How to unlock iPhone if you forgot your passcode

Today, mobile device manufacturers do not forget about the security and privacy of personal data. Digital code, fingerprint scanner, Face ID technology – all this is designed to prevent scammers, curious partners, children, colleagues from accessing the contents of your phone. A password and other identification methods will reliably preserve the inviolability of personal life and finances. But here’s what to do and how to unlock the iPhone if you already forgot the password? First, don’t get upset. The maximum that threatens you with the most severe recovery methods is the complete loss of all personal information. In order for this not to come as a surprise, make periodic “backups” through iTunes. And, of course, be careful when buying a gadget from your hands, check the device by the serial number to make sure that no one is looking for it.

When is iPhone Emergency Unlock Required?

We will not talk about cases when someone else’s phone fell into your hands. In this case, it is still better to return it to the owner. But still atypical situations may arise:

1. The Face ID function has stopped working (the scanner is broken, does not respond). Yes, the situation is not the most common, but it happens.
2. The fingerprint scanner broke, the settings went wrong.
3. You thought while you twisted the phone in your hands, and spent ten attempts to scan your fingerprint.
4. You only used the password, but you can’t remember it and you’ve exhausted your recovery attempts.
5. The phone fell into the hands of a child who entered information incorrectly 10 times, and now the gadget is blocked.
6. The password was set by the child while playing and does not remember it.
7. You bought a gadget from your hands and did not check if it is ready to work with you. In this case, it is worth not only recovering the password, but first making sure that your gadget is not listed as stolen. This can be done by entering the serial number on the Apple website: the device must have a Clean status. Although, if this is not the case, we generally do not recommend that you pay money for such a dubious purchase.
8. You bought the device with your hands, and the previous owner did not remove the activation of the device in iCloud.

Top 5 Ways to Unlock iPhone

So, in front of you is your favorite iPhone, which suddenly became unfriendly. You can return it to its usual mode in one of five ways to unlock the iPhone of all models if you forgot the password. Moreover, some methods will allow you to save personal information, while others will lead to a complete loss of data on your “apple” gadget.

How to Unlock iPhone with iTunes

So, if you entered the wrong password more than 9 times or used the recognition scanner on the gadget, then the smart operating system will turn off the device, block it and deactivate it. To prevent fraudsters from accessing personal data (for example, wallet passwords, your personal photos and contacts), all content on the device will be deleted.

And it will all end well if you have backed up iPhone to iTunes regularly. In this case, you will need an authorized computer to reset your phone.

1. Connect iPhone to computer with cable, turn on iTunes.
2. To force restart your phone on iPhone X, XS, and XR, and iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, press and quickly release the volume up button, then the volume down button. After that, keep pressing the side button until the recovery mode screen appears. (program icon). On iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, press the side button and volume + button at the same time. On iPhone 6s, press the Home button and the top or side key.
3. Select “restore phone” in the window that appears.
4. If you saved system backups during synchronization, after downloading the software, you will be prompted to use them for writing to your phone. Agree.
5. Set up a new phone and use it again.

iTunes users may experience problems, in which case it is appropriate to use third-party tools to help you remove the password. If your system version is iOS 11, 12 or 13, Tenorshare 4uKey utility will save your data.

Recover using a deleted iCloud service

This method is almost identical to the previous one. But you can be far from home and your own computer, in another city or another country. You can unlock your iPhone via iCloud if you turned on Find My Phone earlier.

1. Access iCloud.com from any device.
2. Enter your Apple ID.
3. Go to the “All devices” section and select the desired gadget.
4. Select the line “Erase iPhone” (Erase).

All data on the device will be erased, it will be unlocked. Then you can connect the gadget to iTunes at a convenient time and use the backup to restore.

This method only works if the locked phone is connected to WI-FI or mobile internet. And if you know your ID.

Resetting the Wrong Attempts Counter

Did you leave your iPhone on the coffee table and get grabbed by a curious kid? Returning from the bathroom, they found that their favorite phone had turned into a piece of iron. But you know the password, you just need another chance! In this case, you can simply reset the invalid attempts counter and re-enter the desired combination, or use Face ID on your iPhone X, XS or XR.

You can reset the counter of incorrect password attempts on your phone on a computer with which the gadget has already been synchronized at least once.

