Here’s what to do when you’ve forgotten your iPad, iPod or iPhone passcode. We explain how to restore your phone or tablet with iTunes.
If you’re locked out of your iPad, iPod or iPhone then don’t fret because there is a way to reset a forgotten iOS passcode. But if you want to keep all your stuff and avoid wiping your device you will need a recent backup and you’ll need to know the Apple ID and password of the account that was used to set it up.
The good news is that no matter whether you have an iTunes backup or not, it’s possible to reset your iPhone or iPad. Even if you’ve put a wrong passcode in six times and are presented with an “iPad is disabled” messages, not all is lost.
That’s because Apple has thought about this possibility and made a way for devices to be reset. The key question is have you already synced your iPad or iPhone with iTunes on your computer?
If you didn’t make a backup of your device before you forgot your passcode, you might lose some of your recent data. This guide will also work for anyone with an iPod touch.
Apple advises the following:
- If you’ve synced your iPhone, iPad or iPod with iTunes, use iTunes to erase your device and remove your passcode.
- If you’re signed in to iCloud and have enabled Find My iPhone, use iCloud to erase your device.
- If you can’t sync or connect with iTunes and you don’t use iCloud, use recovery mode to erase your device.
We explain how to erase your device and remove your passcode using all three of the above methods here. Read on to find out how.
How to use iTunes to reset a forgotten passcode
If you’ve recently backed up your iPad, iPhone or iPod with iTunes on your computer, you’ll be able to restore your device and keep all your photos, messages and other stuff – up to the point when the backup was made.
To do this, connect your iPad, iPod or iPhone to the PC or Mac that you normally sync with and open iTunes. If iTunes asks you to enter the passcode, use another computer that you have previously synced with. Otherwise, you’ll need to use recovery mode or iCloud (read on to find out how).
If the device is still disabled, or if iTunes does not automatically sync your device, sync the device with iTunes with the ‘Sync’ button.
When the backup and sync is complete, restore your device by clicking ‘Restore iPad’ (or iPhone).
When the iOS Setup Assistant asks to set up your device, click “Restore from iTunes backup”.
Select your device in iTunes and choose the most recent backup of your device. Restoring the backup can take a while: iTunes should indicate how long you’ll be waiting. Note that apps are generally downloaded again over Wi-Fi after the restore is complete: don’t worry, though, as their data is part of the backup so once installed, all your messages and other stuff should be there.
How to use iCloud to reset a forgotten passcode
If you have Find My iPhone set up on your device, you’ll be able to use iCloud to erase it and restore it, which will in turn erase its passcode. It will also erase the contents, though, which means you’ll lose photos, apps, videos, messages and anything else you had stored on it. But you can restore these if you have an iTunes or iCloud backup.
In order to do so, go to icloud.com/find from a computer or mobile device. There, you’ll need to sign in with your Apple ID (the email address and password you use to login to the iOS App Store).
You should see All Devices at the top of the window. Click that and choose the device you’re locked out of. Then choose Erase.
Recommendation： Manage iPhone/iPad/iPod without using iTunes
- Support to transfer, edit, backup, manage, view iOS & Android mobile data: Music, videos, photos, apps, ebooks, contacts, messages and more.
- Download videos from 100+ video sharing sites up to 4K HD video quality and transfer to iPad/iPhone/iPod/Android.
- Handy toolkit: Audio converter, video converter, ringtone maker, etc.
- Free
You can follow Syncios onTwitter,Facebookfor more tips and tricks.
For Windows
For Mac OS
