How to unlock an iPhone if you forgot your password: step-by-step instructions for all models

Today, mobile device manufacturers do not forget about the security and integrity of personal data. A digital code, a fingerprint scanner, Face ID technology - all this is designed to prevent scammers, curious partners, children, and colleagues from accessing the contents of your phone. Passwords and other identification methods will reliably protect the privacy of personal life and finances. But what to do and how to unlock your iPhone if you have already forgotten the password? First of all, don't be upset. The maximum you face with the most stringent recovery methods is the complete loss of all personal information. To prevent this from becoming a surprise, make periodic “backups” through iTunes. And, of course, be careful when buying a gadget second-hand, check the device by serial number to make sure that no one is looking for it.

In what cases is emergency unlocking of iPhone required?

We won’t 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:

The Face ID function has stopped working (the scanner is broken and does not respond). Yes, the situation is not the most common, but it happens.
The fingerprint scanner is broken and the settings are lost.
You thought as you twirled the phone in your hands and spent ten attempts at scanning your fingerprint.
You only used a password, but you cannot remember it and recovery attempts have been exhausted.
The phone fell into the hands of a child who entered the information incorrectly 10 times, and now the gadget is blocked.
The child set the password while playing and does not remember it.
You bought a gadget secondhand and did not check whether it is ready to work with you. In this case, you should not only recover your password, but first make 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.
You bought a device secondhand, but the previous owner did not unactivate the device in iCloud.

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Top 5 Ways to Unlock iPhone

So, here is your favorite iPhone, which has suddenly become unfriendly. You can return it to normal mode using one of five ways to unlock an iPhone of all models if you forgot the password. Moreover, some methods will allow you to save personal information, while others will lead to complete loss of data on your Apple gadget.

How to Unlock iPhone via iTunes

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

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

Connect your iPhone to your computer using a cable and turn on iTunes.
To force restart the phone on iPhone X, XS and XR, as well as iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, you need to press and quickly release the “volume up” button, then “volume down”. 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.
Select “restore phone” in the window that appears.
If you saved system backups during synchronization, after downloading the software, you will be prompted to use them to record to your phone. Agree.
Reconfigure the newly turned on phone and use it.

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 will save your data.

Recovering using deleted iCloud service

This method is almost equivalent to the previous one. But you may be far from home and your native computer, in another city or another country. You can unlock your iPhone via iCloud if you previously enabled the Find My Phone option.

Visit iСloud.com from any device.
Enter your Apple ID.
Go to the “All devices” section and select the desired gadget.
Select the line “erase iPhone” (Erase).

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

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

Resetting the failed attempt counter

Did you leave your iPhone lying on the coffee table and a curious child grabbed it? Returning from the bathroom, we discovered that our 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 counter of incorrect attempts 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 entry attempts on your phone on a computer with which the gadget has already been synchronized at least once.

We connect the phone to the computer with a cable.
In the “Devices” menu, select “Synchronize with...” Instead of dots, use the name of the device.
Once syncing starts, stop it by clicking the cross at the top of iTunes. A password entry window will appear on your phone again. Make no mistake this time.

By the way, you won’t be able to reset your password and attempt counter using a “hard reset”: you must agree, it would be too easy for attackers.

You also won’t be able to connect your 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 this because the screen is locked.

What is the Apple ID password and why is it dangerous to forget it?

One of these security codes is the Apple ID password, found exclusively in Apple products from Cupertino. And unlike many other blocking tools, the use of this key is mandatory, and from the very beginning of the device’s operation, that is, from the moment it is first configured.

What kind of password is this, and what doors does it protect? In fact, everything is simple here, because all Apple products have their own mail, cloud services and even an in-app purchase store, which, of course, requires an account to use. However, even here there can be no question of any conditional Google account, since registration is only available through iCloud or the Apple cloud. And it is for this account that its own Apple ID authentication system is used, which requires entering a login and password.

