Forgot an iPhone Passcode? How to Reset the iPhone passcode
If you forgot your iPhone passcode you can bypass the lock screen completely and reset the passcode by using iPhone recovery mode. This will get around a locked down iOS device that is stuck on the password screen, but there are some important considerations to take before proceeding.
Warning: This will require you to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. That means you will lose all data on the device and be back to factory settings as if the device was brand new. This should be considered a last resort.
Requirements:
- iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that is stuck on the passcode screen
- USB cable to connect the device to a computer
- Mac or Windows PC
- iTunes
Those are the core requirements, if you have those you can proceed to reset the missing passcode.
Bypass & Reset the iPhone Passcode
As mentioned above, this also will work on other iOS devices.
- Disconnect the USB cable from the iPhone, leave the other end connected to your Mac/PC
- Launch iTunes
- Press and hold the Home and Power button on the top of the iPhone to turn off the device
- Press and continue to hold the Home button while you reconnect the USB cable to your iPhone, this will cause the iPhone to turn on
- Continue to hold the Home button until an alert message in iTunes appears that an iPhone in recovery mode has been detected
This is the general message you will see:

Now that the iPhone is in recovery mode and has been detected by iTunes, you must restore the device:
- From iTunes, look under the “Summary” tab
- Click on the “Restore” button within iTunes
This will wipe all files, settings, and apps from the iPhone, including the passcode. When the restore is finished, the iPhone will be at the factory settings. At this point you can choose to start from scratch or to restore the iPhone from a backup that is either stored on the computer with iTunes, or by using an Apple ID and restoring from an iCloud backup. Both of those are very simple processes and you will have the option to do so once the device has been rebooted and is back at factory settings, where the initial setup screens will greet you.
This tip came from an iPhone repair shop, where it’s common for people to bring in a phone for fixing and then forget to provide the passcode.
Having Trouble? Alternate Instructions for Resetting the iOS Passcode
This is another reader provided alternate approach to initiate the recovery process, it’s similar but requires the device to be turned off first. If for some reason you are having problems with the repair shop method above you can try this instead:
- Turn the iPhone OFF by pressing and holding the Power button until the device powers off
- Attach the USB cable to the computer and launch iTunes – do not connect the iPhone yet
- Hold down the Home button, and while continuing to hold it connect the iPhone to the computer via USB
- While continuing to hold the Home button, the iPhone screen will turn on and show an iTunes logo and a USB cable
- When an alert box opens in iTunes indicating that a device has been detected in Restore mode, now let go of the Home button
- Click the “Restore” button in iTunes – if a local firmware file is found it will restore immediately, otherwise it will download the appropriate firmware from Apple’s servers
- Now just wait until Restore is completed, the device will boot as if it was brand new
Once the phone has booted, you can either use it as brand new or initiate a recovery from a backup. A backup is necessary if you wish to restore personalization data like Contacts, apps, SMS, photos, and phone numbers. iCloud will do that for you so long as the device was routinely backed up to iCloud and that the same Apple ID is used during the setup, but a backup stored in iTunes will also work. If you are only looking to restore apps and not personal data, simply use the same Apple ID and then launch the App Store to download the apps again to that device.
Updated: 4/3/2013

There may be a way to do this without wiping the entire iPhone, any ideas?
I’m pretty sure this is the only way, but after doing this you can just resync your music and apps from iTunes to get your iPhone or iPod back to how it was before resetting the password.
I can definitely resync to restore apps & music, etc. But, will I lose my contacts, call history, text history, etc?
its ok u can get them again just be thankful, it works
how do you put back the apps into the iphone.. can you show me how.. thanks
it will ask you if you want to restore your contacts and other stuff and if you hit yes, it will do that for you
even your photos? i have very special photos on my iphone 4s
awsome good to no
Ya that what i was thinking
hey is there a way to do it from your Ipod
Just keep entering the wrong password and it will take you to iforgot and then you can have the pw emailed to you. You will not lose any data.
can it really? mine just says connect to itunes
i changed my password on my ipod touch and i forgot it, it said connect to itunes. but i dont know what to do …..
