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If you’ve forgotten your iPhone Passcode, or you’ve put it in and the screen says it’s disabled, your only option is to wipe the phone which will remove the Passcode. Unfortunately, wiping your iPhone means all your stuff will be wiped too, but if you’ve got a backup of your iPhone you’ll be able to restore it to your phone when you set it up again.
If you were still signed in to iCloud on your iPhone when you reset it, ‘Activation Lock’ will help keep it secure. It asks for your Apple ID and password before the Setup Wizard starts, and won’t move on until you enter them. If your iPhone’s ever lost or stolen, anyone finding it won’t be able to use it or get into your stuff, even after you reset it.
You can use a PC or Mac running the latest version of iTunes to wipe your iPhone. It’ll need an internet connection to download a new copy of the iPhone’s software.
If you’ve synced your iPhone with the computer at any time in the past, iTunes should recognise your iPhone and sync when it's connected.
Open iTunes on the computer, then connect your iPhone with the USB cable.
Wait for iTunes to sync with your iPhone and make a backup. If it doesn’t, skip to the next section to use recovery mode.
When the sync and backup have finished, click Restore iPhone….
It’ll take a while to download a new copy of iOS (the iPhone Operating System) to your phone. Leave your iPhone plugged in until it’s finished.
If your iPhone won’t sync with iTunes, you’ll need to use “recovery mode” to reset it. It’s a way to restore an iPhone back to factory settings by putting a new copy of the operating system on it.
Open iTunes on the computer and connect the iPhone with a USB lead.
Force your iPhone to restart:
You’ll see a screen telling you there’s been a problem with your iPhone. Don’t panic, it’s normal. Click Update > Restore and Update.
Check the info about the latest version of iOS, then click Next.
Check the legal notices, then click Agree.
Wait for iTunes to download and restore the operating system on your iPhone. If it takes longer than 15 minutes, your iPhone might come out of recovery mode. If it does, you’ll need to repeat these steps and try again.
When your iPhone restarts, unplug it from the computer and set it up again.
If you haven’t got a computer handy, you might be able to reset your iPhone through iCloud, as long as it’s turned on and connected to the internet.
Go to the iCloud website, and log in with your Apple ID.
Click Find iPhone.
If you’ve got more than one piece of Apple kit, click All Devices and pick the one you want to reset.
Click Erase iPhone on the phone’s menu panel, then click Erase to confirm.
Click the arrow to confirm your Apple ID, type your password and click the arrow again.
Contact info can be shown on a reset iPhone to help reunite it with its owner. You won’t need to do this, so tap Next then Done.
Give the phone a few minutes to reset. When it turns on, you’ll be asked for your Apple ID and password to move past Activation Lock and set the phone up. If it didn’t work, or you still have a problem, you'll need to use a computer and follow the 'If your iPhone doesn't sync with iTunes' section of this guide.
Hopefully, that's all the help you'll need getting back into your iPhone, but if you want to know more, contact an expert from Team Knowhow or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
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