How to : Reset ZKTeco device Admin Affirm Password

 Reset/Eliminate Admin Affirm Password from ZKTeco biometric machine (ALL POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS)

Scenario introduction :

When you install a new ZKTeco Attendance device, register the users and set all the settings (network connection, date & time adjustment...) this device remain open for everyone who wants to access its main menu and change these settings. To prevent the device data from being modified by an unauthorized person, the installer must set an Admininstator for it.

This Administrator can be one of the employees such as the HR Manager, the Attendance Manager, in this case the administrator can open the device menu with his fingerprint/ID Card,  it can be an independent user account (not an employee) and so to access the menu , it must be done with an ID and password.

The thing is when the Administrator is not longer working for the company (he resigned or change his position or fired), the new attendance manager find himself/herself stuck with a locked device with no information about the login and password.

So what is the solution for this situation ? The only answer is to find a way to unlock and reset the Admin password.

Based on my experience with ZKTeco devices, there are two solutions to reset Admin Affirm Password, depending on the device model and if it is connected to the local network or not.

Solution #1 : if the ZKTeco device is connected to the network

 

In case where the ZKTeco device is connected to the network (with Ethernet cable or with WIFI) and you want to unlock it from Admin password, the best option is to use ZK Attendance Management Program as well as zktime 5.0 or zktime.net v3.0.

With one of these programs you can connect to your device and eliminate the Admin protection with just a simple click. Of course, this solution is working if you know the device's IP Address. All ZKTeco devices have the following default IP Address : 192.168.1.201.

• Scenario A : you know the device's IP Address 

make sure that the device's IP Address stored in your attendance management program is correct and you can connect with it.

1- Select your device under Machine List and click Connect button ; wait until the connection is succesfull.

2- Right-click on your device and choose Property, a new windows will appear

3- Under Advanced function tab, look for a button called " Clear admin privilege " and click on it. A message like "Operation finished" means that the device is unlocked.

After this you'll be able to create your new administrator (supervisor) account on your device.

• Scenario B : you don't know the device's IP Address (you have tried 192.168.1.201 but it's not working !!)

Assuming that the default IP Address is changed and the former manager didn't tell you or anyone else about it. In this case all you can do it search for it over the network with IP Address Scanner such as Angry IP Scanner (i highly recommand this tool).

The main advantage of this tool is that you can configure it to search for ZKTeco devices only using the port number 4370.

 - Download Angry IP Scanner from here 

 - This tool requires Java Runtime Environment to be installed, download the latest version of it from here (choose the right file depending on your OS architecture x32 or x64)

 - Open Angry IP Scanner and go to Tools --> Preferences 

 - Under Ports tab, make sure you enter only 4370 (which is the zkteco device's port)

 - Go to Display tab and choose Hosts with open ports only, then click OK

Now depending on your network address, enter a IP Range starting from 0 to 255 (for example if your PC IP Address is 192.168.0.34, then the pool must be from 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.0.255)

 - Finally click Start button to begin searching...wait for a moment and see if you've got result like the picture below.

If you have something like this, that means you found your device with its IP address.

Now all you need to do is entring the IP Address in your attendance software and follow the same unlocking procedure as mentioned in Scenario A.

Solution #2 : if the ZKTeco device is NOT connected to the network 

Sometimes the ZKTeco device is installed as a standalone machine and it's not connected to the network, but it's locked with admin password and you want to unlock it.

In this situation, you have two options :

• Option 1 : Using a laptop try to connect directly to your device with a network cable. Install ZKTeco attendance software and unlock it like described in Scenario A above. But this option requires that you unmount your device from the wall.

• Option 2 : Use a password generator to get a temporary unlocking code depending on your device model  (this option is not working for all zkteco devices such as F18).

 * Download the Password generator from this link or from here (named Reset_ZK_TFT_Color.exe) 

 * Open the program and enter the current time displayed on your device screen without ":" (for example, the clock is 13:21 you enter 1321).

 * Click the Create button to get the unlock code

 * Now go to your device, hit the Menu button to see the Admin Affirm message

 * Type 8888 --> OK --> enter the unlock code generated --> OK.

PS : this procedure need to be executed within 1 minute (before the clock switch to the next minute, for example if the current time is 12:44 you must get the code and unlock your device before 12:45; otherwise it not going to work)

If the operation is successful the device menu will appear and you can then eliminate the admin protection by looking for Clear Admin Privilege. Or you can create a new user and set as Administrator / Supervisor.

Watch the full tutorial below