Home > How-To > How do you unlock an iPhone if you forgot the password

How to Unlock Your iPhone When You Forgot the Passcode

Figuring how to unlock an iPhone forgotten passcode? Here's a guide in which you'll find out a way of unlocking your iPhone if you failed to recall the passcode.

face
Pauline Larson
Updated on Nov 15, 2022

You can pick out a method below that is the best for you to unlock your iPhone when you forgot the passcode.

These days, we would set a passcode to our iPhones for protecting digital privacy. However, there are still times when you can't unlock your iPhone due to forgetting its passcode. If you keep on trying to enter the wrong passcode for several times, you will be denied access to your iPhone perpetually by an "iPhone Unavailable" screen.

Don't panic if you failed to unlock your iPhone after forgetting the passcode. You're not alone, since many people met the same issue like you did. For those who need to unlock a locked iPhone when they forgot the passcode, the only way is to reset the device.

You might hate it if you didn't have a backup, as all the data will be erased and you'll have to start it over; but if you did, thankfully you could recover the data from backup after the reset.

If you're looking to reset an iPhone that's in need of unlocking the forgotten passcode, you can do so through different methods as introduced below. Among those, iPhone Unlocker is rather a better solution to the problem.

Free Download Free Download

Jump to:

What to Know Before You Unlock the iPhone that You Forgot Passcode to

Apple designs its products to be so incredibly secured that you cannot unlock an iPhone if you forgot the passcode until you reset it. And a reset of your iPhone entails removing all the contents in the device. It can be a disaster for you if you didn't backup your data beforehand, but there is no other solution currently on the market.

Therefore, it is strongly recommended to back up your personal data, as it can save you from greater hassles. Just build a habit of making backup in case of data loss when you need to unlock your iPhone forgotten passcode someday.

Note: No matter which approach below you take to unlock your iPhone when you forgot the passcode, all the data in your iPhone will get erased after the reset.

Use Erase iPhone Feature to Unlock Your iPhone If You Forgot the Passcode

When you forgot your iPhone unlocking passcode, you could use a newly launched feature - Erase iPhone to get your device unlocked. Thanks to its convenience to reset the iPhone not using a computer but simply tapping the phone screen, it turns to be one of the easiest ways to unlock your iPhone when you forgot the passcode.

This option will directly show up on the bottom of the iPhone screen, following your continuous inputs of false passcode to the iPhone.

While it seems to be a perfectly fine way to unlock an iPhone forgotten passcode, there're still some limitations about using this method: Firstly, make sure that you got your Apple ID and password; Second, your iPhone should be updated to iOS 15.2 or newer previously; and last but not least, network connection should be enabled in the device.

Let's have a look at the detailed steps before you take this approach to unlock the iPhone that you forgot the passcode on:

1. Try entering passcodes to your iPhone in random until you get an "iPhone Unavailable" pop-up on the screen. Meanwhile, you will find the option of Erase iPhone on the lower right corner. Give a tap on it.

Erase iPhone will show up after your several failed attempts to enter the code.

2. Tap the same option again to confirm about the reset.

Tap "Erase iPhone" again so as to unlock the iPhone forgotten passcode.

3. Sign out by entering your Apple ID password, and tap Erase iPhoneto get your iPhone begin to unlock the forgotten passcode. It will take some time to finish. When the hello screen appears, you can start your iPhone anew or restore any backup you had during the following set-up process.

Your iPhone will start unlocking itself after your signing out of the Apple ID.

Unlock the iPhone Forgotten Passcode by iPhone Unlocker (Efficient and Easy)

iPhone Unlocker, an effective third-party passcode removal tool, offers a more selective approach to unlocking your iPhone when you cannot remember the passcode. Dedicated to solving different passcode problems relative to lock screen passcode, Screen Time passcode and Apple ID and password, it can be used to unlock a forgotten passcode on any iPhone supporting any iOS version. The intuitive layout is also helpful for rookies to use it easily.