No thats if you forgot your apple id
You seem to be on the wrong topic. This is about iDevice lockscreen passcodes, not Apple IDs.
THAT WORKED!!
it tells me restart in 60 minutes
any one know how to unlock ihpone without wiping the whole thing??
back up ypur ipod before hand and it’ll add everything back on to your iphone/ipod
wheres the summary button
Thank you thank you THANK You for this!! HUGE help and I really appreciate it!!
@TJ…
Not really. Especially with the iphones built in password lock. I have a jailbroken iphone and I’m using the android lockscreen and SBsettings. This is good because if I ever forget my password I can use SBsettings to bypass my lockscreen and disable my android lockscreen/password.
whats the point then of a lock screen????
[...] If you have forgotten your iPhone passcode, you can reset it but you will lose data on the iPhone. This works on all iPhone and iOS [...]
this did not work on my iphone 3
I just made this work on an iphone 3gs. try harder!!
just takes a couple of tries.
Will your messages be deleted?
LOL! u must b kidding me what in the sentence “you loose all your data” don’t u understand?
the LOOSE. because im pretty sure the phone isn’t loose. it’s lose the data
LOOOOOOL
why must everyone be so harsh you got what he was saying right? then dont be an ass
LOL! LOL! LOL!!!
it connects & starts downloading , 30 mins later it says “cannot restore b/c iphone is locked with passcode” I do not remember the passcode.. I thought i could bypass it, whats wrong?
Read these instructions:
http://osxdaily.com/2011/01/16/forgot-iphone-passcode-how-to-reset/
Just wait for the download to finish.. once its completed just cancel the msg box for “cannot restore b/c iphone is locked with pass-code”. Then unplug the phone and do the same process of switching off and and turning back on with home button pressed without closing the iTunes window. the software will automatically be resumed and will restore the iPhone. I have tried this and i worked
This worked for me! Thanks
This worked for me, sucks that it wipes everything but at least I can get into my phone.
I see what you did there
Does this work with the Iphone 4s, I have tried this multiple times but I keep getting stuck with the same message. Even after d/c the cord with Itunes still connected. “Cannot open Iphone because it is locked with a password”. Does anyone have any other thoughts, concerning the matter?
Does this work for the ipod touch also? I have a friend who thought his 2G touch was toast since he forgot his PW.
for ipod toch hold the home button and power button at same time while plugged into puter until found new hardware pops up and re installs the drivers for it…
or you can take it to actionleak and they will fix it for chceap price
dont work on iphone 4 tried 3 times.it connects & starts downloadig 30 mins later asks for password which i dont have?!!
i have an iphone 4. i forgot my 4 digit passcode. its my phone. i have all reciepts. i tried to restore and it says it doesnt work still. i need to restore. how do i get this passcode removed???
Follow the instructions in the article, it tells you exactly what to do. Or you can take it to Apple.
Just get rid of the iphone card ?
It works. Plug the usb end of the cable into your computer. With the phone on, and not plugged into the computer, press and hold the home button, also press and hold the power button. Do not let go of either of these buttons. The phone will shut off and attempt to turn back on, still, do not let go of those buttons. Count about 15 second from then, the phone will then be completely off. You can let go of the buttons now. Now, press and hold the home button again, while holding it, plug your phone into the computer, do not let go of the home button, the phone will turn on, keep holding the home button. The phone will pop up a window showing a music logo, it says itunes on it, and shows a usb connection. Keep holding the home button, I didn’t say to let go yet. Wait until Itunes indicates that there is a device in restore mode. Now you can let go of the home button, you’re ready to hit restore. If itunes has already downloaded the update software for your phone, it will begin to restore immediately. If not, it will begin to download the software. If your phone happens to restart while itunes is downloading, don’t fret, just follow the process to put it into restore mode again after itunes finishes downloading the software. When restoring your phone may restart a few times, let it do it’s thing. When it’s finished, your phone will restart one final time and turn fully on. This works on Iphones 3, 4 and 5. Tried tested and true.
DK – Thank you for your instance that IT would work. I kept trying and trying with the ‘other’ solutions, but only yours was TRUE! The restoring of the iTunes the second time was what finally paid the FULL dividends. Thank YOU! Thank YOU! My phone FINALLY works as advertised.
i did this twice, finally restored but my phone is still black screen and is beeping – ??
