How to restore your iPhone if you forgot your passcode | Apple Support

If you're unable to unlock your iPhone, even after troubleshooting, here's how to erase your device and restore it to factory settings.

Topics covered:
0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Reset your iPhone wirelessly using iOS 17
2:12 - Reset your iPhone wirelessly using iOS 16 or earlier
3:15 - Reset your iPhone using a computer

To learn more about this topic, visit the following articles:

Additional Resources:

[BreakTime]

Why not just offer a way to unlock the phone with your Apple ID and password, instead of erasing everything?

[MaxKito]

Apple I have a question! When we forget the passcode, wouldn’t it be much easier to just enter the following when asked by the system: Apple ID, Apple email, personal, email, personal phone number, or similar that’s already attached to each user’s account, instead of restarting and going through all these other things you mentioned? And you also have other means of authentication like fingerprint and Face ID within each iPhone, so why not use these as well? I mean is just a thought. Thanks 😊

[Tugboat-R-Us]

I have an iPhone 14 that’s on ios 17 and the password reset option didn’t show on the bottom right. Ridiculous

[Freebirddaddy]

What if there is no forgot password or erase iPhone? 🤔

[dragnoft]

once everything was done it still gives me the 'iphone not available' message

[brandonlee]

My sister forgot her new passcode. Sad that she will lose everything.

[devinneitzert]

iPhone SE here, thot iPhones were simple. This passcode stuff should be optional.

[mariification]

Thank you so so much for sharing this. I was able to unlock my old phone with no problems.
I wish I saw this video couple of months ago that would have saved me from buying a new phone. Anyway, I am glad to have 2 phones, I will just give the old one to my son 😊

[TJS]

I have a question for Apple. Somehow I managed to change a setting that required a password to use my face ID. For whatever reason the password it was now making me use was not the password that I have used since I bought my iphone. So I followed the steps to wirelessly reset my iphone using the ios 16 and earlier method. I know my apple id and apple id password but when I try to transfer my data back to the same phone it asks for the old password again. I was wondering if I am missing something or if there genuinely is no way for me to recover my data.

[mlpmtyo]

I have iphone x but it does not show “erase iPhone” what should i do?

[JimmyGunawanX]

My iPhone 5s won't give option to reset password, will it be bricked?

[christinezander]

Why is i phone automatic passcode change.i did not forgot my Passcode

[thundergato]

This is so stupid. You have to erase everything to reset your passcode.

[Aurelionitee]

for anyone wondering, you can erase the data on your phone using another phone with your icloud, after that, just set up your phone again

[meforsy]

If it's an old phone and without a SIM card. It may not be restored at the last second. I finally made it by plug in a SIM card into the Phone again.

[priyankarprabhakaran]

In my case i forgot my passcode and apple ID password. I had to reset my apple ID and reset iphone with erase and then it asks me for previous passcode to restore my backup. It's my WTF moment of needing old pascode to restore my backup when i forgot my passcode first place. HELP

[RealLima]

How come when I try to connect it to my windows it only charges instead of connecting

[MohamedhAsrin]

This lead to children accidentally erase iphone when parents refused to give passcode. Lost most important data many times

[xynabzander]

does this method require the pc to hve tha apple id logged in already?

[Kimber]

What about the iPhone 12 I did all these steps and nothing it didn't even let me connect to the computer and there is no forgot password I can only emergency call.