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Unlock An iPhone If You Forgot Your Passcode But Don’t Have iTunes Backup

How Do You Unlock An iPhone If You Forgot Your Passcode And Not Synced To iTunes

This article is still relevant but there is a newer version on the topic of iPhone passcode unlocking you should also read.

You have found your way to this page because you have forgotten your passcode on your iPhone and don’t have an iTunes backup.

How To Unlock An iPhone If You Forgot Your Passcode And Have No ComputerWorse than that, you are worried that you may lose all your data.

So far, I expect you have tried to unlock your iPhone using the wrong passcode many times. Your heart sunk, when you tried 6 times and got the ‘This iPhone is disabled’ message. 

You may even have got as far as using 10 attempts and seen a message saying your iPhone has been disabled and you must connect it to iTunes to fix it.

Don’t panic – you can unlock an iPhone if you forgot your passcode and had 10 attempts. You may be able to keep you data even without an iTunes backup.

There are many types of lock used by Apple to secure their devices such as IMEI lock, passcode lock and the iCloud lock. Each needs a different method to be removed such as the iPhone activation lock bypass or the iPhone 6 unlock. This article only deals with the passcode lock.

Consequences of wrongly guessing your iPhone passcode

No. of tries Consequence
6 attempts

Your iPhone is disabled for 1 minute
7 attempts

Your iPhone is disabled for 5 minutes
8 attempts

Your iPhone is disabled for 15 minutes.
9 attempts

Your iPhone is disabled for 60 minutes
10 attempts

You get the message “iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes” OR your iPhone is completely erased if Erase Data is turned on in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode (or Settings > Passcode for iPhones without Touch ID).

iPhone passcode FAQ

Can I reset my iPhone passcode if I forgot it?
Yes, of course you can.
Will I lose all my data?
It depends. If you have setup your iPhone to do iCloud backups, or have previously backed up your iPhone using iTunes then you will be able to restore your data.

How to fix this error

The fix you need to unblock your iPhone passcode depends on your circumstances.

How to unlock your iPhone passcode if you have never synced your iPhone to iTunes

1. Synchronise your iPhone to your computer – you can do this even if you iPhone is locked. This creates a backup of everything on your phone. Obviously this works best if you have access to the computer your regularly sync your iPhone with.

The video below explains how to sync an iPhone if you are unsure.

2. When you connect your iPhone to the computer  you may get this error message: “iTunes could not connect to the iPhone because it is locked with a passcode. You must enter your passcode on the iPhone before it can be used with iTunes.”

passcode never synced with itunes

While your iPhone is still connected to your computer reboot your iPhone by holding down the power and home buttons at the same time. As soon as the Apple logo appears, let go of the power button but keep the home button depressed until you see a “Connect to iTunes” message appear on the iPhone screen.

3. On your computer, you will see a message appear in iTunes that a phone in recovery mode has been detected. You will be prompted to choose whether you want to restore your iPhone to factory settings, or restore it from a backup – if you want to put all of your personal information, contacts, messages, etc. back on to your phone, be sure to choose to restore it from the backup you performed in step 1.

The video below shows how the restore process works if you are unsure.

4. Your passcode will be erased and then all of your data will be restored from your backup. Once this process completes, the passcode will have been removed from your iPhone, and you should now be able to access it without any problems.

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About Dean Case

Dean Case is Case Services’ chief technology editor and has been covering Apple’s mobile electronics, security, privacy, and the wider technology sector since 2011. He is also a highly regarded Web Designer & Developer with a career spanning 15 years which began in PC support. Dean's technical expertise and experience are highly regarded in a wide variety of fields. His well-researched work resulted in highly regarded and often cited articles.

Comments

  1. angela watson says

    hi, I changed my passcode but entered it incorrectly so now im unable to access my phone. what can I do to unlock my phone without wifi, never been backed up and still save all contacts, photos, etc??
    im dying here, please help!!!!

    Reply

  2. Jeff says

    I had a cracked screen iPhone 6plus.. Couldn’t use the top numbers to put in my password and unlock the screen… Followed your advice and SUCCESS!!! YOU’RE AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS!! You are the ONLY one after much research that provided the solution..

    Reply

  3. Suzann says

    I had an update and then my iphone was locked and asking for password so my daughter connected to itunes but did not work I do not have an itunes account and now phone says disabled “connect to itunes Help

    Reply

  4. OM says

    Hi, My phone has been disabled and I don’t have the back up data so I don’t want to restore it, I just want to be able to access the data on my phone. How can I do that please?

    Reply

  5. Israa Hatake says

    So my sis boght a used iphone 4s , ans she unlocked it and forgot the passeword , the phone have an icloud that we dont know it pls help

    Reply

  6. ABKABK says

    I can’t do anything from here because the phone has never been sync with the PC and won’t allow to back up and it asks for the passcode and ask me to “trust” in the phone, i can’t do that. so I can’t make a backup and can’t restore because it has icloud on it, so it will be completely locked if I restore. I don’t know the icloud account.