Thank you, these instructions were so much better
TOP DOG MATE WORKED A TREAT THANKS
Im doing exactly as your explaining but the same error comes up, what am i doing wrong? most people are saying its working for them but ive tried 3 times now?
Please help Thanks
just done as you said for my daughters boyfriend and it worked perfect, thankyou, even the shop couldn’t do it, so cheers.
THANK YOU!! This worked for iphone 4!
[...] that it’s more secure, just don’t make it so confusing that you forget it and have to reset the passcode – resetting means you’ll lose all the data on your [...]
[...] enough that it’s more secure, just don’t make it so confusing that you forget it and have to reset the passcode – resetting means you’ll lose all the data on your [...]
once you have done this, can you retrieve your stuff again if you have recently ‘backed up’ your iPhone or iPod? x
oooooopsiess! it saayys there!
oo x
is there a way to just restore the iphone and not update the darned thing? please let me know. my email is usviituten20 at yahoo dot com
It’s 5 am Estn time and I’ve been trying to figure out how to retrieve the passcode for the passlock (on) in my settings, and I STILL can’t figur this out! PLESE HELP ASAP
P.S. This is for Iphone 4
Hi, I forget my iphone 4 passcode while on holiday. Have done a complete wipe and restore and then did a restore from backup. However the restore from backup brings the iphone passcode. Is there any way I can restore from backup and change the passcode? I need to keep all my txt messages etc. I could just say new and resync but I would lose all my txt, calls, app data etc… not ideall…
hi, i have not had my iPod touch for 2 weeks and , my mum gave it back to me last night, so i try to put my pass code in and it doesn’t work, which means i have forgotten it
i have the iphone 4 & this isn’t working to unlock my phone at all .. is there any other suggestions or should I just take it to the apple store
I have the iphone 4 also and this didnt work either…
I have my password and user ID for my iPhone 4, but it has been compromised and I want to get a new password put in without doing a factory restore. How do I do that?
Just keep entering the wrong password and your iphone will take you to iforgot and you can have it emailed to you. You will not lose any data.
Is this for real Carolyn??? If so, how many times are we talking?
thank you so much! so far i think it worked.. it is updating on iTunes now! thank u
omg, amazing. saved my life
Hi,
This worked and am now able to use my phone.
i forgot my password…..and am trying what u say carloyn….but each time i try its giving me 5mins moore and more….it is not taking me in to iforgot..so what can i do? pls
Read the instructions
I have replied to Carolyn above.
Carolyn has mistakenly referred to the password resetting of an Apple ID, not an iDevice passcode.
iForgot is a way to have your password emailed to you if you forget your Apple ID (the one that you buy apps/music with).
The only way currently to remove your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad passcode (without jailbreaking/hacking) is to restore your device.
iforgot is for resetting your apple id password, not your ipod/iphone passcode. You have to restore your device to reset your password.
I have one question though, if you backup your ipod with the password and then restore from the backup, will it keep the password?
I have forgotten my pasword and email, and the only way i can get back it to it is wipe out data txt messeges apps and contacts but i have a lot of new txtx and i dont want to wipe them out!!!!!
my computer got wiped so now i dont have the itunes my ipod was last synced with. what can i do now to restore it?
I bought an i phone4 and it was locked i tried those steps multiple times and an error sign keeps appearing and i believe its because i do not have a sim card. Do you need a sim card to be present when launching those steps?
i forgot to add that the 3194 error keeps appearing after i try this. someone please help.
I kept being asked for passcode 20 minutes into the restore process. How can I work around this? Why is it asking me for the passcode during restore?
****Hi! For people struggling, please read****
The article written is a bit missleading. What I mean by missleading is that some of the steps aren’t properly written.
Follow these simple steps (FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY):
[Make sure your internet is enabled]
Step 1: Disconnect the iphone (If connected) and launch iTunes.
Step 2: Once your iTunes has loaded, make sure your iphone is turned on. Proceed to Connect your iPhone to your computer.
