How to Erase Your iPhone to Get a New Passcode When You’re Locked

Have you ever been locked out of your iPhone? You may have forgotten your password. Or perhaps someone with access changed the password as a joke. Your iPhone’s display might even be damaged and unresponsive. Whatever the reason, there’s an easy way to get back access to your iPhone the next time it happens.

If you can’t remember or don’t know your iPhone passcode, Apple recommends using recovery mode on your computer to restore your device. But what if you don’t have a computer? Or do you not have easy access to it when you need to get back to your iPhone? What if you don’t live near an Apple Store?

iOS has a built-in feature that lets you erase your iPhone and create a new passcode wherever you are—no computers. And if that doesn’t work, you can still easily erase your iPhone using just about any other device.

Use the wrong password

Although disabled by default, if you navigate to “Face ID & Passcode”or “Touch ID & Passcode”in your iPhone’s Settings app, there is an option to “Erase Data”after 10 failed passcode attempts.

If the toggle is on, iOS will automatically delete data from the device after the 10th failed passcode attempt. However, consecutive attempts to enter the same incorrect password are not counted. When it automatically wipes data, it doesn’t remove the association with your Apple ID, so only you can restore your device, not any thieves.

You can use this method to start over or restore your iPhone with a backup. It’s not very convenient, but it’s a good option if you’re backing up to iCloud. So you can erase and restore your iPhone from anywhere and then set a new passcode.

While 10 attempts may seem like a few seconds of work, it’s a bit more difficult. Before erasing anything, it will lock you out for one minute after the fifth failed attempt. If you enter the same incorrect access code more than once, subsequent attempts will not be counted towards the limit calculation. It then expands further:

• After 5 failed attempts: 1 minute wait
• After 6 failed attempts: 5 minute wait
• After 7 failed attempts: 15 minute wait
• After 8 failed attempts: 15 minute wait
• After 9 failed attempts: 1 hour waiting
• After 10 failed attempts: Automatically erases data from the device.

However, if you’re running iOS 15.2 or later, you don’t have to wait for all 10 failed attempts to wipe your iPhone and restore it.

When the first 15-minute lock occurs, an “Erase iPhone”button will appear on the screen. Touch it and touch again to confirm. Then enter your Apple ID password, which will sign you in from your Apple ID. While autowipe keeps the device associated with you, this method does not. The iPhone should start erasing itself, then follow the instructions to restore it and set a new passcode.

If you restart your device when you see “Security Lock”on the lock screen, you won’t be able to reconnect to the Wi-Fi network [and thus won’t be able to “Erase Phone”] until your device is unlocked. Cellular devices will reconnect to the cellular network if you have an active service.

If you don’t have the “Erase Data”switch turned on in the Settings app, you’ll still get these locks, but you’ll get an “iPhone is disabled”error that will force you to connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC. use recovery mode. The Erase iPhone button will still appear on the screen after the seventh failed attempt in iOS 15.2 and later.

Note. If your cellular plan uses an eSIM, Apple recommends contacting your carrier first to get a QR code to reconfigure the eSIM when you get back up and running. Otherwise, there may be a problem with the eSIM.

Use another device

If the above method doesn’t work for you, you can use a different device to clean your iPhone. A device can be any device with access to an internet browser. For example, an old Android phone, an old iPhone, any computer (PC, Mac, or Linux), an iPad, an Android tablet, and even some smart TVs will do.

Find your Apple ID password

If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to figure out your Apple ID password. If you don’t know your password, you can reset your password.

Check if data is backed up (optional)

Keep in mind that erasing your iPhone will erase all data on your iPhone. Any data not backed up will be permanently deleted. That’s why we recommend checking if backup is enabled before doing this process. However, you can skip to step 4 if you’re like me and don’t use a backup.

From a computer or tablet:

1. Go to appleid.apple.com.
2. If you’re using someone else’s device, you may see a pop-up asking if you want to sign in with their Apple ID. You don’t want to, so click Cancel.
3. Sign in with your Apple ID.
4. Click “Devices”in the left column.
5. Click on the device you want to erase.
6. The last time you backed up your iPhone will be next to “iCloud Backup”.

From iPhone or Android:

1. Go to appleid.apple.com.
2. If you’re using someone else’s device, you may see a pop-up asking if you want to sign in with their Apple ID. You don’t want to, so click Cancel.
3. Sign in with your Apple ID.
4. Click on the arrow at the top next to the Sign Out button.
5. Click on Devices.
6. Select the device you want to erase.
7. The last time you backed up your iPhone, it will be “iCloud Backup”.

If your data was recently backed up, you can wipe your iPhone. If you don’t have a backup of your data and you have important information stored on your iPhone, you can either wait until you can unlock your iPhone or make an appointment with Apple to get your data back.

Sign in to the Find My Web application.

To start the remote wipe process, visit icloud.com/find/ to open the Find My app in iCloud, or open the Find My app on another device and tap Help a Friend on the profile tab. It may immediately require you to sign in with the Apple ID associated with the device you are on; If you’re using someone else’s device, click or tap Cancel.

Erase your device

Once again, remember that your iPhone will be completely erased, and all data that is not backed up will be lost.

All content and settings will be deleted. An erased iPhone cannot be found or traced. If you restore this iPhone, some services may be temporarily unavailable after restoring it.

From a computer or tablet:

1. Click “All Devices”on the top menu bar.
2. Select the device you want to erase.
3. Click “Erase iPhone”and click “Erase iPhone”again to confirm.

From phone:

1. Click on the device you want to erase.
2. Click Erase iPhone.
3. Click “Continue”to confirm.

Set up your iPhone with a new passcode

After the device is erased, you will need to set up your iPhone again. You will be able to restore from a backup if available, but you can start over anyway. Your device will also be iCloud locked, so you will need to unlock it with your Apple ID password.