    Reply

  7. Alison price says

    Hi i cant unlock my iphone via itunes, i put it in recovery mode, itunes detected it and said to restore, when i clicked on restore it said restore and update, starts to download then says itunes cannot connect to the iphone because there is a passcode. I had the phone second hand from my sister in law and she gave me the code but because the phone is now locked there is no way to enter the code when prompted to do so …

    Reply

  10. Mark says

    I have a 6s where I’ve forgotten the passcode, is there a way I can get the pictures off it? I don’t have the computer I backed it up so, nor do I have it backed up to iCloud.

    Reply

  11. Su Latt Phyu says

    I did the steps that u mentioned in my 6s plus. But it doesnt work and still showing that itune is necessary passcode because your iphone is locked with it. Please help me!!!

    Reply

  12. Angela Pacatang Bastatas says

    my iphone 6+ has been stolen and he tried maybe so many times for my password and it disabled.. i have to enter 6 digit passcode which i never know if i set up one or i just forget. pls help

    Reply

  15. Maabelines Randomized says

    So Basically, I have this iphone 3GS , 16GB , and the last time i was able to use it was in september 2014, like last year, and then i was grounded for like months, and when i got my phone back, i wrote the same password several times, until it got disabled, and i think i know it now. I have never used the computer to sync my stuff, but i have access to itunes on my laptop right now. I dont want to lose my stuff, is there any way i can fix this pleasE? Help? I really need this phone :/

    Please Let Me Know ASAP – [email protected]

    Reply

  17. Lucy says

    Hello can I do this without a SIM card? I tried to restore but it would always stop 75% in loading and it would go back to the passcode lock. I’ve tried this 4 times and still can’t get it to restore.

    Reply

  19. chuck says

    Hi
    I have an iphone 4 that i dropped and the screen went blank. It’s locked and i cannot access it and want to save the pictures and contacts off the phone. I have not backed it up. I already ordered a new phone, just want to save what’s on this one. Is there any way to do it?

    Reply

  21. bosox0407 says

    I am ready to throw my iPhone 4s out the window. Hopefully, you can help me!! I bought a 4s about 20 months ago. I had absolutely no knowledge of iPhones and the intricacies associated with it. The man I bought it from upgraded and apparently transferred all the information from this phone to his new one. It is a Verizon phone and appears to be unlocked. However, I do not know the passcode to access or activate the phone. Quite frankly, I don’t know if I set up a passcode. Whatever the case, my screen reads IPhone is disabled connect to iTunes. Well, I have no idea what I am doing. It does not recognize the phone and I don’t think I ever synched it. Should I contact the person to see if he remembers a passcode? At one point, I could get to the Hello screen but that was months ago and now I am just stuck.. However, now I trying to resolve the problem again. I have never used the phone and it is in excellent condition.

    I would really appreciate your help.

    Reply

  27. brianna moore says

    well i know this is very late.. like a year but if you are still wondering if your power button works and its just your home button that you use assistive touch, you still do the power button and push the home button with assistive touch.

    Reply

  29. Enver Biberovic says

    hey mine friend gave his iphone 5 and he moved can get hold of him and mine iphone is disabled right what can i do and i never synced it to computer or made back forgot passcode

    Reply

  30. Enver Biberovic says

    hey mine friend gave his iphone 5 and he moved can get hold of him and mine iphone is disabled right what can i do and i never synced it to computer or made back forgot passcode

    Reply

  31. christian says

    I have an iphine5 but I lost it I used my friends phone to lock the iPhone and sent a message saying my iPhone is lost call me on this number but when I got it back I couldn’t remember my passcode and the iTunes I used I dont have the laptop anymore and now am using another lasptop and its saying to me that it’s not going to recover my iPhone I need help please thank you…

    Reply

  32. Haylei says

    WOW thank you so much ! I been trying to figure out how to reset my phone and password because i forgot it.. I had never had any problems like this before and never had really used itunes on the internet because this is the first iphone ive ever had. Any way this was very fast and very simple to understand and again it was extremely HELPFUL and straight to the point! I am upset about the fact that all my data will be lost.. Im not sure if i can restore that somehow or not.. but either way i do have another question..okay so i had bought a itunes app card from the store a few days ago and have$15 for apps..music ect. Will that still be on my account when i enter my apple id and information? or what will happen? If someone could answer that i would be thankful again THANK U SO MUCH FOR GETTING STRAIGHT to the POINT take care mate

    Reply

  34. paul says

    my grandson had a new iphone bought in may. It is on my Verizon account. He was killed in an accident July 3, 2014. I did not know his passcode. Someone must have tried to open his phone before I got it, because now it is disabled. I would like to see his photos, emails, ect. since it is the last things we have of him before he died. Can you help me?

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Did you ever get any help with thjs:-( I have the same case with my late fiancé and I am so upset that I tried his password a few too many times . I wasn’t familiar with apple products and didn’t know it would disable it. Any news I’ve heard on chances of recovering the data is not good …</3 that's where all our last Christmas videos are

      Reply

  35. Erkan from Bochum says

    pathfinder172
    Jun 1, 2014 8:05 AM
    in response to rhmcolvin
    I have a much easier possible solution!!

