iPhone Asking for Passcode After Update / Factory Reset You Never Set?

Hi iActivation Team,

Hope all is well!

My iPhone asking for a 6-digit passcode after updating to iOS 15, however, when I enter the passcode I used before, it said the passcode incorrect.

What should I do to resolve this? I don’t want to lose any of the data stored in it.

Please help!

There may be a chance that your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch asking for a 6-digit passcode after an update, factory reset, or restart, but you never set one up.

Maybe you just forgot the old passcode, or the passcode was set by others. No matter why you can’t offer the passcode, you just cannot get past that screen without the correct passcode.

Before your iPhone is disabled after too many incorrect passcode attempts, you can force restart, or try the default iPhone passcode. If either of them can’t work, there are still some effective solutions for this issue.

Let’s get started.

Repeatedly Force Restart Your iPhone/iPad 

Force restarting your iPhone or iPad will help restore the settings to normal when there is a bug after updating iOS.

If you have never set up a passcode before iOS updating, force restart your device will help you out.

This is the easiest solution for you when your iPhone or iPad asking for a 6-digit passcode you never set. Here is how:

For iPhone 8 & Later

• Press and quickly release the Volume Up button, then the Volume Down button.
• Then press & hold the side button until you see the Apple logo

For iPhone 7/7 Plus

• Press and hold the Volume Down and Sleep/Week buttons at the same time until the Apple logo shows up

For iPhone 6s or iPhone SE

• Press and hold the Home and Sleep/Week buttons until the Apple logo appears

For iPad with a Home Button

• Press & hold both the Top and home buttons at the same time, then release both buttons when you see Apple logo on the screen

For iPads without a Home Button

• Press and quickly release the Volume Up button, then the Volume Down button. Then press and hold the Top button. When Apple logo shows up, release the Top button.

Once you’ve force restarted your device, try once again to unlock it to see if it still asks for a passcode.

Try the Default iPhone Passcode

According to our research, you’ll have 9 wrong passcode attempts to unlock your iPhone before it’s completely disabled.

So just fresh your mind and try to remember the old passcode you ever used. If you have never set one up, try the default iPhone passcode instead.

Is there a Default Passcode for iPhone/iPad?

Although Apple haven’t officially announced a default iPhone passcode so far, it exists exactly. If your iPhone or iPad asking for a passcode you never set, try these passcodes:

Default 4-digit Passcode:

• 0000
• 1234
• 8888

Default 6-digit Passcode:

• 000000
• 123456
• 888888

According to our readers, the default passcodes have successfully helped them get into their iPhone. Although we haven’t been able to verify this, it’s still worth trying. 

iPhone Asking for 6-digit Passcode Instead of 4? 

This usually happens when you update your iPhone to iOS 9 and above versions. Apple provides a 6-digit passcode option when users updated to iOS 9. If you prefer using the 4-digit passcode, here is how you can change it:

Settings > Touch ID & Passcode (or Face ID & Passcode) > Change Passcode > Passcode Options

Restore Your iPhone/iPad

If the above three methods don’t work for you, then you’ll have nothing to do but restore your iPhone/iPad.

You don’t have to worry about your data if you have previously backed up your iPhone, it’s very easy to fetch your data back from a backup. If you don’t, then you’ll lose all data.

To restore your iPhone/iPad, here are three ways:

1Restore with iCloud

This is the easiest way to restore your iPhone or iPad when it asking for a 6-digit passcode after factory reset or update.

Take note that this way can only work when your iPhone online (already connected to a Wi-Fi network or Cellular network). What’s more, you need to make sure the Find My is enabled.

If your device is offline, or the Find My is disabled, try other ways instead to restore your device.

Here I’m going to show you how to restore your iPhone or iPad when it asking for passcode after factory reset or update:

Step 1. Visit icloud.com From your computer or any other devices that you can surf the Internet.

Step 2. Sign in with your iCloud account and password. If you forgot the password, find it back from here.

Step 3. On the next screen, click on Find iPhone (even if it’s an iPad).

Step 4. Select your iPhone or iPad, then click Erase to erase all content and settings, including the passcode.

You may be asked for the iCloud password to proceed.

2Restore with iTunes/Finder in Recovery Mode

The second way is to restore with iTunes (or Finder on a Mac computer) after putting your iPhone/iPad to recovery mode.

Although it’s not as easy as using the iCloud to restore your device, it’s still an effective solution when your iPhone/iPad asking for a passcode after update or factory reset.

This way will need the original cable that comes with your device, if you don’t have, then there are chances that the restore process will be failed.

STEP 1Put Your iPhone/iPad into Recovery Mode

Depending on the model of the iPhone/iPad, putting it to Recovery mode will vary and we have properly listed them below.

