Forgot iPhone Password? – Here are the Best Solutions

Summary: Can’t remember your iPhone password? This post brings the best solutions to fix forgotten password issue and restore your data from the locked iPhone.

Setting up a password on your iPhone is a great way to keep unauthorized access at bay but what if you forget the password? On a positive note, you can still access or restore your iPhone Data and this blog highlights some best solutions for forgotten iPhone password.

Password enabled iPhone ensures that no one can access it without your permission and is a great way to stop prying eyes from accessing your personal data. But what if you itself forget the password? Isn’t that a problematic situation? Obviously, as you cannot unlock your iPhone and access the data. Further, if you enter the wrong password six times, then a message is displayed stating that the iPhone has been disabled.

Figure 1. If you enter the wrong password six times in a row, then a message will be displayed stating that your iPhone has been disabled.

If you’re lucky then you might be able to unlock your iPhone and access the data stored on it else there is a probability that you may end up losing your data in the process of unlocking it.

Forgot iPhone passcode? What to do next?

Alright, I know it’s next to impossible that you will ever forget your passcode but we cannot overlook the fact that, yes there is a chance that you may forget it. The majority of us will say that we use fingerprint identity sensor (Touch ID) and hardly use a numeric passcode. Well, suppose your Touch ID stops working properly and to fix it you need to go to Settings < Touch ID & Passcode < Enter the Passcode.

Wait! What! You need to enter the passcode to get the Touch ID working again and you thought that you’d never need to remember the passcode. If you have a backup of your data, then all you have to do is simply reset your iPhone and restore your data from the backup. Unfortunately, you’ll only restore data that has been backed up and any new data added after that won’t be there. That said, let’s delve into some of the best solutions for forgotten iPhone password.
If you’ve forgotten the password, these options will help you out:

• Erase your iOS device with iTunes to remove the password
• Erase the passcode with iCloud
• Use Recovery mode if you’re unable to connect to either iCloud or iTunes
• Leverage an iPhone data recovery to recover deleted/lost data

Erase your iPhone with iTunes, restore files from it and remove the passcode

If you’ve synced your iPhone with iTunes, you can restore your files from it. Further, this will erase all the data and the passcode. To restore your data and remove the passcode, follow these steps:

i. Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes
ii. If you’re asked for the passcode, try another computer with which you’ve synced your iPhone, else proceed with either iCloud or Recovery mode
iii. Sync your iPhone with iTunes and make a backup of it
iv. On your iPhone set up the screen, choose Restore from iTunes backup
v. In iTunes select your iPhone and select the relevant backup

This process will restore all your data on iPhone. Now, configure a new passcode and never forget it.

Figure 2 illustrates to erase the data & passcode and to restore your iPhone

Erase the passcode with iCloud

Follow these steps to erase the passcode of your iPhone with iCloud:

i. Go to iCloud.com and sign in with your valid Apple credentials to view the iCloud dashboard.
ii. At the top of the dashboard, select ‘All Devices’ and select your iPhone from the given list
iii. Click on ‘Erase’ to erase the passcode
iv. On the setup screen on your iPhone, choose the restore from a backup option to restore files from the iCloud backup

Important: You can erase your iPhone with Find My iPhone as long as it is connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

Use Recovery mode to erase the passcode

If you’ve never synced your iPhone with iTunes or iCloud, then you need to erase the passcode in the Recovery mode. Follow these steps to erase the passcode:
i. Connect your iPhone to your system and force restart it. Different versions of iPhone have different settings; therefore, follow these settings depending on your iPhone

1. iPhone 8/8 Plus: Press and release the Volume up button and then quickly press and release the Volume down button. Press and hold the Side button until the recovery mode screen appears
2. iPhone 7/7 Plus: Press and keep holding both the Side and Volume down buttons until you see the recovery mode screen
3. iPhone 6S and earlier: Press and keep holding the Home and the Side buttons until the recovery mode screen appears

ii. Finally, after restarting the iPhone, select Restore from the given options

Figure 3 illustrates to restore iPhone via recovery mode

iii. Wait for the process to finish and then restore your files to your iPhone and set up a new passcode

