Losing access to your iPhone due to a forgotten passcode is frustrating. Here we'll introduce several ways to help you reset the iPhone passcode and get back to your device.
You could try a couple of troubleshooting methods to simply reset the iPhone passcode.
An iPhone passcode is a layer of protection that keeps your data safe and secure. For those of us who live busy lifestyles, use multiple iPhones for home and work, or simply have an old device that we want to sell, a passcode on the iPhone can be easily forgotten. And frantically entering your passcode multiple times will only lead to the iPhone locking you out. In those cases, you will have to reset the forgotten iPhone passcode and regain access to the device.
Thankfully, Apple offers several ways for its users to reset the iPhone passcode if forgotten, which we will walk you through down below.
Yet, Apple's methods won't always work. In that regard, you will need an efficient and barrier-free solution like iPhone Unlocker, which helps reset the passcode on your iPhone quickly and easily.
Note: Before we proceed, it's important to note that resetting the iPhone passcode entails the removal of all the data and settings. You can retrieve the contents from your backup if you had one beforehand; or you can start it anew if you didn't.
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There are various situations that will require an iPhone passcode reset:
When you don't know the passcode, you may keep guessing and entering the wrong ones to the iPhone, which can result in an iPhone Unavailable Screen. This means your iPhone will lock you out for an interval. And after 10 failed passcode attempts, you'll no longer get into your device unless you reset the iPhone passcode.
In addition, an iPhone reset will erase not only the passcode but also all the data on the device. So it is imperative that you frequently back up your data either using iCloud or iTunes.
Here are several feasible methods that allow you to reset the passcode on iPhone by yourself:
- Reset the passcode on iPhone via the Erase iPhone option provided by Apple.
- If you have access to iTunes on a computer, you can reset your iPhone password via Recovery Mode as Apple recommends.
- When you cannot use iTunes or the Erase iPhone option isn't working, iPhone Unlocker can be used to assist you in resetting your iPhone passcode effortlessly without the requirement of an Apple ID or password.
- If you don't have access to the iPhone itself, Apple's Find My is a great utility for resetting your iPhone passcode remotely.
Here's a step-by-step guide of each method to make things easier for you.
Introduced with iOS 15.2, the Erase iPhone feature is triggered by entering incorrect passcodes for too many times in the iPhone screen, which gives users the ability to reset their iPhone passcode without the need for a computer and iTunes.
Step 1. Try entering wrong passcodes to your iPhone in a row until you reach the "iPhone Unavailable" screen with the Erase iPhone option on the lower right. Tap on it.
Erase iPhone option facilitates a reset process of an iPhone passcode.
Step 2. To confirm, you will need to tap the Erase iPhone option again.
Tap Erase iPhone again if you are sure about the iPhone passcode reset.
Step 3. Enter your Apple ID password to sign out. Tap Erase iPhone again to reset the passcode on your iPhone as well as erase your device's data and settings.
Start to reset the passcode on your iPhone by signing out of the Apple ID.
When your iPhone passcode is reset, you are able to either start your iPhone from scratch or restore the data from your backup.
Tip: To perform the reset of the passcode in this way, your iPhone should also have enough electricity during the process. You may charge it when it's going through the reset.
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If you fail to use the Erase iPhone feature due to lower iOS version, there's a roundabout way to reset the iPhone passcode, which is using Recovery Mode.
When you reset the passcode on your iPhone by this means, iTunes in a Windows PC or Finder in a Mac will be needed. Meanwhile, you need to ensure that your PC is on Windows 10 or later (Mac on macOS 10.5 or later), with the latest version of iTunes or Finder.
Here we'll show you how to use Recovery Mode to perform an iPhone passcode reset in iTunes.
You need to firstly open iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone to the PC via a lightning cable. Then do the following to make your iPhone enter Recovery Mode:
The Recovery Mode screen may differ depending on the iOS versions of your iPhone.
You'll then get an alert from iTunes saying that there is a problem with your iPhone, and you will be offered 2 options to either update or restore the device. Select "Restore."
You can't reset your iPhone passcode unless you hit "Restore" in this step.
In the next message, you'll have to hit "Restore and Update" to get the reset of the iPhone passcode started. After that, iTunes will begin to download a software and when it's done, your iPhone will reset the passcode automatically.
Proceed the iPhone passcode reset by selecting "Restore and Update."
If neither Erase iPhone nor iTunes is available, a professional but intuitive third-party tool will help you out to reset the iPhone passcode, which is iPhone Unlocker. Regardless of iOS versions and network connection, it's functional to reset different passcodes for all models of iPhones, covering lock screen passcode, Face ID / Touch ID, Screen Time passcode or Apple ID and password.
Here are the steps to reset the password on your iPhone using iPhone Unlocker.
1. Once the software is installed and launched, select "Wipe Passcode" from the main menu. Hit "Start" in the following.
2. Follow the instructions in "Device connected but not recognized?" to connect your iPhone to the computer and make the device detected.
3. Confirm your iPhone information and click "Start."
An iOS software will start to download. Wait for a few minutes.
4. When it's finished, a window will pop up to ask whether you are fine with the data loss after the iPhone passcode reset. Enter "0000," and hit "Unlock" to confirm.
Before long, your iPhone will reset itself with the passcode erased. When you see the welcome screen on the iPhone, you can get to start it afresh.
If you don't have the iPhone that needs to reset the passcode nearby, Find My iPhone is well-suited for you to erase the device remotely. However, unlike using iPhone Unlocker, you'll need to previously have the iPhone enabled network connection as well as Find My iPhone in the Settings.
Be reminded that your Apple account details is needed as well if you adopt this approach to reset the iPhone passcode.
When you have confirmed that your iPhone can use this way to reset the passcode, you can then proceed with the following steps.
Step 1. Enter iCloud.com into your web browser on a computer, a phone or tablet.
Step 2. Log in your Apple ID and password as required. Then click on the "Find iPhone" option in the right corner of the menu.
Step 3. With a map displayed, hit "All Devices" on the top. In the pull-down list, select the iPhone you need to reset the passcode on.
Step 4. Click "Erase iPhone" from the 3 offered options.
Step 5. A warning message will show up, asking if you are sure to reset the iPhone passcode. Hit "Erase" to confirm.
Later your iPhone will begin the reset. Also, the passcode will be removed after the reset ends. You may then follow the onscreen instructions to set up the iPhone from beginning or retrieve the data from a backup.
Performing daily backups of your iPhone is a necessity, since you never know when you may reset the iPhone passcode and eventually lose all the data. Here are 2 proven approaches that you can take to back up your iPhone.
Firstly, the easiest method is built right in your iPhone, which is using iCloud. Simply go into Settings and tap your name on the top. Tap on "iCloud" and then tap on "iCloud Back Up." Turn on "iCloud Back Up" and your iPhone will be backed up to Apple's service regularly. You also can perform a manual backup by tapping on "Back Up Now."
Alternatively, you can use iTunes or Finder to perform a backup.
There might be times when you want to disable the lock screen passcode on your iPhone for ease of use or change it as a security measure.
To turn off the passcode, follow the steps below:
In terms of changing the passcode, the steps are also simple:
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