For iPhone 8 and Later

• Make sure your iPhone isn’t connected to computer
• Press and hold the Side button and Volume up button until the power off slider shows up
• Drag the slider to power off your iPhone
• Then connect your iPhone to computer with its original cable while holding the Side button
• Keep holding until the Recovery mode screen appears

For iPhone 7/7 Plus

• Make sure that your iPhone 7 is not connected to your computer
• Press and hold the Side button until the power off slider appears
• Turn your iPhone off
• Connect your iPhone with the original cable to computer while holding the Volume down button
• Keep holding the Volume down button until the Recovery mode screen shows up

For iPhone 6s and Earlier

• Make sure that your iPhone isn’t connected to your computer
• Press and hold the Side (or Top) button until the power off slider shows up
• Turn your iPhone off by dragging the slider
• Then connect your iPhone to computer while holding the Home button
• Keep holding until you see the Recovery mode screen

For iPad That Has Face ID

• Make sure your iPad isn’t connected to computer
• Press and hold the Top button and Volume Down button until the power off slider appears
• Drag the slider to power off your iPad
• Then connect your iPad to computer with its original cable while holding the Top button
• Keep holding until the Recovery mode screen shows up

For iPad That Has Home Button

• Make sure that your iPad isn’t connected to your computer
• Press and hold the Top button until you see the power off slider
• Drag the slider to turn off your iPad
• Then connect your iPad to computer with its original cable while holding the Home button
• Keep holding until the Recovery mode screen appears

STEP 2Restore Your iPhone/iPad

Once you have put your iDevice into recovery mode, there will be a pop-up message “There is a problem with the (device) that requires it to be updated or restored”.

Click on the Restore button to restore and update your device to the latest version if iOS or iPadOS.

Then click Restore and Update to proceed. iTunes or Finder will start to download the firmware package to restore your device.

If the downloading process takes more than 15 minutes, your iPhone/iPad will automatically exit the recovery mode. You need to follow the above steps to put it into Recovery mode once again.

After downloading the firmware package, iTunes (or Finder) will start to restore your device automatically. Just be patient to wait for this.

3Restore with iTunes/Finder in DFU Mode

Having troubles in putting your device into Recovery mode? You can also restore your iPhone in DFU mode to prevent it from asking for a passcode after update or reset.

DFU Mode is very different from Recovery mode since it bypasses the iBoot bootloader on your iDevice and allows you to downgrade the iOS/iPadOS version.

Instead of showing Recovery mode screen, your iPhone/iPad appears totally black in DFU mode.

Here are the steps to restore your iPhone/iPad in DFU mode:

STEP 1Put Your Device Into DFU

For iPhone 8 and Above

For iPhone 7/7 Plus

For iPhone 6s and Earlier

For iPad with Face ID

For iPad with Home Button

STEP 2Restore

Once iTunes detects your device in DFU mode, there will be a pop-up window says “iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore this iPhone before it can be used with iTunes.”

Click on OK. And then click Restore iPhone to download the firmware package and restore your device.

4Restore with Third-Party Software

The final solution for iPad/iPhone asking for a passcode after update or factory reset is to restore it with a third-party iPhone passcode unlocker.

Most passcode unlockers can restore your iPhone/iPad in both Recovery mode and DFU mode. So, what’s the difference between iTunes and a passcode unlocker tool?

A trustworthy passcode unlocker tool has a higher success rate than iTunes. Although iTunes is developed by Apple, there are so many issues when using it, especially the restore process. That’s why third-party passcode unlocker software exists.

We’ve tested a lot of passcode unlockers, the success rate of them is varied. Some of them are even poorer than iTunes. The only one that can unlock devices that iTunes can’t do is the 4uKey iPhone Passcode Unlocker from Tenorshare.

We received a lot of unlock requests from both our local store customers and website readers. When trying to help them unlock their devices, Tenorshare 4ukey is the only one that has never let us down. It unlocked all the devices without any trouble.

Although it’s not a free solution like iTunes or iCloud, you’ll be absolutely satisfied with its performance.

Here is how you can fix the iPhone asking for 6-digit passcode you never set issue:

Step 1. Download and install the Tenorshare 4uKey.

Free Download

Step 2. Open the software, click on the Start button.

Step 3. Then follow the on-screen instructions to put your device into Recovery or DFU mode.

Step 4. Now you’ll be asked to download the latest firmware package for your iDevice.

Step 5. After downloading, the software will start to unlock your iPhone without passcode.

What to Do After Restore

After using one of the above ways to restore your iDevice, it’s time to set it up and restore it from a backup.

Step 1. Follow the on-screen instructions to set your device up. Make sure you set an easy-to-remember 6-digit password. You can make a note of this passcode to avoid the same situation in the future.

Step 2. Finally, if a backup is available, restore it to get your data & settings back. You can restore your device from an iCloud/iTunes backup, transfer directly from your old iPhone, or move data from an Android device.

Keep in mind that it is a long process to restore your iPhone from a backup. It’s painful when it takes a couple of hours or more to complete, but it necessary.

Contact Apple Support for Help

We tried to contact Apple Support to send feedback about the iPhone asking for a passcode that users never set after update. However, the solution they offer was to restore the device.

So, never rely on them.

But if you’re not confident to restore your device, you can take your iDevice to the latest Apple Store to ask the Apple-certified technicians to do that for you. You need to offer the purchase proof for verification before they can assist with unlocking your device.

Also, if your device is still in warranty, you can also ask for a replacement. Before doing this, back up your old iPhone first.

The Bottom Line

And as we close this post, we hope that the solutions here are able to help you fix your iPhone passcode required after the iOS update issue. If you have any questions related to this topic, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.