It can be very frustrating, if you forget iPhone Passcode and get locked out of your iPhone or iPad by entering an incorrect password multiple times.
What to Do if you Forget iPhone Passcode
If you forget iPhone Passcode, you can make up to 5 attempts to guess your Passcode. If you enter the incorrect passcode for the sixth time, your iPhone gets disabled for 1 minute.
If you decide to go ahead with 7th, 8th and 9th attempts, you risk disabling your iPhone for 5, 15 and 60 minutes.
The 10th attempt is your last and final chance to enter the correct Passcode. If you happen to enter the wrong passcode for the 10th time, your iPhone will get permanently disabled.
Once you get permanently locked out of iPhone, there is absolutely no way to get access to your device, without erasing its data.
You will be able to recover data, only if a backup of your iPhone is available on iCloud, available on your Mac or Windows computer. If not, you will have to Setup as New iPhone.
With this understanding, let us go ahead and take a look at two different methods to Unlock a disabled iPhone.
1. Use Recovery Mode to Unlock Disabled iPhone
If Apple’s Find iPhone service is not enabled on your device, you can still erase the data on your iPhone using Recover Mode.
The steps to enter Recovery Mode on iPhone vary a bit, depending on the model of your iPhone.
1. Power OFF iPhone
The first step is to completely Power OFF your device by following steps as applicable for your model of iPhone.
iPhone X or later, iPhone 8/8 Plus: Press and hold the Side button and Volume Up or Volume Down button, until you see Slide to Power OFF screen. Drag the Slider to turn off your iPhone.
iPhone 7/7 Plus: Press and Hold the Side button (or top button), until Slide to Power OFF screen appears. Drag the Slider to turn off your iPhone.
iPhone 6S and earlier: Press and Hold the Side button (or top button), until you see Slide to Power OFF screen. Drag the Slider to turn off your iPhone.
2. Force Recovery Mode
The next step is to boot your iPhone into Recovery Mode by following steps as applicable for your model of iPhone.
iPhone X or later, iPhone 8/8 Plus: Connect iPhone to computer while holding down the Side button. Keep Holding the Side button, until you see the recovery screen.
iPhone 7/7 Plus: Connect iPhone to computer while holding down Volume down button. Keep Holding the Volume down button, until you see the recovery screen.
iPhone 6S and earlier: Connect iPhone to computer while holding down Home button. Keep Holding the Home Button, until you see the iTunes Recovery Mode screen.
3. Restore iPhone Using iTunes
Once iPhone enters Recovery Mode, you will see an iTunes pop-up on the screen of your computer. Click on the Restore option.
Wait for iTunes to Restore your iPhone by downloading the latest version of iOS software and all the required files on your device.
Note: Your device may exit recovery mode in case iTunes takes more than 15 minutes to download the software. In such a case, repeat the steps to get back to recovery mode.
4. Setup as New iPhone
Once the Restore process is completed, you will see your iPhone starting with ‘Hello Screen’.
Follow the On-screen instructions, until you reach Apps and Data screen, providing you with different options to Restore your Locked iPhone.
If you have an iCloud Backup, select Restore From iCloud Backup. If you have a backup available on your computer, select Restore From iTunes Backup option.
If no Backup is available, you will have to go with Set Up as New iPhone option (which means losing all your data)
After the Restore Process is completed, you will be able to gain access to your Locked iPhone, without entering any Password.
2. Erase iPhone Password and Restore Using iCloud Backup
If you have enabled Find My iPhone feature on your iPhone, you can follow the steps below to Erase all the data on your iPhone, including its Lock Screen Password.
1. On your Mac or PC, go to icloud.com and sign-in to your iCloud Account using your Apple ID and Passcode.
2. Once you are in iCloud, click on Find iPhone icon
3. On the next screen, enter your Apple ID Password to Sign-in to Find iPhone service.
4. Next, click on All Devices option (located at the Middle of Screen) and click on the iPhone that you want to Erase (See image below)
5. On the next screen, click on Erase iPhone option to Erase all the data on your iPhone, including the Lock Screen Passcode that is keeping you out of your iPhone.
6. You may be prompted to Enter Apple ID password to Confirm that you do want to Erase all the Data on your iPhone.
7. Once the data on your iPhone is Erased, you will find your iPhone starting with Hello Screen, prompting you to Slide to Set up iPhone.
8. Follow the onscreen instructions, until you reach Apps & Data Screen, providing you with various options to setup iPhone.
If an iCloud Backup is available, select Restore From iCloud Backup. If a backup of iPhone is available on your computer, select Restore From iTunes Backup option.
If no Backup is available, you will have to go with Set Up as New iPhone option (which means losing all your data)
9. Wait for the Restore Process to be completed.
After the Restore Process is completed, you will be able to gain access to your Locked iPhone, without entering any Password.