Step 3: A message will pop up stating that your phone is locked and that you need to enter a password (a problem many users here have experienced), IGNORE this by closing out that popup (do not close itunes, only close the popup) by simply clicking cancel.
Step 4 (Final): AFTER you have recieved the message for entering the password, Hold both, the action/home button and the Lock button simultaneously until your phone shuts off (this should take about 6-10 seconds of holding down the buttons)
When your phone has shut off, Release the lock button but keep holding the action/home button!
Another window will pop up in itunes just like before, except this time it will say that your iPhone has entered ‘Recovery Mode’.
Congratulations!
From here on, you can release the action/home button, and proceed to Restore your iphone via iTunes.
The restore option can be found by clicking your iphone, under “Devices” in the left hand bar.
After you have restored, you will be given two options: to either restore to a previous point, or to Set up as a new phone.
Hope this helped you guys and will put a smile on some people’s faces. Good luck!
=)
-Henry
Thanks. That worked 4 me
)
You are the BOMB! Muchas Gracias!!
THANK YOU!!!!! This was EXTREMELY helpful
Thank you SO much!! **this worked for me if anyone with an iPhone 4s, who forgot their passwords** x
it don’t work on my 3gs
It worked for me. Thanks a lot – sk
Thanks Henry
Can this be done on any iTunes or PC that has not been auth’d?? I only have access to a friends PC and have already authorized 5 pc’s which I dont have access to. Thanks
Hey everyone,
My bf is a douche, we had a huge fight and before he left (while i was in the bedroom throwing his belongings out the window), he put a friggin password on my phone. Im pissed! I have followed ever single step in this entire fourm to a T. BUT, even after doing the restore it loads the apple icon, and then asks me for my password still. I dont get it, i did everything right, and ive tried it like a 1000000000000 times. Ive been at this for like 6 hours. I dont have any of the files backed up onto my desktop, but yet for some reason it keeps restoring it. I dont get asked if i want to restore to a previous state or start new. I just dont understand. This is driving me crazy. Ive tried it with the sim card in and out, and nothing is working. Ive tried entering random wrong passwords like crazy and nadda. everytime i do the restore thing, it will say in the top screen of itunes that it is downloading iphone software updates but mid way through that the apple logo shows up and it goes to the password page again. Ive called the jerk a 100 times asking for the password, and no response. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!
You’re not doing anything wrong. When you start the restore process, the Downloads tab in iTunes should show the Software Update downloading. Even if the download appears to have stopped (the Apple Logo shows on the top bar), the download should still be in progress. When the download is complete, follow these steps.
1: Go to the page with your iPhone showing all the details. If iTunes is asking you to unlock your device first, go into recovery mode as stated in the article. There should be a picture with a USB cable and the iTunes logo. iTunes should let you restore now.
2. (If you have a Windows PC) While holding the Shift button, click Restore. A window should pop up asking you to point to a file. Head to “Users\\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates” and choose the restore file. It should be named something like ‘iPhonex,x_x.x_xxxxx_Restore.ipsw’ The x’s replaced with numbers of course. Open the file and follow the prompts.
(If you have a Mac) While holding the Option key, click Restore. A window should pop up asking you to point to a file. Head to “~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates” and choose the restore file. It should be named something like ‘iPhonex,x_x.x_xxxxx_Restore.ipsw’ The x’s replaced with numbers of course. Open the file and follow the prompts.
Good luck!
(If you restore successfully, remember to set a passcode yourself so this doesn’t happen again.)
Ok, even more importantly, … everybody put down your phones and let’s go beat up katie’s old douche boyfriend!
P.S. Sorry, when I replied, the website deleted some of my text.
The location for the file on a Windows PC is ““Users\’your username’\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates”
If you can’t see this directory, make sure you enable hidden files in Windows Explorer.
Press the Start key, type Folder Options. Click on the View tab and choose “Show hidden files, folders and drives”
You’re the best! I was having trouble until I followed your instructions.
To those of you still struggling:
When you get a pop up window saying the software cannot be upgraded/downloaded due to the passcode, you have to close the window, go to the DOWNLOADS tab on your left hand column (under “STORE” heading I believe) and when you see that the download has failed, you have to get it going again by clicking the refresh button on the far right.
