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How to unlock your iPhone if you forgot your passcode

⚡ Fast fix

  • Too many wrong tries? After several failed attempts, your iPhone will disable itself for security.
  • You’ll need to erase it. There’s no way to bypass the passcode—you must reset the device.
  • Use a computer or Find My. Restore through Finder, iTunes, or iCloud to remove the lock.
  • Restore from backup. Sign in with your Apple ID to get your data back—if you backed it up.

Protecting your iPhone® with a passcode is essential for keeping your personal info safe. But if you're locked out because you forgot yours, we can walk you through a few different ways to get back in.

Here at Asurion, we help people learn more about their tech every day. From fixing an iPad that's charging slowly to getting a printer back online, we can help you get the devices you rely on most back up and running fast. Here's how to unlock your iPhone without your passcode.

Unlock your iPhone with iCloud

If you know your Apple ID and password, you can sign into iCloud® on another device to unlock your iPhone without your passcode.

  • Go to iCloud.com/find on another device and sign in with your Apple ID.
  • Select your locked iPhone from the All Devices list.
  • Tap Erase This Device and confirm.
  • Follow the prompts to wipe the phone remotely, then set it up as new or restore from a backup.

Unlock your iPhone with the Find My app

You can use the Find My app on another iPhone, iPad, or Apple device to erase your phone and bypass the Lock Screen if you need to unlock your iPhone without the password—here's how.

  1. Open the Find My™ app on your iPhone, iPad, or other Apple device—sign in if prompted.
  2. Choose your iPhone from the list of devices, then select Erase This Device.
  3. Once your iPhone is erased, you'll be able to set it up as a new device or restore it from backup.

Unlock your iPhone with iTunes or Finder on a Mac or PC

Forgot your iPhone passcode? We've got your back. For this method, you'll need a computer and a charging cable. If you have a PC, you'll need Windows 8 or newer and iTunes. If you're on a Mac® that doesn't have iTunes®, you can use Finder®.

Turn off your iPhone

Make sure your iPhone isn't plugged into your computer, then press and hold the correct buttons on your iPhone to shut it down:

  • Unplug your iPhone from the computer and power it down completely.
  • For iPhone 8 or later (including SE 2nd/3rd Gen), hold the Side button and either Volume button until the slider appears.
  • For iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, just hold the Side button until the slider appears.
  • For iPhone 6s or older, hold the Top or Side button until the slider appears, then wait a full minute for the screen to go black.

Drag the slider to turn off your iPhone—wait about a minute for it to turn off completely.

Put your phone in Recovery Mode

Press and hold the correct buttons on your iPhone after connecting your iPhone to your computer:

  • For iPhone 8 and later: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then press and hold the Side button.
  • For iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons at the same time.
  • iPhone 6s or older devices (devices with a physical Home button): Press and hold both the Home and the Side buttons at the same time.

Keep holding the correct buttons until you see the Recovery Mode screen on your iPhone, then release it. If you see the Apple logo or the passcode screen, turn off your iPhone and start over.

Restore your iPhone

  1. Locate your iPhone in Finder (Mac) or the Apple Devices app (Windows).
  2. Choose Restore when the pop-up asks if you want to Restore or Update.
  3. If the software download takes longer than 15 minutes and your phone reboots, wait for the download to finish, then put the phone back into Recovery Mode to try again.
  4. Once the process is finished, your phone will restart to the "Hello" screen and you can safely unplug.

The Asurion® trademarks and logos are the property of Asurion, LLC. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Asurion is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of the respective owners of the other trademarks appearing herein.

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