Watch: How to gain access to a locked iOS device

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2017
Locked out of your iPhone or iPad? AppleInsider shows you how to regain access by restoring or resetting your device using a few easy methods in this video.








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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    stevenozstevenoz Posts: 314member
    I found it a bit confusing in the video about choosing between "Restore Backup" and "Restore iPad/iPhone." The video warns against choosing the wrong one. What is the difference?
    edited July 2017
  • Reply 2 of 7
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    stevenoz said:
    I found it a bit confusing in the video about choosing between "Restore Backup" and "Restore iPad/iPhone." The video warns against choosing the wrong one. What is the difference?
    Restore Backup won't wipe out the password. Restore iPad or iPhone as appropriate reinstalls the OS.
    stevenoz
  • Reply 3 of 7
    lettebletteb Posts: 1member
    What keeps someone from stealing my device, and then "restoring" it to THEIR iTunes account?
    edited July 2017
  • Reply 4 of 7
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    letteb said:
    What keeps someone from stealing my device, and then "restoring" it to THEIR iTunes account?
    This won't do anything to an iCloud lock. If the device is locked through "Find my iPhone" then there is nothing a user, legit or not, can do without that password to unlock it.
    edited July 2017 stevenoz
  • Reply 5 of 7
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    stevenoz said:
    I found it a bit confusing in the video about choosing between "Restore Backup" and "Restore iPad/iPhone." The video warns against choosing the wrong one. What is the difference?
    restore iPad is to restore the OS which is what you need to do in 'recovery' mode to remove a passcode via iTunes. restore backup is just erasing existing user data and replacing it with the data in the backup. but you can't do that on a locked device.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Mike Wuerthele said:
    letteb said:
    What keeps someone from stealing my device, and then "restoring" it to THEIR iTunes account?
    This won't do anything to an iCloud lock. If the device is locked through "Find my iPhone" then there is nothing a user, legit or not, can do without that password to unlock it.
    well sort of. if the user can make a buddy on a manager level at an apple store there is a way they can remove the lock. which is why, if your device is lost or stolen you should log into iCloud and put it in lost mode. with that on, no one can do anything. not even Apple Care reps.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,420member
    I lost an iPhone recently. It was showing up on find my iPhone for a while, then disappeared. Several days to a week later, it popped back up again for all of like 3 minutes at the same location, then disappeared forever. I was wondering about this, because it was locked and Find My iPhone active, as well as erase after 10 failed passcode attempts (6 digits). On top of all that, I reported it stolen a few weeks later to T-Mobile, which they said blacklists the serial with all carriers. Can they do *anything* with it at that point besides sell it for parts? I just figured there had to be some grey market method to getting past the iCloud lock at least. 
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