AFTER it’s been done, all will go accordingly… or after the download is finished, you can follow Infernova’s instructions over here.
You MUST get the download going and completed- otherwise you’ll be getting the error endlessly!
pls i lost my iphone and is lock can they open it
I tried all the steps, but will the update/restore thing work even without the phone being synced to the same pc. I have a PC at home and I am in office trying to reset the password, will it still work?
well your f*&cked then
with an iphone 4, does iForgot pop up at any point or not? my phone is currently disabled for another 60 min– do I wait for iForgot (and for how long) or should I reboot it??
hi ,
I have a jailbroken iphone 4 and i installed this new theme on my phone but the lockscreen of that theme is very small and so are the numbers on the lockscreen due to which i cant get through the lockscreen though I remember what my password is .Is there any way to get it sorted without having to restore my phone and lose all the data??
please help
that was realy helpful i was freaking out but it worked
this sucks i dont have sim card so it didnt wok i spoke to soon but it worked
[...] a pass code on his iPod Touch and to just as quickly to completely and utterly forget it. After following a few steps I was able to wipe the iPod Touch, restore it to factory settings and use the iCloud [...]
my iphone 3 has been unlocked from UK to be used for simcards in india. now i’ve forgot my passcode and my phone is now disabled. now if i restore with the methods mentioned above will it be usable in indian sim cards?? pls help.
do you have to reactivate you phone again using your service provider?
My iphone4 is jb, I dont like to sync my iphone to itunes or icloud, the reason is i hate backuping rubbish into the itunes backup, and also because itunes backup all the things n do not tell me what do i backup at first place,
is there any other third party software similar to itunes n can do all the things that itunes can do manually? I’m currently using ifunbox to backup my photos n apps, excel contact to backup my contact n itunes to manage my musics… But message, note n others cant be backup manually n i dont want to use itunes to backup those as i say it does not show them on my laptop, noted that im using windows os…
This worked pefectly! Thank you!
Thank you!!! This helped my daughter’s iphone. I keep telling her to stop putting passcodes because she will forget in the long run.
Easier than going through iTunes. My daughter couldn’t remember her password, tried 4 times to push all the buttons and hook to my computer to restore to factory settings. Each time it said couldn’t connect because it was locked and I need to enter pass code. I called apple. They said do the same thing. Didn’t work. I asked them about wiping it clean through the find I phone app I had on my iPad that enables you to wipe an apple product if lost. She said I have never heard of that, but it may work. Sure enough I tried it and it took 5 seconds to wipe it back to factory settings through find I phone app. Wish I had figured that out prior to the 2 hours trying the computer way.
Why are you people telling the various ipod thieves out there how to get past the passcode. As someone who had their ipod ripped off all I can say is thanks a bunch!
The article is for those who forgot a passcode, it has nothing to do with thieves.
There are forensic applications that can access all the data in a locked phone.
can you show where these forensic applications that access data all the data in a locked iphone please
Anyways, why would you setup a passcode and forget it?
@simsimi,
You have a twisted troubled mind,i can only feel sorry for people close to you because i have no doubt in my mind that they are suffering with a mind like yours.
Last week i was in front of an ATM to withdraw some money and my mind went blank,i couldn’t remember my password,what are you going to call me?A thief?
this worked for me, more so Henry’s repost. As long as you follow the steps, it will work for al iphones guys
thanks this worked perfectly.
Will this work even you use other itunes and not the original where the phone sync?
This worked out perfectly!… for whoever’s phone I found this weekend. (:<
WINNING.
i would be pissed. lol
Same here. Hahah.
Works without problems!!
This just helped the person who stole my phone reset and unlock it. great.
I have the iphone 4. i did the steps above and it worked. but it did erase all of my data. pics, contacs, apps; everything. it was back to the way it was right out of the box :/
Hi everyone , I bought an Iphone 4s from one of my friend last week it was good but i have a problem with my frinds then today my phone show me a alart “find my iphone” then it became locked and need the passcode i dont know why it happens anyone knows about my problem why it happens ????????????????????is it possible my frind did this from the net???
