I forgot my iphone password and im locked out

Maybe you forgot your iPhone ($249 at Amazon Marketplace) passcode. Maybe a 3-year-old got ahold of your phone and locked you out for a gazillion minutes. Either way, your only hope of using your iPhone again soon might be to restore it.

Hopefully you've kept up with your iPhone backup reminders. If that's slipped (no judgment), you're probably getting "iPhone Not Backed Up" and "iCloud Storage full" messages on a daily basis.

Use this as your guide for restoring your iPhone back to the original settings. 

Make sure your phone is backed up

If you're already locked out of your phone, this step may be too late -- skip to the recovery mode section. If you're taking precautions, however, make sure you back up to iCloud or iTunes ASAP. If you don't back up, you could lose all your photos and videos.

Read now: Back up to prepare for your new iPhone

Go into recovery mode

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes.

2. Force restart your iPhone.

For the iPhone 8 ($155 at Amazon) and newer: Press and release the volume up button and then press the volume down button. Next, press and hold the side button. You should see the recovery mode screen.

For the iPhone 7 ($190 at Amazon): Press and hold the side button and volume down button at the same time. The recovery mode screen will appear.

For older iPhones: Press and hold the home and top buttons at the same time until you see the recovery mode screen.

3. A screen will appear that says "There is a problem with the iPhone that requires it to be updated or restored." Select Restore.

Restoring your iPhone

iTunes will begin restoring your device, which can take a few minutes. If it goes over 15 minutes, your phone will exit the screen and you'll need to start over. Do not unplug your device from your computer until your phone has completely been restored.

Once it's finished, you can set up your device and begin using it again.

If you backed up your iPhone, you can restore all of your information with your Apple ID -- this is your username and password you use to download from the App Store. Make sure you're connected to Wi-Fi before you begin.

1. Once you reach the Apps & Data screen, tap Restore from iCloud Backup.

2. Sign in to iCloud using your Apple ID.

3. Choose your most recent backup.

4. Log in to your Apple ID account to restore your apps.

5. A progress bar will appear and let you know how much time it will take to restore. This could take a while, depending on how much data you're recovering.

6. Finish the setup for your iPhone and begin using it again.

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What if I'm still locked out?

If you've restored your phone to factory settings and your phone still won't let you in, there's not much more you can do on your own. 

We suggest making an appointment at your nearest Apple Store where a specialist can try to help you get back into your phone. If there isn't an Apple Store near you, the next best move would be to contact Apple Support. We hope you can fix your issues at home, though. Good luck!

Originally posted April 5 at 5:00 a.m. PT.

As you must have learnt the hard way, entering incorrect password multiple times can get you locked out of iPhone. You will find below the steps to gain access to a Locked iPhone.

Locked Out of iPhone or iPad

If you get permanently locked out of iPhone, the only way to gain access to your Locked iPhone is to remove its Lock Screen Password by erasing all the data on your device.

You will be able to recover data, only if a backup of iPhone is available on iCloud or you had previously downloaded a backup of iPhone to your Mac or Windows computer.

If a Backup is not available, you will have to setup your device As a New iPhone and start from scratch.

With this understanding, let us go ahead and take a look at two different methods to unlock a disabled iPhone.

1. Unlock Disabled iPhone Using Find My iPhone

Perhaps the easiest way to Erase Data on iPhone (including its Passcode) is to make use of Erase Data option, as available in Apple’s Find iPhone service.

If Find iPhone feature is enabled on your device, you can follow the steps below to unlock disabled iPhone.

1. On your Mac or PC, go to icloud.com and sign-in to your iCloud Account by entering your Apple ID and Passcode.

2. Once you are in iCloud, click on Find iPhone icon.

3. If prompted, enter your Apple ID Password to Sign-in to ‘Find iPhone’ service.

4. On the next screen, click on All Devices option (top middle of screen) and select the iPhone that you want to Erase.

5. Next, click on Erase iPhone option to Erase all the data on your iPhone, including its Lock Screen Passcode that is preventing you from logging in.

6. If prompted, enter your Apple ID password to Confirm that you do want to Erase all the Data on your iPhone.

7. After the Data is Erased, you will find your iPhone starting with Hello Screen, prompting you to Setup iPhone.

8. Follow the onscreen instructions, until you reach ‘Apps & Data’ Screen. Select Restore from iCloud Backup (if backup is available) or select Set Up as New iPhone (if no backup is available).

Note: You cal also select Restore from iTunes Backup option, if a backup of iPhone is available on your computer.

9. Wait for the Restore Process to be completed.

Once the Restore Process is completed, you will be able to gain access to your Locked iPhone, without entering the Lock Screen Passcode.

2. Unlock Disabled iPhone Using Recovery Mode

If you have never made a backup of iPhone to computer, the only way to gain access to Locked iPhone is to use Recovery Mode.

The steps to enter Recovery Mode on iPhone vary, depending on the model of your iPhone.

1. Power OFF iPhone

The first step is to completely Power OFF iPhone by following steps as applicable for the model of your 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 enter Recovery Mode on iPhone 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 complete the Restore process by downloading the latest version of iOS software and other 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 above steps to get back to recovery mode.

4. Setup iPhone as New or Using Backup 

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 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 you do not have an iCloud Backup, tap on Set Up as New iPhone option and complete the Set up Process.

After your device is setup, you will be able to gain access to your Locked iPhone, without entering any Password.

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