If you forget your passcode and enter the wrong one six times, your iPhone will tell you it has been disabled. Depending on your settings, entering the wrong passcode too many times could cause your iPhone to delete all its data. You don’t want that! Whether you’ve gotten this message or know you’ve forgotten your iPhone passcode, follow these steps to regain access to your iPhone.
Fix a Forgotten Passcode By Erasing Your iPhone
There’s only one way to fix it when you forget your iPhone passcode. You may not like it, but you have to erase all the data on your iPhone and restore it from backup (assuming you have a backup, that is). Erasing all data from your iPhone also erases the passcode that you forgot and lets you set up the phone again with a new passcode. It may seem extreme, but it makes sense from a security perspective. If your iPhone was stolen, you wouldn’t want it to be easy to bypass the passcode and access your data. The problem, of course, is that this approach erases all of the data on your iPhone. This scenario isn’t a problem if you have a recent backup of that data to restore onto your phone (this is a good reminder: make regular backups of the data on your iPhone!). But if you don’t, you will lose anything added to your phone between when you last synced with iCloud or iTunes and when you restore it.
The Three Ways to Fix a Forgotten iPhone Passcode
There are three ways you can erase the data from your iPhone, remove the passcode, and start fresh: using iTunes, iCloud, or Recovery Mode.
iTunes: If you have physical access to your iPhone, sync it regularly with a computer, and have that computer nearby, this may be the easiest option.
iCloud: If you’ve enabled Find My iPhone on your device, you can use iCloud to erase your iPhone. Use this option if you don’t have access to the phone or sync your phone with iCloud and not iTunes.
Recovery Mode: Putting your iPhone into Recovery Mode is your only option if you’ve never synced your phone with iTunes or iCloud. In that case, you probably won’t have your data backed up and will lose what’s on your phone. That’s not good, but at least you’ll be able to use your phone again.
What to Do After Erasing Your iPhone
No matter which of these options you use, you’ll end up with an iPhone that’s in the state it was when you first took it out of the box. You’ve got three options for your next step:
Set up your iPhone from scratch: Choose this if you want to start completely fresh with your iPhone and don’t want to restore any data (or don’t have any to restore). Restore your iPhone from backup: This is best if you have a backup of your data, either on iTunes or iCloud and want to put it back onto your phone. Redownload your iPhone content: Even if you didn’t have a backup, you can redownload virtually anything you’ve bought from the iTunes, App, and Apple Books Stores to your device.
Then, set up a new passcode on your iPhone—and make sure it’s one you can remember!
What If You Forgot a Restrictions or Screen Time Passcode?
There’s one other kind of passcode you may have on your iOS device: the passcode that protects iOS Restrictions or Screen Time. This passcode allows parents or IT administrators to block certain apps or features and prevents anyone who doesn’t know the passcode from changing those settings. But what if you’re the parent or administrator and you forget the passcode? In that case, the options mentioned earlier for erasing and restoring from backup will work. If you don’t want to do that, third-party programs can help you bypass this passcode and regain access to your device. We haven’t tested all of the options out there, so some research at your favorite search engine is your best bet for finding a tool that can help.
The Bottom Line About Forgetting an iPhone Passcode
The iPhone’s passcode feature being strong is good for security but bad if you forget your passcode. Don’t let a forgotten passcode now stop you from using a passcode in the future; it’s too crucial to security. Just make sure that next time you use a passcode that will be easier for you to remember (but not too easy to guess!)