OMG THANKYOU
I reinstalled itunes and coincidentally, the same day, i forgot my new passcode that i set. I had done this before and normally just restore in itunes, but because i redownloaded a new itunes that doesnt recognize my iphone, it wont restore my phone. any options?
I tried this, but it says that Itunes cannot connect to Iphone because it has a passcode on it.
I have tried to many times to get the password so it has locked itself, and in iTunes there is no “summary” button, where is it and can you help?
This is why i hate iPhone, it seriously sucks, with Android you could easily log in with your google account or answer an security password, piece of cake.
You hate the iPhone because you forget your password? I don’t hate my car because I forget where I put my keys…
Heh, I bet you would if your car was immune to the services of a locksmith.
this works a treat on the i phone 4 had prob colundt remmber code download it installed then open i tunes hold home button on iphoe worked a treat just make surew your fire wall doesnt block the progranms our it wont work
I have an iPhone 3gs and I set it with a passcode just to make sure no one would mess it up. Whenever I type in my passcode, It says try again. Maybe I did a typo, But I still need your help guys.
I tried following some of these steps.. But I really can’t get the hang of it. I tried connecting it to my computer, then to itunes.. There was no message popping. xcc please help.
read this:
http://osxdaily.com/2011/01/16/forgot-iphone-passcode-how-to-reset/
My Dad had already jailbreaked this.. But yeah so.. Uhm.. I need your help guys.
( i’m totally fuhreakin out
Actually, I’ve followed the steps.. But whenever I do it, something pops up in iTunes like you have to update your software or something?.. I can’t see any summary tab//restore button on iTunes. I kind of.. Can’t really get the friggin out of it
Hey, durr. Thanks for the help. Totally got the hang of it. Because my cousin also taught me how to restore my phone. Thanks so much. I actually freaked out
why does it have to take hours to restore ? my mum asked me like .. it took 10 hours or so ?
Yeah like it says 39 hours to restore on my PC thats just crazy!!
thx so much! THis rly worked!!!!!
It doesn’t work for me
u know when it says launch itunes
do i do that on my PC or on my phone
well i cant do it on my phone cuz i don’t know my passcode
Willl iClould back it up? Or does it hae to be itunes
Please help.. I have some how enabled a passcode on my phone I would have no idea what it is or how it even got there
I no longer have a computer and no access to iTunes… Is there anyway I can unlock my phone or restore to factory settings without a computer or iTunes???
There is absolutely no way to get into an iphone that has a password lock if you do not have access to a computer.
It does make me wonder how you posted here without one though. I assume that you are using another mobile device. Find someone who owns a computer and you can perform the restore described above or use Gecko Toolkit to read your password as long as it is not a complex one. The default four digit code is pretty easy to recover.
Hi
I forgot my pass code and did exactly as you said to restore the phone by itunes by an error 3194 showed up. I tried to fix it on host file but did not work either. Could you help me with this. I could not find any solution yet.
Thanks
wen i do this and i click restore…it tells me to update the iphone 4s as well….its a 800gb update and i have to wait 3hrs for it…..i continue along with the download and at bout 100mb in ii get a message where i need to enter the passcode and stuff….im guessing its no longer in recovery mode?….but the update still continues….
would this update be able to finish and wud i be able to continue to restore it afterwards?
idk the passcode…is there a way to skip the update? because the button for me says update and restore
this really helped!!! I have only just got my iPhone, and must have apparently typed my passcode I use for everything TWICE! fml I don’t have a great track record with iPhones! Saying that, it’s restoring now, and saying 19mins remaining? Is this normal?
i have been sat for 20mins and it is not working still how long do it usually take.
Same thing is happening to me, its been like 30 min and it still not done!
This did not even work for me. My friend took my phone and put a password for the lock and forgot what it was. I did everything this thing said and this didn’t reset my phone.
this worked for me . awesome thanks alot you saved me.
After i clicked restore, it says contacting iphone software update server and its taking a long time. I need a reply asap
This worked for my iphone 4s. it took me a couple times but it worked. i just had to update my i tunes. thanks it saved me $30!
Will the apple id be reset too?
