Forgot Password? What to Do If Your Phone Is Locked and You Can’t Get In

Article Summary

• There are safe ways to regain access: If you cannot remember your phone passcode, no one can peek inside and hand it back, but you do have options to get back in, including Recovery Mode.
• Wait times exist, as do lockouts: After several wrong guesses, your iPhone starts adding wait times, and once you reach ten, it locks for good until you reset it.
• A reset equals erasure, but there is a silver lining: A reset erases the phone, but a recent iCloud or computer backup is what brings your photos and contacts back again.

Not long ago, someone wrote to My Computer Works with a worry we hear often. “My phone is on screen lock, and I don’t know what the password is. Is there anything you can do to unlock it?” Plenty of people reach out the same way after they forget their phone password, or after a moment of “I locked myself out of my device, and now what?” 

So it’s more common than you think. If you have ever been locked out of your iPhone, you know the intense panic that comes with it. The good news is that you have options, and none of them require much tech experience. In this guide, we’re focusing on iPhones, since Android phones use different recovery steps. 

Let us show you what is happening and how to recover access to your phone.

Why Do Phones Lock After Multiple Incorrect Password Attempts? 

Your iPhone locks itself on purpose to guard against anyone who might pick up your phone and try to access your private information. The failsafe Apple has built in is its extended timer, where each incorrect entry makes the next attempt to enter the correct password wait longer. 

Below is a look at the wait times you may encounter when your iPhone PIN is not working, and you’re trying to gain access: 

• After 3 wrong tries, there is no delay.
• After 4 wrong tries, there is a 1-minute wait.
• After 5 wrong tries, there is a 5-minute wait.
• After 6 wrong tries, there is a 15-minute wait.
• After 7 wrong tries, there is a 1-hour wait.
• After 8 wrong tries, there is a 3-hour wait.
• After 9 wrong tries, there is an 8-hour wait.
• After 10 or more wrong tries, the device is locked and must be erased and reset before it can be used again. Depending on your iOS version, this may be done on the device or with a Mac or Windows PC.

Alt text: person attempts to put in their iphone passcode 

Also, after too many incorrect attempts, your iPhone may display an iPhone Unavailable or Security Lockout screen. Our advice is that, the moment the time-outs appear, stop trying to guess your PIN. Every extra attempt can move you closer to a reset, and anything that was not backed up or synced could be lost. 

What Happens if You Forget Your Apple Account Too? 

After an erase or reset, you may need your Apple Account and password to set up the iPhone again, restore your backup, or bypass Activation Lock. 

But what happens if you have forgotten this too? Well…when you forget your Apple Account, the first step is usually to enter the email address, but if you cannot recall it, there are a few things you can try to jog your memory: 

• On a Mac, open System Settings and click your name at the top to see the email tied to your account.
• Apps such as the App Store or Messages often show which Apple Account is signed in.
• Apple’s account recovery website has a lookup tool that finds your account from your name and other details.
• A relative in your Family Sharing group may be able to read off the email connected to you.

If you have lost the password rather than the email, Apple’s guide on resetting a forgotten Apple Account password walks you through fixing this conundrum step by step.

How To Reset an iPhone Using Recovery Mode

Once you have forgotten your iPhone passcode and can’t recall it, it’s time to consider iPhone Recovery Mode to regain access to your phone. 

When you’re in Recovery Mode, you can unlock your iPhone without a password by erasing it and starting fresh. To do this, you’ll need to have on hand:

• A computer, either a Mac or a Windows PC.
• The proper cable that fits your iPhone, ideally the one that came in the box.

With those ready, all you need to do is connect the powered-off phone to the computer and open Finder on a Mac or the Apple Devices app on a Windows PC. 

Then hold the correct button for your model until a picture of a cable and a computer appears, and choose Restore on the computer. Your device will handle the rest, and once it finishes, you can reset your iPhone as new or restore your data from a backup.

Additionally, since it can be difficult to know off the bat which button to press, we think you might find it beneficial to check out Apple’s forgot passcode page, which lists the button steps for each model.

What You May Lose When You Reset

Before you reset your phone to regain access and create a new password, know that this is the absolute last option to try. This is because a reset wipes the phone clean, and there is much you stand to lose. For example, you could lose: 

• Photos and videos, plus any music saved on the device.
• Apps you downloaded and the information inside them, including saved game progress.
• Text messages and your iMessage history.
• Contacts and calendar entries that were never saved to a cloud service.
• Anything kept in Wallet, like Apple Pay cards or saved tickets.
• Saved Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth pairings.
• An eSIM cellular plan, which your carrier can help you set up again.

But what is reassuring is that anything synced to iCloud, such as your contacts or photos, comes back as soon as you sign in with the same Apple Account. And if you kept a recent iCloud or computer backup, everything saved there can be restored after the reset.

When You Would Rather Not Do It Alone, Speak with My Computer Works

We won’t deny that reset screens and button combinations can feel like a lot when you just want to get back into your iPhone. Fortunately, what we shared should help you get back into your device with minimal effort, and if worst comes to worst, there is always the reset option. 

However, before jumping to this solution, if you would rather have a helping hand, the team at My Computer Works is glad to assist. Our team is only a phone call away, so contact us here and let us help you regain access to your phone and the precious information it holds.