1. We connect the phone to the computer with a cable.
2. In the “Devices” menu, select the item “Synchronize with …” Instead of dots – the name of the device.
3. Once sync starts, stop it by clicking the cross at the top of iTunes. The phone will return to the password entry window. Make no mistake this time.

By the way, resetting the password and the counter of attempts with a “hard reset” will not work: you must admit that it would be too easy for attackers.

It will also fail to connect the phone to someone else’s computer: in this case, you must first press the “trust” button on the phone. But you won’t be able to do that because the screen is locked.

Recovery Mode to Unlock iPhone if Forgot Password

This method can only be used if you know the Apple ID of the device and the password to which the device is linked in the iCloud menu. If you risk restoring a locked iPhone without this information, and an activation lock is installed on it using the “Find My Phone” function, the device will turn into a “brick”.

You should use the recovery mode if you want to reset the password on a locked iPhone 6, 7, 8, X, XS, XR. This may be necessary if you do not know, do not remember the password, could not pick it up.

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Connect it to your computer.
3. Select Recovery Mode from the menu that appears.
4. Turn on iTunes, click OK and then Restore iPhone.
5. If a message appears about auto-checking for updates, click on the “check” button.
6. Then click “Restore and Update” on the next screen. You will be warned that all data from the gadget will be deleted.

 – Select the version of iOS to install, agree to the license agreement, wait until the firmware is downloaded (for the latest models, the firmware weighs more than 3 GB).

IMPORTANT: on some firmware versions, an error appears (3004): “Failed to restore iPhone.” To deal with this, close all browsers and make Internet Explorer the default browser by launching it and agreeing to the appropriate suggestion in the window that pops up.

If you downloaded the firmware in advance (for example, because the Internet is slow on your computer), then the “restore iPhone” button in iTunes must be pressed while holding down the Shift key. Then a window will appear where you can enter the path to the firmware file.

Installing a new firmware via DFU – mode on the iPhone if you forgot the password

If soft recovery did not help, then it remains to use a hard reset to install a new firmware. This problem can be solved in DFU mode. To get there on the iPhone 6 and 6s, press the Home and Power buttons at the same time and hold for 10 seconds.

For iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the procedure is different:

1. Connect your phone to iTunes.
2. Hold down the volume down and off buttons, hold until the phone turns off. Release only the power button.
3. In DFU mode, the screen should be black with no iTunes icon.
4. On the computer screen, the program will offer to check for updates, after clicking the “Check” button, it will report that the phone is in recovery mode. Click OK and reinstall the firmware (it is better to download it in advance).

How to Put iPhone X into DFU Recovery Mode

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer with a Lightning cable.
2. Press the side button and the volume down key simultaneously for 10 seconds. Release only the side button, hold the key for another 10-15 seconds.
3. If the smartphone screen is black, you have entered the desired mode.

After that, you can follow the same steps as in Recovery Mode: you can install a new firmware by downloading a file with the extension. IPSW from one of the sites on the Internet. Officially, it is proposed to download the firmware immediately through the program, but you will have to wait a long time and the phone will wake up periodically and everything will have to start over.

What should I do if I turned on Find My Phone on my iPhone and now it’s locked?

This situation is the most dangerous. Suppose you bought an iPhone with your hands, and the previous owner did not delete his device binding to the Apple ID. When you tried to restore the phone, everything was blocked. In this case, it is better to contact the owner so that he still removes the blocking. If this is not possible, you need to contact the Apple service center with a receipt or send documents by e-mail to the American office of the company through the official website.

In order not to be in an uncomfortable situation, when buying an iPhone, we advise you to check whether it is tied to iCloud, this can be done on the cloud system website in the activationlock section. The check is carried out by IMEI.

You can bypass the lock using Voice Over only on devices with a firmware version older than iOS 7.1 (the top ten already has iOS 12). But then the phone will not work with mobile networks.

But such a function perfectly protects the owners from thieves. With one click of a button, you can make the gadget absolutely useless for a robber.

What to do if nothing helped you?

If you don’t have access to an iTunes-authorized computer, you can use apps to restore a locked iPhone, but you should do this only at your own risk. For example, it can be the iMyFone LockWiper program (restoration occurs through DFU mode, the program replaces iTunes). There is also a 4uKey program that helps to reset the phone to factory settings without iTunes and install the firmware.

And, of course, in an extreme case with documents confirming that the phone is yours, contact the service center or the company itself – the letter will have to be written in English.