And does this works on iphone 3gs?
it still isnt working!! my friend gave it to me before he went to the states and didnt give me a passcode for the phone and i have no way of contacting him. any other ideas?
m trying the procedure henry had written above,,,well m in india n the network really sucks,,unfortunately my iphone 4 is lock n i dont kno the security lock,,,did all the things henry told me n came to something to download for which i have to wait for like 23 hours,,,,someone pls tell me will this waiting b fruitful coz i don habe any ohter ways,,,help me out
everytime i get to the very end it tells gives me an error about my network connection, that it timed out . is there anyway i can fix that being locked out ofmy phone..
Hey, I ‘found’ an Iphone. Dont know what kind (4, 4s) I have followed most of these steps, but then you need to have the Iphone files on your computer.. I dont have them because I just found it. How should I go about unlocking this when I dont have the files or the passcode?
forget my password …..?
i forgot my password while on holiday and have managed to get rid of password despite being completely locked out:
iphone saying ‘iphone disabled – connect to itunes’
plug your phone into itunes
click back up (which will appear in the tick boxes just above
where it says how you’ve used your device storage space)
wait for back up to complete
click restore iphone to factory settings – it should say that itunes will give you the option to restore original settings
wait for restore to complete – your contacts, music etc. will be there with no password…that’s what i found anyway
hi well i reset my iphone got the passcode reset now it says phone is disable can someone help
My housemate is having terrible trouble with his phone. He’s restored his phone twice and it’s still not working. It’s a 4s. Any ideas?
I’ve been trying to restore my iphone4 for a few hours now. I tried doing it while i was going to bed, but I woke up and my computer (I suppose) disconnected from the internet while it was updating. I forgot my 4 digit passcode. So I’ve got it upgrading & hopefully restoring again now. Does it usually take 7+ hours to get this done? Our internet access is Verizon’s Mobile Hotspot & my husband’s is on (I cant get into my phone to turn mine on) so when he goes to work soon will I still be able to restore it?
I got a problem. I can’t reset my iphone because my home button is not working. Is there any another possible way where I can reset my iphone? or any software?
Hey i smashed my screen on my iphone4 and it doesnt work now but my phone still works so now i cant back up my files to itunes cause i cant unlock my passcode any suggestions
I found this to be the most effective and succinct advice I have found on anything related to Apple OS or devices. Thank you. This worked like a charm.
OMG it works! it was s damn easy. Now I need to know how to jaibreak it please smeone help
By the way just so everyone knows i found this phone in a parking lot on the ground about to get ran over. i asked inside both stores and left my name and number just in case someone came in and asked about it. i then put an ad on craigslist and waited. i never even recieved a phonecall on the phone to see if i had it. I would love to know how to get service on it in my name or better yet I heard you can do Tmobile no contract? Am I right?
Hi Nancy,
What steps did you use?
When I just tried the above instructions to reset passcode, it started restoring iTunes, but stopped halfway through it saying unable to complete because it is locked with a passcode, DUH – that’s what I was trying to unlock. It’s asking me to enter the passcode on the iPhone before it can be used with iTunes. ??
HELP
Try it again, here it worked without any problems.
the same thing is actually happening to me.. i would really like to have some help as well
!
I had tried restoring my iphone but it had asked for me to first enter in the passcode before continuing and also wouldnt let me back it up untill i entered the passcode but i wasnt able to seeming i entierly forgot it. what should i do?
Okay the first thing my kid does when programming the iphone 5 was lock it and forget the code.
Thanks for the help, I really did not feel like talking to an out of country technical support agent.
i downloaded software. but when restoring my i phone 4s, the error is coming -1. can u help me how to restore now this i phone 4s.
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The information is realy useful i got my iPhone back but it erases all the data . there is not a big deal you can resync again throgh iTunes ….
Aw. It takes so long to download. But I hope it works
))
I found an iPod in my purse and no one has claimed it… It has a four digit passcode so I was going to see if there is any way to get to the pictures to see who’s it is? The background is waves so it doesn’t help me.
i have an iphone 3g its unlocked and jailbroken,i put the silly security password on there and it froze when i was doin it and dont know wat numbers it put it..wat can i do to get it back working..i cant call or txt or anything can only recieve phn calls..dont want to lock it out to where it can only b used with at&t need it for tmobile
This really worked for me. I typed in a new password and I totally forgot it. I typed it in 9 times and it was still wrong and I dont believe it was. But this saved my phone. Only thing that sucks is that I lost all my information, pictures, contacts, etc… That is the only thing that is bad. But everything else is awesome thank you so so so much!
this works very well worked with an iphone 5 i found
i have a iphone, i dont know the password but put it in recovery mode and restored it and the lock is still there
This works, thank you soooo much..My daughter was completely having a meltdown because she forgot her password.