Click here

### Get more help

If due to any reason you lose your data stored on iPhone during the whole process, then you can utilize an iPhone data recovery software and recover all your lost data. Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone is a robust iPhone data recovery software which efficiently brings back all your lost data. Moreover, the software facilitates three recovery option namely:

 

• Recover from iPhone
• Recover from iTunes Backup
• Recover from iCloud backup

Figure 3 illustrates the home screen of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software

At Last

After restoring your iPhone , make sure that you never ever forget the passcode. The key is to create a strong passcode which is easy to remember. Further, if your iPhone gets stuck in recovery mode or due to any reason you’re unable to unlock your device, contact Apple support or visit the nearest service centre.

How to Restore iPhone from Backup when iTunes Backup is Corrupt or not compatible

Summary: Are you receiving the error, ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or not compatible’ while trying to restore iPhone? iPhone recovery is not possible from a corrupt backup file. This post shares how you can resolve corrupt iTunes backup file issue and restore iPhone’s lost data.

‘I dropped my iPhone and broke it. I got it repaired and formatted to factory settings to fix the various issues caused due to the fall. Since I had a backup in iTunes, so was not worried about my data. But had least idea that my iTunes backup file was corrupted! As I tried to restore iPhone from iTunes, a message appeared –: ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or Not compatible.’ Now I don’t know how to restore my iPhone. Please help.’ –  Simon, UK

It’s not new when users get bowled over by iTunes when trying to restore their iPhone. iTunes sometimes shows a message that it could not restore iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that was being restored.

It may be because iTunes does incremental backup by updating the previous backup. It’s possible that some old backup data was corrupt, which results in the error message.

Whatsoever, it’s a fact that there’s no recovery possible from a corrupt backup file.

So how to fix such corrupt iPhone backup in iTunes and restore iPhone in such cases?

Here we share the best ways to fix corrupt iTunes backup file and efficient methods to restore iPhone’s lost data.

You can apply these methods on all iPhone models including series of iPhone 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, XS, XS Max, XR, X, 8 Plus, 8, 7 Plus, 7, 6S Plus, 6S, 6 Plus, 6, 5S, 5c, 5, 4S and 4 with latest iOS 16.x.

What you can do to fix ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or Not compatible’

Since you can’t repair or recover from a corrupt or incompatible iTunes backup file, it is best to delete such corrupt files and next try to create a new backup in iTunes.

How to delete your corrupt iPhone backup file in iTunes

1. Launch iTunes on your PC or Mac
2. Windows users click Edit > Preferences (on Windows PC). Mac users click iTunes Menu > Preferences
3. Select Find your iPhone backups
4. Select the corrupt or incompatible backup. Click Delete Backup
5. Close the iTunes Preferences window

How to delete the old iTunes backup files manually

If you don’t see the old backup in iTunes, then delete the backup manually.

1. In iTunes, under Summary click on Serial Number. You will see the iPhone’s UDID. Note it down.
2. Navigate to the iTunes backups folder on your computer.

On Mac follow: Finder > Option> Go menu> Library> Application Support >MobileSync> Backup

On Windows 11/10/8 follow: In Search box type %appdata%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup. Press Enter key

If you installed iTunes from the Microsoft Store, follow: In Search box type %userprofile%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup. Press Enter key.

3. You will see the backup folders named by your device UDID
4. Select the folders with your device UDID and delete them
5. Next go to iTunes and take the backup again

How to backup iPhone in iTunes again

1. Connect your iPhone to computer via lightning cable
2. Launch iTunes
3. Click on Back Up Now The backup process begins.

| Did you get a message — iTunes can’t back up your iPhone because an error occurred? Here’s what you should do…
• Update your iOS to the latest version
• Update your iTunes to the latest version
• Disable antivirus software on your computer
• Now create backup in iTunes

|
| — |

How to restore iPhone when iTunes backup file is corrupt

Method 1: Restore iPhone from iCloud backup

Method 2: Recover from iCloud backup without erasing existing data

Method 3: Restore lost data directly from iPhone/ iPad

Method 1: Recover from iCloud backup

Instead of iTunes, you can restore iPhone by using the alternative backup solution, iCloud.