    I had this same issue, trying to connect my new iPhone 5s to my Windows computer’s iTunes. I was getting two different error messages:

    – iTunes could not connect to the iphone because it is locked with a passcode
    – iTunes could not connect to the iphone because the device timed out

    I found this thread, but did not like the idea of having to restore my iPhone and losing all my settings/data on the phone. After trying several different things, I discovered that I had 5 devices listed under my “Devices” that were authorized, so the real issue was that I had reached my limit. I had several issues with my old iPhone 5s, and had to have it replaced twice. As a result, I had several old iPhones listed under devices that I no longer had. Erasing those solved the problem, and my new phone connected just fine to iTunes. To get rid of the old devices, you can:

    Open iTunes
    -> click on “store” in the upper left corner
    -> from the drop-down menu, select “view account”
    -> enter your password
    -> under “iTunes in the Cloud”, click on the blue “Manage Devices >”
    -> remove any old devices

    This solved my problem. Hope it helps others as well!

    Reply

    • kenza says

      there is no “view account” anymore! is there anything you suggest? both my lock button and home button are stuffed so to turn it on i have to plug it in.. also i’ve forgotten my password – can you help? (:

      Reply

  36. Danielle says

    Kevin you’re a legend!! My daughter put a passcode on her phone, I confiscated it, by the time she earns it back she’d forgotten her passcode. I tried restoring it the apple way, but kept getting the “iTunes can’t connect enter your passcode” message halfway through. I did it your way and voila! I’m now happy I’m not tearing my hair out and my daughter is ecstatic to have her phone back. The problem with smart phones is you have to be smart to operate them!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!

    Reply

  37. Stacey says

    My phone was never synced to this computer.

    Yep, I tried the instructions SEVERAL times and no USP cable appears. All it does is tell me it can’t connect bed it is password locked. 🙁

    Annoying.

    Reply

  39. Morgan ponder says

    Ok i bought this i phone 4-s for my fiance and switched it to straight talk service. She put a screen lock code on it and forgot it as you know it has made me want to throw it up and hit it with a bat!i spoke with customer service for 6 hours yesterday and 5 different people! Every time i try to sync it back to the factory settings it says sync error (1) and it will not do it! One guy told me i might as well throw it away because he’s never been able to fix that. I called apple support last and they told me it would cost 60$ which is ridiculous seeing as i just bought the 4s with charger and straight talk sim for 250 its like Im throwing the money away i feel and this awesome present i got my fiance wound up being a bust is paying an letting apple fix it the only way?

    Reply

  40. John Haruna says

    When I switch on my Iphone it shows me a picture like a USB that I should connect it to Itunes……I cannot even do anything with the phone.

    Reply

  41. Veronica says

    I have try it but my power bottom is not working. Is there another way of doing it. Thank you in advance!

    Reply

  42. donpedro says

    Is there anyway I can restore my ipad without a internet connection,because where I stay there is no wifi connections,have tried to use 1G data plan,but it is just nt enough to finish the whole restore proses,please any help would be much appreciated.

    Reply

  44. brandy says

    hi, so ,my iPhone is disabled, i no longer have acess to the orginal computer that i synced the iphone 4s too. is ther any way that i have fix this

    Reply

  45. Amos says

    hello!

    I’ve tried this home + power button method on my locked iphone 5s ios7 which was never synched, and I see only one option where I can only restore to factory settings…. I would need some method to save my contacts and photos before I restore factory settings?! any constructive advice welcomed, I’m very desperate :(! have a great weekend everyone!

    “my issue with more words:
    I bought my iphone 5s recently…never had smartphone before…I’m using the same code for everything but today my phone forgot lock code…I’ve been led to belive by someone that it is a real strange and unusual problem but it happened to me and now it’s completely locked….yes, I’ve tried many times same code, I hoped it will work cuz it was really the code, but it just couldn’t work and as I said, completely locked…I was stupid enough and tried to restart it so it says contact iphone and its completely locked….
    I never had a chance to synch it with my pc, no icloud, nothing cuz I just had no time to get around these yet…..but I have very important contacts and pictures on it. I really don’t want to loose 7 years contacts….in last 5 hours I’m trying to find solution but nothing so far…if I have to restore to factory settings can I back up my things some way from this never synchronized iphone?”

    Reply

  46. john ramsey says

    While your iPhone is still connected to your computer reboot your iPhone by holding down the power and home buttons at the same time. As soon as the Apple logo appears, let go of the power button but keep the home button depressed until you see a “Connect to iTunes” message appear on the iPhone screen.

    done it 3 time as come up not conect to itunes but come up passcode

    Reply

  47. ryan says

    dude i fucking love you (no Homo). sorry for the language, im jsut so happy i came acrost this, it was the only thign that had the right details to do it and i think you with everything i have in my body. THank you thank you thank you!!!!! thank you times infinity!!. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

    • brianna moore says

      well i know this is very late.. like a year but if you are still wondering if your power button works and its just your home button that you use assistive touch, you still do the power button and push the home button with assistive touch.

      Reply

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