Free Download Free Download

Tip: Neither network connection in the iPhone nor your Apple ID and password is needed when you use this application to unlock the iPhone stuck with the forgotten passcode. It has the least requirements in contrast to the other ways of unlocking an iPhone that you forgot the passcode on.

Below, we'll walk you through the steps on how to unlock your iPhone if you forgot the passcode by use of iPhone Unlocker.

Step 1: Download and install the application on your Mac or PC. Launch the app and click "Wipe Passcode." Next, hit "Start" to proceed.

Connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable, and go to "Device connected but not recognized" for guides of making your iPhone enter Recovery Mode. Your device will be then detected by the application to start the iPhone unlocking forgotten passcode process.

Step 2: Verify your device information. Go on with "Start."

The application will then download an iOS software for your iPhone to unlock the forgotten passcode. Wait for a while before it's done.

Step 3: Lastly, enter "0000" in the blank, and click "Unlock" to trigger the iPhone forgotten passcode unlocking process.

How much time it would take to unlock the forgotten iPhone passcode depends on the speed of your computer network.

After you do all the steps above, your iPhone will be unlocked and your forgotten passcode will be removed. You'll be able to get your data back from your backup in iCloud or your computer.

Use Find My iPhone to Unlock Your iPhone If You Forgot the Passcode

If you have the "Find My iPhone" option turned on in your iPhone, you can use it to unlock the device when you forgot the passcode. Besides, unlike iPhone Unlocker, you'll also have to know the Apple ID credentials and get your iPhone connected to the Internet for this feature to work.

Steps on unlocking an iPhone locked with forgotten passcode via Find My iPhone:

1. Open a browser on a phone, tablet, or computer, no matter it's running iOS or Android system. Navigate to the website of iCloud Find My iPhone and log in with your Apple ID account.

Note: The Apple ID account should be the same with the one signed in the iPhone that needs unlocking the forgotten passcode.

2. Above the map with the locations of all your devices, click "All Devices" and select the iPhone that you'd like to unlock because of forgetting its passcode.

3. Select "Erase iPhone" among the three options.

4. And hit "Erase" as the last step to unlock the iPhone that your failed to recall the passcode to.

Use Recovery Mode to Unlock Your iPhone If You Forgot the Passcode

Recovery Mode would be another viable choice for you to unlock your iPhone if you've forgotten the passcode on it. However, this process is usually convoluted and requires a series of actions that are very easy to mess up. You will also be required to download the latest version of iTunes in a PC with Windows 10 or later system (or Finder in a Mac), which is an inconvenience on its own.

Steps:

1. Download iTunes in your computer first. If you have installed it before, check whether it's updated to the newest version.

2. Plug your iPhone into the PC and force it enter Recovery Mode:

  • For locked iPhone 8 or later: press and release the volume up button in a twinkling and then do it on the volume down button, too. Hold the Side button till the Recovery Mode screen is displayed.
  • For locked iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: keep pressing on the Volume down button and the Side button at the same time, let go when you see the Recovery Mode screen.
  • For locked iPhone 6s and earlier: hold on to both the Home button and the Side button, don't release until the Recovery Mode screen shows up.

Reboot your iPhone into Recovery Mode first so you can then unlock the forgotten passcode via iTunes.

3. Select "Restore" instead of "Update" in the prompted window to unlock your iPhone when you didn't remember the passcode.

You can't unlock the iPhone forgotten passcode unless you click "Restore."

4. Click "Restore and Update" next.

Unlock iPhone without forgotten passcode by hitting "Restore and Update".

Upon clicking on the option, iTunes will begin to download the suitable iOS software for your iPhone and restore it to factory settings. Soon the iPhone you forgot the passcode to will be unlocked, and you'll be free to add a new code on it.

About Pauline Larson
Pauline Larson is a writer and journalist who has been well-experienced in technology industry for almost 10 years. She has posted various professional articles in different tech-related sites and magazines, as she is deeply fascinated with digital technology, especially with Apple's products.
Unlock iPhone & iPad Lock Screen
No matter it says Unavailable or Security Lockout, or you forgot the passcode.