Hey guyssss,
if u have a mac and u connect your iPhone to it (and it is turned off) EVEN IF YOU HAVE A PASSCODE you can go to summary and press reset AND IT WORKS!!!
Instructions work great, first had a problem using a MAC BOOK so switched to a PC and worked 2nd time. Some iphone users may need to attempt several times. What I realised is the update need to download first and that could take some time. While it is downloading your iphone will probably time out and restart (with the lock message again). Simply restart the iphone using the above advice) and then click on restore. Eventually it will work
Do u need Internet for iTunes. I’m using a my iPad.
it simply works!
everytime i click restore, it comes up with a popup saying contacting the iphone software update server…
is that normal ?? please i need help
Thank you for this but I go through the process and it keeps on saying that I am not connected to the Internet. I am connected and can see the iTunes Store and access it as well as the Internet. I brought an Ethernet cable as I thought i Wifi might not be suitable but still says it. Any ideas anyone? Thank you
So this works for the lock code for the phone but not the RESTRICTIONS passcode I believe. Because it didn’t help me!!
I swear I didn’t set the restrictions code and now it’s locked. I want to put age restrictions on my phone for my kids to have “guided access” and I can’t because of this stupid administrative (or whatever they call it) password! Any ideas?
IT WORKED!!!! THANKS!!!
Thanks very much, it worked. I got all my contacts back, but pictures and messages gone. im glad it worked, looks newer than before.
Thanks.
For everyone out there this method roes work just got it to reset a iphone 4s verizon without knowing the 4 digit cose…once the error message pops up asking for the 4digit code leave it alone and let it finish downloading..after its done click cancel on error msg and uplug phone dont close itunes either then..hold power and home button to to turn off phone while holding the home button still plug the ph back in wait for rexovery mode to pop up left go of hm button and click reset ph..it will pick up where it left off and finish the process this time it wont prompt u for the 4 digit password and it will now rest…if u do it right it will works..hope i helped
When doing this, I get the message : “Iphone cannot be restored because it isn’t eligible for the build” How can I restore my phone?
I tried this, but when it goes to reboot, it asks for the password, which I do not know!! Is this POS a paperweight now?
I am doing this but an error shows up while extracting software. Help please.
Great, thank you it really works, I did it on the first try
iTunes will not let me restore my phone unless I put in the passcode.. Help!!!!
Can i loose my photos ?
I have an iPhone 4. I tried to do this and I followed the instructions to the letter, and it seemed to be working. But when the download was complete, my phone still said to connect to iTunes. Why wouldn’t it reset my phone? I was already really sad because I hadn’t backed up anything from my phone onto my computer, if I cant even reset the phone I can’t get another one!!!
i have a iphone 3 but will it lock it
Tnx!
Thank you so much!!! I didn’t think it would be that simple.
How long does the restore take?
I have the iPhone 5 and this totally worked! I was so happy but then I got to another problem which the phone keeps saying that the activation server is unavailable… What does that mean and how can I fix it?
What do you mean with USB, PC, and iTunes?
Thank you soo much- Nicole
It really helped us she was happy that she got it to work again- Brother
Hi….I’m trying to follow this thread..but it’s confusing me.
My iphone 5 is locked and I can’t remember the password/code. Like an idiot I haven’t synced it to itunes for a while. Is there a way to get the info off my phone NOW– while it’s locked— before restoring it to factory conditions?
Thanks!!
if the icloud recovered ALL your stuff after u got a new phone, would it not do the same after a password bypass and reset?
guys my iphone4 needs to first update the software which is about 900mb, is it normal
Does this require a SIM card?
thanks that was awesome it worked
I don’t have an Itunes, what do I do?