How to reset and get into a locked iPhone or iPad
Picture this -- you've got a family member who changes the password on a device that you've given them, and promptly forgets it. Or, maybe, a child has locked a device with a passcode that didn't have one before, and either denies it or just doesn't remember the code. What do you do?
This is not how to circumvent an iCloud lock for a device you don't own. If you legally own the locked device, and would like to use it again and have the proper credentials, here's how to do it.
Connect the device to a computer running iTunes. Once the initial handshake is done and the Set Up Screen is reached on the device, click the Restore button as shown, and not Restore Backup.
From another device, go to the online iCloud device locator, and sign in with your Apple ID password. Select the device you want to erase, and click Erase.
Following the erase procedure, you can restore from a backup, or set up the device as a new one.
On devices with a mechanical home button, press the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time past the Apple logo, until you get the recovery mode screen.
On devices with a solid state Home button like the iPhone 7, press the Sleep/Wake button and the volume down button, again past the Apple logo, until you get the recovery mode screen.
Following the iTunes connection, hit Restore.
Following the restoration process, the device will be able to be set up and use.
This is not how to circumvent an iCloud lock for a device you don't own. If you legally own the locked device, and would like to use it again and have the proper credentials, here's how to do it.
With iTunes
If you've ever synced your iPhone or iPad with iTunes, you can restore your device. In doing so, it wipes out the data on the device since the last backup and its password preventing you from accessing it.Connect the device to a computer running iTunes. Once the initial handshake is done and the Set Up Screen is reached on the device, click the Restore button as shown, and not Restore Backup.
If Find My iPhone is enabled
If, before the unfortunate password incident occurred, you configured "Find My iPhone" through iCloud, you can use that to erase and restore the device, assuming it is connected to wi-fi or wireless.From another device, go to the online iCloud device locator, and sign in with your Apple ID password. Select the device you want to erase, and click Erase.
Following the erase procedure, you can restore from a backup, or set up the device as a new one.
Failing all that...
There is a last resort for users to try -- Recovery Mode. Plug the device into a computer, and launch iTunes.On devices with a mechanical home button, press the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time past the Apple logo, until you get the recovery mode screen.
On devices with a solid state Home button like the iPhone 7, press the Sleep/Wake button and the volume down button, again past the Apple logo, until you get the recovery mode screen.
Following the iTunes connection, hit Restore.
Following the restoration process, the device will be able to be set up and use.
Comments
Some drunk girl called me and repeated her story multiple times that her friend has changed her password and she needed me to fix it. She told me she was "a little intoxicated" at the time. Lady you were still intoxicated when you called me the next morning and were locked out of your phone. Natch she had never synced to iTunes.
If "Find My iPhone" was enabled before restoring the iPhone or iPad, the device will still ask for the previous owner's iCloud credentials. At this point, the device is as good as a paperweight.
iTunes makes Microsoft look good. No, not good: G R E A T !
... It's a total, confusing, difficult to maneuver mess.
Its a hodge-podge of different functions for different purposes yet maintains the original Jobs' simplicity philosophy of "Avoid Klingons". So it gloams a bunch of different functions together without much distinction -- so it just ends up being a big grey, mushy mess... In addition, it's S L O W.....
In short: it's a pain.
But the article is not talking about forgetting one's AppleID or password. It's talking about forgetting the logon PIN so you can't get into the iPhone, iPod or iPad.
BTW, a similar technique may be required if you lose or forget your restrictions PIN (or your kid changes it so he access the "good" stuff).
And here's another idea: Have a Backup app on the iOS device! Open the app, if you're already connected to your computer, select an icon for your computer to initiate the backup process, OR schedule it to be instantly backed up the next time you connect it. There's absolutely no reason a person should have to screw around with iTunes to have this happen.
But that points out a serious "hole" in the Find my iPhone" when applied to iPods, iPads and Apple Watches (most of which are WiFi only): Once it is out of range of known WiFi -- or the battery dies -- Find My iPhone is pretty much worthless...
That isn't to trash Apple or Find My iPhone in anyway -- because there is no "fix" for that issue. But it is a limitation that iPod, iPad, Apple Watch wearers need to be aware of...
Another limitation is: Turning a phone off. When somebody stole my friend's iPhone, they immediately powered it off so that Find My iPhone would no longer work.
But Apple's emphasis on simplicity tends to hide that awareness for "average" users... These people like Apple products because they "just work" without getting involved in a bunch of user manuals and documentation. While that approach has definite advantages, it also has inherent limitations. In this case, it is one of expectations: An "average" non-technical user will assume that Find-My-Phone will find their phone....
A consultant to an IT company I worked for years ago gave some excellent advice about "managing expectations": He wisely told us that it really didn't matter how good we were, if our performance didn't measure up to our customer's expectations, it wasn't good enough. So, his solution was, instead of trying to become perfect, to better manage expectations. I followed that advice religiously and was very open about where the holes and weaknesses were in my systems and in my support of those systems -- and, while nobody was overly happy, neither was anybody dissapointed or unhappy.