Struggling to remember your iPhone passcode? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.
Maybe you recently changed your passcode and can’t remember what you set it to, or perhaps you’ve just had a memory lapse. Or, if you bought a second-hand iPhone, maybe the previous owner forgot to remove their passcode.
Regardless of the situation, you probably don’t want to do a restore and in this article, we’ll be showing you how to resolve forgot iPhone passcode without restore.
Part 1. Why is it a Bad Idea to Restore a Locked iPhone?
After all, one of the solutions Apple recommends if you can’t remember your passcode is to restore a backup. That being said, here are a few reasons to avoid this approach:
- If you don’t have a recent iPhone backup available, then you’ll experience data loss
- If Find My iPhone has been enabled then you’ll encounter the iCloud Activation Lock
- If you use Recovery Mode to restore your iPhone then the method will be more complicated and harder to understand
Part 2. The Truth About Unlock Forgotten iPhone Passcode without Restore
Now onto the important information that you’re trying to find out. Here are the key solutions that will allow you to unlock iPhone without restore.
1The Only Way to Unlock Forgotten iPhone Passcode without Restore
Realistically the only way you can fix forgot iPhone passcode without restore is to use a Siri bug.
But please note that this bug only works for older iOS versions. More specifically, if your iPhone/iPad is running iOS 8 to iOS 10, you can try this method.
Step 1 – Hold your iPhone’s Home button and when Siri activates, say “Hey Siri, what is the time?”.
Step 2 – Siri will display a clock, tap on this to continue.
Step 3 – Next, tap the World Clock and you must click the + icon at the top-right.
Step 4 – In the search box, type your name and tap on the Select All button.
Step 5. Then tap and hold to select the text, and tap Share.
Step 6 – Select the Message app to share the text.
Step 7 – In the To box, type your name and then tap Return.
Step 8 – Tap on the + icon next to your name and select Create New Contact.
Step 9 – When you’re creating the new contact, tap on Add Photo and then Choose Photo.
Step 10 – The Photos app will then be launched and after a few seconds, press the Home button to exit and access your unlocked iPhone.
This method will help you unlock a disabled iPhone without losing data. For the latest iOS versions, this has been patched.
However, if you’ve fallen behind and haven’t updated your iPhone in a while (or are using an older model which only supports the older iOS versions), trying this solution is worthwhile.
2The Misleading Info on the Internet
If you’ve been researching how to deal with forgot iPhone passcode without restore then you’ll find that nearly all websites say you can unlock your iPhone without restoring by using iTunes, iCloud, or third-party software.
However, this is completely incorrect. All 3 of those methods will involve restoring your iPhone and without a backup, you’ll lose all of your data.
If the Siri method doesn’t work for you then restoring is a must.
Part 3. Forgot iPhone Passcode? Unlock with Restore
Have you given up on trying to unlock forgotten iPhone passcode without restore? Fortunately, there are a handful of other solutions you can try which do involve restoring.
1iTunes Recovery Mode
The first thing you can try is iTunes Recovery Mode [1]. You’ll need access to a computer for this to work and with that, you may be able to bypass the passcode.
How it works is pretty simple. You put your iPhone into Recovery Mode, launch iTunes, and click the Restore button.
After that, you can restore a backup from either iTunes or iCloud and none of your data will be gone, but the passcode will be.
2iCloud
Another option is to completely wipe your iPhone (thus removing the passcode) using iCloud [2]. This will only work if you have Find My iPhone enabled and any data that isn’t backed up will be lost, so be aware.
But it’s a good choice if you want to unlock iPhone passcode without computer.
Just go to the iCloud dashboard and erase your iPhone. This will completely wipe your iPhone and once the passcode has been removed, you can go ahead and restore a backup.
Thankfully once the backup is restored, the passcode will still be disabled until you set it up again.
Note that this way only work when Find My iPhone is enabled.
3Third-Party Software
If you didn’t get anywhere using iTunes or iCloud, you might opt to use third-party software instead.
Our preferred tool is Tenorshare 4uKey [3] and with this, you can connect your iPhone to a computer and the tool can be used to disable your passcode.
This tool is useful when the user has forgotten their passcode, has entered the wrong password too many times, or if you bought a second-hand iPhone with the previous owner’s passcode still enabled.
It’s important to mention that when you use 4uKey, it will factory reset your iPhone in order to get rid of the passcode. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure your data is backed up beforehand to minimise any data loss.
Part 4. What If it Requires Apple ID & Password After Removing Passcode
Most of the methods to unlock iPhone with restore will involve doing a factory reset.
After this, you might be greeted by the iCloud Activation Lock – in other words, you’ll need to enter the Apple ID and password that are signed into the iPhone. Without the account details, many of the device’s features will be disabled.
This will only occur if Find My iPhone was enabled before the factory reset, so consider disabling it before using the solutions.
If you do run into this lock, then we’d suggest using AppleiPhoneUnlock to get rid of it quickly. Here are the features of it.
- Permanently unlocks your iPhone and enables all iCloud features
- You don’t need to do anything except provide the experts with your iPhone’s IMEI number
- Unlocks your iPhone in just 24 hours (if you purchase FastTrack)
- Moneyback guarantee if the lock isn’t successfully removed
Among all of the removal services out there, AppleiPhoneUnlock is without a doubt one of the best to use. How does it work?
Step 1 – Start by opening the AppleiPhoneUnlock iCloud Unlock page.
Step 2 – Type your iPhone’s IMEI number, it will automatially detect your iPhone’s model.
Step 3 – Click the Unlock iCloud! button and on the next page, agree to the terms of service and select FastTrack to get your iPhone unlocked quicker.
Step 4 – Once you pay for the order, it will begin processing and will be unlocked within 24-72 hours.
As you can see, very little effort is needed on your part. Just pop in the iPhone’s IMEI number, pay for your order, and you’re good to go – a professional takes care of everything else for you.
Bottom Line
By the end of this guide, you should have a better understanding of what to do when solving forgot iPhone passcode without restore.
The options are clear: use the Siri glitch (which only works for some people), use iTunes or iCloud, or use a third-party software.
After overcoming this issue the next problem you might have is the iCloud Activation Lock. If that happens, all you need to do is check out AppleiPhoneUnlock and you’ll have no problems at all.
