Is your iPhone 7 locked out or disabled due to several failed passcode attempts? Find out how you can remedy this situating by reading this article.
Identity theft is already becoming rampant these days. And for this reason, new devices like smartphones are already equipped with more advanced security features to keep all confidential information stored safe from any unauthorized access. The integration of security features in mobile devices is indeed essential given the fact that these gadgets can be easily misplaced, lost or stolen.
For these security features to work, a user has to enable them first on their respective devices. This denotes the need for you to set up and configure your device to grant access only when correct login credentials are entered. But what if for some reasons you couldn’t get to access your device simply because the password you entered is incorrect. This is inevitable because there are times that we just couldn’t get to remember the right password to enter no matter how hard we try.
As a result, we got locked out of our own device. Read on to learn what to do should you get into the same situation in which you forgot the correct password, locked out of your iPhone 7 and ended up having prompted with an error saying that your iPhone is disabled.
Before going any further though, if you have other concerns with your new iPhone, make sure you drop by our iPhone 7 troubleshooting page for we have already started supporting the device. Moreover, if you need further assistance, you can always contact us by completing our iPhone issues questionnaire and providing us with sufficient information about the problem.
What are your options when locked out of your iPhone due to incorrect passcode entries?
Your only option when this happens is to wipe or erase your device. Unfortunately, there is no way for you to recover or save personal contents from your device unless you’ve created a backup before you bumped into such trouble. Erasing your iPhone also denotes that all of your data and settings will also be erased.
Typically, you will have a maximum of six consecutive attempts to enter the password on your iPhone 7 and other iOS devices. Entering the wrong password over six times in a row will result to you being locked out and prompted with a message saying that your iPhone is disabled. When you’re facing the same situation, iTunes and iCloud services will be your key to resolving the problem. You can use iTunes or iCloud to erase your iPhone 7. Doing so will likewise remove the passcode you’ve set up on your device as it will either be set up as new or restored from a backup. Alternatively, you can also use Find My iPhone to erase your iPhone, given that your device is connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do so.
Here are the bases for you to choose which method is best applicable to your situation:
- Use iTunes to erase your iPhone 7 if it is synced with iTunes.
- Use iCloud if you’re signed in to iCloud and Find My iPhone is enabled on your device.
- Use recovery mode if you don’t use iCloud and you cannot sync or connect your device with iTunes.
How to erase your locked out iPhone 7 and remove your passcode with iTunes?
As explicated earlier, you have three options to recover your iPhone 7 from being disabled due to consecutive incorrect password entries. If iTunes is applicable to your current situation, then here’s what you should do.
In order to use iTunes services, you will need to secure a computer (Windows or Mac) that runs the latest version of iTunes and compatible operating systems. Once you’ve got everything set, follow these steps:
- Connect your iPhone 7 to the computer. As much as possible, use only the USB cable or connector that comes with your device (Apple-supplied or OEM).
- Open iTunes on your computer.
- If prompted, enter the correct password.
- Wait for iTunes to sync and create a backup of your iPhone.
- Once the sync and backup processes have completed, click the option to Restore [your iPhone].
- When prompted with the Set Up screen while restoring your iPhone, tap the option to Restore from iTunes backup. Doing so will let you restore your iPhone 7 from a previous iOS backup you’ve created in iTunes.
- Select your device in iTunes, locate the backup you prefer to use. Each backup contains the date and file size. Be sure to pick the most relevant backup to use.
What to do if your iPhone 7 or some contents won’t sync with iTunes?
In case, your iPhone couldn’t sync with iTunes, verify and ensure that your computer is authorized for the content that you are attempting to sync. Some computers might not be authorized for certain file types, thus won’t sync with iTunes. Normally, your contents syncs each time you connect your iOS device to your computer and have iTunes open and running. There are also certain contents that iTunes cannot sync. Among these are mail accounts, notes, and bookmarks. As an alternative, you can use iCloud to manage these contents across your device instead of iTunes.
Usually you will be prompted with an error message along with an error code when you use iTunes to sync files to your iPhone and then syncing failed. The message might say that your iPhone cannot be synced or iTunes cannot copy the file to your device. Among the error codes that will show up along with these error messages are errors -5000, -69, 13010 and 13014. In case you are seeing any of these errors, make sure that you are using the latest version of iTunes and the latest software updates for your device. Also try to check and temporarily disabled any security software installed on the computer and then retry to sync your iPhone 7 with iTunes without any security software running on the computer. Some third-party software including antivirus and firewalls can interfere with the sync process between your iPhone and the computer. If you are familiar with the security software, you can change its setup or configure permission controls to grant full access to your iPhone 7 with iTunes services. After doing so, try to sync again.
How to erase your iPhone 7 and remove your passcode with iCloud?
You can also use iCloud to erase and restore iOS device. Doing so will erase the device and its passcode. This is a possible option if you set up Find My iPhone on your iPhone. You will need to use another device to carry out the following steps:
- From another device, navigate to iCloud.com/find.
- Enter your Apple ID and password to sign in.
- Click All Devices located at the top of your browser screen.
- Scroll to and select the device you want to erase. In this case, select your iPhone 7.
- Next, click Erase [iPhone 7]. Doing so will erase your device and its passcode.
- After the device is erased, you may now opt to restore from a backup or set up your device as new.
Opting to restore from a backup will prompt you to select from your previous iOS backups and pick the most applicable backup file to use. Meanwhile, if you opt to set up your device as new will prompt your device to boot up and run with factory defaults afterwards.
How to erase your iPhone 7 and remove your passcode with recovery mode?
If for some reasons iCloud services are not applicable to your situation, then you’ve got the option to use recovery mode to remove your passcode and restore your device. Again, you will need a computer to carry out the process. Here’s how it’s done:
- Connect your iPhone 7 to your computer. You can use either Windows or Mac PC for as long as it is running a compatible version of operating system with iTunes and your iPhone 7.
- On your computer open iTunes.
- When your iPhone 7 is recognized in iTunes, for it to restart.
- To force restart your iPhone 7, press and hold the Sleep/Wake (Power) and Volume Down keys simultaneously. Don’t release the buttons when the Apple logo. When the Recovery Mode screen appears, release both buttons.
- If prompted with the option to Restore or Update, select Restore. Doing so will prompt iTunes to download the software for your device. The process could take over fifteen minutes. If it exceeds fifteen minutes your iPhone will exit recovery mode and you will need to repeat steps 3 (force restart) and 4 (select Restore option).
Wait until the restore process is finished then you can set up and use your iPhone again.
Seek More Help to fix locked out iPhone 7
If none of these methods worked and that you’re still locked out of your iPhone 7, then your next option is to escalate the problem to Apple Support or your device carrier for further assistance and recommendations. They should have the right tool to reset the passcode and recover your iPhone 7.
Connect with us
If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the new Apple iPhone 7 smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone 7. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.