Steps to restore iPhone with iCloud

• Click to follow Settings > General > Reset> Erase all Contents and Settings

• A dialog box pops up, choose Erase Now
• Follow the instructions until you get on to the Apps & Data screen
• Tap Restore from iCloud Backup

• Sign in to your iCloud account
• Choose the recent backup and click Restore

Method 2: Recover specific files from iCloud without losing existing iPhone data

In case you want to restore specific data from backup, instead of complete backup, use an iPhone recovery software.

Steps to restore specific files from iCloud:

• Download and launch Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone on your computer.

• Select Recover from iCloud Backup on main screen of software.

• Select what you want to recover. Click Next
• Enter the Apple ID and password
• Select the relevant iCloud backup and click Scan

• Select the data in the iCloud backup files list on left and preview

• Click Save
• In the dialog box select computer or iPhone to save the recovered data. To save directly onto your iPhone, connect your iPhone to the computer.

Method 3: Recover data from iPhone

If iTunes could not restore iPhone or iPad because the backup was corrupt and neither iCloud is able to restore backup, recover data from the device directly. You can easily restore lost photos, videos, messages, calendar, voice memos, Safari bookmarks, etc., with this method. It works in cases of broken/ water-damaged iPhone, factory reset, iOS crash etc.

Steps to recover lost data from iPhone/ iPad

• Connect your iPhone to computer
• _Launch Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone _
• On the home screen select Recover from iPhone

• Select the data you want to restore
• Click Next

• Preview the data and click Save. You can save the recovered data on computer or iPhone

Conclusion

You cannot repair or recover data from corrupt iTunes backup file that gives — ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or Not compatible’ message.

However, the situation can be tackled by deleting the corrupt backup file and creating a fresh new backup in iTunes.

To restore iPhone, you may use either the new iTunes backup or bypass iTunes by using alternative recovery methods. Other than iTunes, iCloud or Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone are the effective ways to restore lost data on your iPhone. Among these too, if you wish to restore specific data like photos, videos, voice memos, or contacts etc., Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone would be the best solution.

How to Recover Deleted Notes from iPhone?

Summary: Lost Notes from iPhone after iOS upgrade, deletion, factory reset, etc.? This post shares 5 best ways to restore lost Notes on iPhone. Also learn how Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone quickly recovers only the missing Notes from your iPhone.

When Matt opened his iPhone 14 Notes after iOS 16.4 upgrade, he found many of his old Notes had disappeared. He was repenting about the upgrade and now looking for ways to get back his Notes on his iPhone.

Notes are important for those who make optimum use of this app. However, if you have also lost them for some reason, this post shares how to restore the lost Notes on your iPhone.

Often underrated, iPhone Notes app lets you do much more than you can think of  — scribbling thoughts, ideas, checklists, sketching, adding photos, and videos, attaching location links from Maps, etc.

However, Notes may disappear after an iOS update, jailbreak, factory reset, accidental deletion, etc.

How to Recover Notes on iPhone?

Usually, Notes can be recovered from iCloud, iTunes, or your recently deleted Notes App folder.

But, if in a situation when you have deleted Notes and also don’t have a backup in iCloud, an iPhone recovery software is the way to go.

Top 5 methods that can recover lost Notes from iPhone

1. Recover iPhone Notes & Attachments without backup
2. Restore Notes from iCloud backup
3. Restore from iTunes backup
4. Recover Recently Deleted folder
5. Restore Notes from e-mail account on iPhone

1. Recover iPhone Notes & Attachments without Backup

There is a plethora of iPhone recovery software. Carefully pick that supports Notes and attachments recovery. Most importantly, the iPhone recovery software should be 100% secure to download and free from viruses.