In the first case, the user is asked to enter a name written in Latin with the obligatory ending “@icloud.com”, while the password requires a combination of numeric and alphabetic characters with the obligatory use of uppercase and capital letters.

It is noteworthy that to create your Apple account it is not at all necessary to purchase a new device, because you can register on the official website appled.apple.com, doing it completely free of charge.

At the same time, it is not at all necessary to link your bank card details, despite the fact that the system will request them. Moreover, if you have no intention of using iTunes or any other paid Apple services, then it is better not to connect the card at all, since by agreeing to a 3-month free subscription to any application, its owner risks receiving an automatic debiting of funds after the designated period.

It is worth noting that it will not be possible to do without an account, not only at the initial stage of operation, but also in the future, since access to the AppStore and any other built-in company service without an Apple ID continues to be impossible.

But changing the secret password code is quite possible, completely free and as much as your heart desires. To do this, you need to go to the “Account Management” menu and enter a new password with a mandatory duplicate confirmation, using for these purposes any synchronized device with the same ID.

Recovery mode to unlock iPhone if you forgot your password

This method can only be used if you know the device's Apple ID and 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 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 or remember the password, or were unable to guess it.

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

— Select the iOS version to install, agree to the license agreement, wait for the firmware to download (for the latest models, the firmware weighs more than 3 GB).

IMPORTANT: on some firmware versions an error (3004) appears: “Unable to restore iPhone.” To deal with this, close all browsers and make Internet Explorer your default browser by launching it and agreeing to the prompt that appears.

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

What to do and how to unlock your iPhone if you have already forgotten the password? There are options. Photo: pixabay.com

How to disable the lock password on iPhone. Reset a forgotten password

A password on the lock screen is one of the best ways to protect your device from being hacked by other people.
On an iPhone, you can set two access password modes: a simple code (4 digits) and a more complex code word (using symbols, signs, numbers). Very often, users forget the set password and, as a result, cannot access the smartphone. Let's take a closer look at several options on how to reset and disable the password on an iPhone. There are two ways to reset the passcode in iOS:

Using the desktop version of iTunes;
Via iCloud.

Installing new firmware via DFU - mode on iPhone if you forgot your password

If a soft restore does not help, then you can only use a hard reset to install new firmware. This problem can be solved in DFU mode. To get there on iPhone 6 and 6s, simultaneously press the Home and Power buttons and hold for 10 seconds.

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

Connect your phone to iTunes.
Press and hold the volume down and power buttons until the phone turns off. Release only the Power button.
In DFU mode, the screen should be black, without the iTunes icon.
On the computer screen, the program will offer to check for updates; after clicking the “Check” button, it will inform you that the phone is in recovery mode. Click OK and reinstall the firmware (it’s better to download it in advance).

Part 5: Trick Siri to Unlock iPhone Without Password

Step 1: On your iPhone, press and hold the Home button to activate Siri. Tell Siri: “Hey Siri, what time is it?” A Clock icon will appear, click on it to start the process.

Step 2: Go to the World Clock interface and click the (+) icon to add more clocks.

Step 3: You will be asked to search for a city. Enter everything you want and click “Select all” to understand how to unlock your iPhone if you forgot the password.

Step 4: Various options will appear such as cut, copy, define, share, etc. Click on the Share option.

Step 5. You will get a new window which contains various sharing channels. To continue, click the "share time via message" icon.

Step 6: In the To field, enter something and press the Return button on your keyboard.

Step 7: The provided text will be highlighted in green. Select it and click on the “+” sign.

Step 8: A new window will appear, then click on “Create New Contact”.

Step 9. After that, click on “Add Photo” and select “Select Photo”.

Step 10.You now have access to your photo library and can view all the photos in your albums.

Step 11: Exit the interface by pressing the Home button, which will take you to the phone's home screen. Now you can access your iPhone without a password.

How to put iPhone X into DFU recovery mode

Connect your iPhone to your computer with a Lightning cable.
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.
If the smartphone screen is black, you have entered the desired mode.

