android and thus no longer get the “Disabled by administrator, encryption policy or credential storage” error.

An alternative to the above steps would be to access the Settings menu, go to Security, and then, instead of Encryption, look for the “Device Administrators” option. Once in there, uncheck all the boxes.

After that, you can return to your unlock screen options and select a new method, hopefully without any other complications. This should help you fix the “disabled by administrator encryption policy or credential storage” error message that keeps showing up on your smartphone.