Advanced tools such as Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone can recover even permanently deleted Notes and their attachments. It is fast, easy to use, and supports the latest iOS and iPhone versions.

Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone restores in situations like,

• In the absence of iCloud backup
• Factory Reset of iPhone
• Unable to retrieve Notes from iCloud/ iTunes
• iPhone is damaged or stolen
• and others

The software lets you recover deleted Notes from iPhone , iPad, iCloud, and iTunes. It thoroughly scans the iOS device and backup to restore every bit of lost data. If you don’t find the required Notes after running the initial quick scan, it offers a second-level Deep Scan for a more comprehensive search.

Unlike Apple backups — iCloud and iTunes, you can select only those Notes and their attachments that you need. Thus, the software protects you from unnecessary data recovery.

You can view the lost and deleted Notes of iPhone in the demo version of the software.

 Step-by-step: Recover deleted/ lost Notes and Attachments on iPhone

• Download Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone on your Mac/PC
• Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch the software
• Choose “Recover from iPhone”, select “Notes & Reminders” and click “Next”

• Select your device and click “Scan.”

• After scanning, select Notes on your left pane to preview in the right pane before saving.

• Click on Save and browse the desired location to save the recovered notes.

Recover Notes from Apple Backups

iCloud and iTunes backup storage protect against data loss. If your Notes are backed up in any of the two, recover the files from there.

Just log in through your Apple ID and restore Notes from backup.

However, one of the major drawbacks of this method is that it will remove and replace all your existing iPhone data, including Camera Roll, apps, messages, music, etc.

2. How to recover iPhone Notes from iCloud backup

• Go to Settings > General > Reset> Erase all Contents and Settings
• On Apps & Data screen, tap Restore from iCloud Backup
• Sign in to your iCloud account
• Choose the last backup and Restore

3. How to restore Notes from iTunes

• Connect iPhone to PC/Mac
• Launch iTunes
• Select your iPhone under the Device list and choose the recent backup entry date
• Click Restore Backup

4. Recover iPhone Notes from ‘Recently Deleted.’

Once you delete Notes, they remain in the recently deleted folder on your iPhone for 30 days. After that, Notes are permanently deleted from the device.

Steps to restore from ‘Recently Deleted.’

• In the Notes app, tap Recently Deleted.
• Select the notes you want to restore
• Click Recover in the toolbar. The note moves to the Notes folder

5. Restore Notes from an e-mail account on iPhone

When you delete a Note from your iPhone, it remains in your e-mail account of your iPhone. So, for example, suppose you use Gmail on your iPhone, and all your Notes are saved to the e-mail address.

Steps to restore Notes from e-mail on iPhone

• Go to Setting > Accounts & Passwords

• Click on each email account (Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc.) one by one

• Turn on Notes for each account

• Open the Notes app to see if they are back

Byte: Do you know the email accounts on your iPhone can store Contacts, Calendars, and Notes, apart from sending e-mails.

Wrapping Up

Notes are your best companion; you don’t want to part with them. Recover all or specific Notes with the help of iPhone notes recovery software.

However, you can also try to restore deleted Notes from an iCloud, e-mail accounts,s or recently deleted folders on your iPhone. However, Stellar iPhone Recovery software is the best solution for permanently deleted Notes in case of the absence of backup.

Why Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone takes time in scanning my iPhone?

Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone thoroughly scans your iOS device, computer, and iCloud to retrieve every bit of data. However, the scanning time of the software depends upon the following:

• The amount of data in your iOS device: Greater the amount of data on your iPhone more time it will take to scan.
• The size of RAM on your iPhone: Greater the RAM more will be the scanning time. For instance, the software will take more time to thoroughly scan an iPhone 12 with 6GB RAM compared to iPhone 11 that has 4GB RAM.
• RAM of your computer: The recommended system requirement of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone is 8GB. Although it can scan and recover from 4GB RAM computer, but you may experience slow speed.