After this, you can perform the same actions as in Recovery Mode: you can install new firmware by downloading the file with the extension. IPSW from one of the sites on the Internet. It is officially proposed to download the firmware directly through the program, but you will have to wait a long time and the phone will periodically wake up and you will have to start all over again.

How to unlock iPhone after jailbreak?

Obviously, none of the listed methods are suitable for owners of jailbroken iPhones, because they all involve downloading official Apple firmware, which means they entail a loss of the benefits that jailbreak provides.

Owners of hacked gadgets are recommended to contact the SemiRestore . You can download it on the official website https://semi-restore.com by selecting the section corresponding to the PC operating system:

Please note: SemiRestore only works on 64-bit operating systems.

There is one more condition: a component called OpenSSH , which can be found in Cydia - without it, you will not be able to reset the settings.

You need to unlock a jailbroken smartphone using the following algorithm:

Step 1. Install and launch SemiRestore.

Step 2. Connect the iPhone to the computer with a cable and wait for SemiRestore to recognize it .

Step 3. After recognition, in the main program window, click the “ SemiRestore” button. It is impossible to make a mistake here: the utility is so simple that there is only one button.

The “cleaning” process is reflected by the loading bar.

During the recovery process, the gadget may turn on and off several times - this is normal and not a sign of a breakdown. When the loading bar “crawls” to the end, you will receive a gadget with initial settings and built-in applications. However, the Cydia will not disappear - by this sign you can judge that the jailbreak has survived.

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 secondhand, and the previous owner did not delete his connection 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 can remove the blocking. If this is not possible, you need to contact the Apple service center with a receipt or send documents by email to the company's American office through the official website.

In order not to find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, when purchasing an iPhone, we advise you to check whether it is linked to iCloud; this can be done on the cloud system website in the activationlock section. The check is carried out using IMEI.

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

But this function perfectly protects owners from thieves. With one click of a button, you can make the gadget completely useless for a burglar.

How to reset your password via iCloud

A similar operation can be performed using iCloud. And you don't even have to connect your phone to your computer. However, both devices must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. You just need to find a nearby device with Internet access, and also make sure that the iPhone has been authorized in iCloud.

iCloud is a cloud data storage that allows you to place all your files in it so as not to occupy the internal memory of the device.

To restore access you need:

Go to icloud.com.
Sign in using your Apple ID details.
Click the “Find iPhone” button.
Go to the “All devices” tab.
Select your device from the list that you want to unlock.
Click "Erase iPhone".
Install a backup.

After turning on again, the phone will ask you to register a new password. Perform the operation, after which access to the iPhone will open.

What to do if nothing helps you?

If you do not have access to a computer with authorized iTunes, you can use applications to recover a locked iPhone, but you should do this only at your own peril and risk. For example, this could be the iMyFone LockWiper program (recovery occurs through DFU mode, the program replaces iTunes). There is also a 4uKey program that helps you reset your phone to factory settings and install firmware without iTunes.

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

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Frequently asked questions about iPhone

The procedure for resetting an iPhone is not that complicated, but there are still a few things you need to know about it

Instead of conclusions, I propose to summarize a little what is described in this article, putting everything together:

Is it possible to reset an iPhone password ? Yes, you can, there are at least three ways to do this, two of which involve using a computer, and one does not.
What to do if you forgot your iPhone password ? You can try to pick it up. But for this you will have only 10 attempts, after which the smartphone will be blocked. Therefore, it is best to turn to one of the methods described above.
How to put iPhone into recovery mode ? This is done in different ways. We talked about how to enter the iPhone into DFU mode manually in a separate article, but if you don’t want to do this yourself, use PassFab iPhone Unlocker.
How to reset iPhone without computer ? If you absolutely do not want to connect your iPhone to your computer, you can use the Find My iPhone function and erase it remotely.
Is it possible to remove iPhone passcode without losing data ? Unfortunately, it's not possible. Data reset is a logical security mechanism that Apple uses in its smartphones when attempting to reset a password to protect the owner's privacy.