Are you trying to use your iPhone but for some reason your passcode just won’t work? In this article, you will learn a couple of reasons why this may be happening to you and what different things you can do to fix the issue of your passcode not working.
Why Is iPhone Passcode Not Working?
There can be multiple different reasons why your passcode for your iPhone might not work. One of the reasons could be that your passcode could have been changed by someone without you knowing. Another reason may be that iOS failed to update so that could be causing an issue. There also may be a system file that might have been corrupted when your phone tried to automatically update or when you tried to manually update it yourself. This can be very frustrating when you need to have access to your phone but you’re locked out because your passcode won’t work. Don’t worry though, you’ll learn of a few different ways that you can fix this problem.
What to Do When Your iPhone Passcode Is Not Working
We will offer 5 methods below according to different situations which the iPhone users might be in. You can choose suitable solutions based on your own case.
1. If Your iPhone Is Not Disabled Yet
You only have a few chances to put in your passcode before your iPhone becomes disabled. If you tried putting in your passcode and it didn’t work but your iPhone is still not disabled, then you should contact anyone who has access to your phone and ask if they changed your passcode without telling you. This will save you from having your phone disabled by continuing to try different passcodes without knowing for sure if they’ll work or not.
If you enter your passcode wrong six times, you’ll end up getting a message that says your “iPhone is disabled” for one minute. After seven failed passcode entries, you’ll get disabled for 5 minutes. For eight failed attempts you’ll be locked out for 15 minutes and for ten failed attempts, you’ll get locked out for 1 hour.
2. Force Restart Your iPhone
If you’ve tried to put in your passcode and it didn’t work but you don’t want to get your phone disabled, you can do a force restart of your phone. To do a force restart, also known as a “hard reset” which will not influence your personal data on your device, you’ll just need to press a few buttons. This will literally force your phone to restart itself and this might fix your issue.
To force restart the latest iPhone model, quickly press and release the volume up button, then the volume down button. Next, press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears, then release it. This will force your iPhone to restart.
3. iPhone Passcode Not Working After Update
If your passcode is not working after an update you might need to reset your iPhone. You can reset your iPhone software by using iTunes. You can do this by putting your iPhone into recovery mode then updating it. Follow the steps if you don’t know how to do this. Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer.
- Open iTunes.
- Plug your iPhone into iTunes using an official Apple USB cable and keep it connected.
- Quickly press and release the volume up button then the volume down button. Next, press and hold the power button until you see the “Recovery Mode” screen.
- A window will pop up on iTunes where you will have the option to “Update” or “Restore” your iPhone. Choose the “Update” option.
Your iPhone software will be reinstalled through iTunes without erasing any of your data. When the update finishes you should be able to use your iPhone.
4. iPhone Passcode Suddenly Not Working
If you cannot unlock your iPhone with the correct password, then you may need to completely restore it. You can do this by putting your phone into recovery mode, just like the method before this one, but this time you will be choosing “Restore” instead of “Update”. So, follow the same exact steps that are listed above until you get to the message from iTunes, then choose the “Restore” option to restore your iPhone. By doing this, all the data on your iPhone will be completely erased. Your iPhone will be reset to factory settings and you will have to set it up as if it were a new device.
5. Erase iPhone From iCloud.com
If you don’t have a computer you can use iTunes on, you can still remotely erase your iPhone so that you can reset it. You will need to have access to your Apple ID and password to access your iCloud.com account. You can do this on another device as well, like an iPad or a friend’s phone, if you don’t have access to a computer.
- Open your browser and go to iCloud.com
- Log into your iCloud account by using your Apple ID and password.
- Select the “Find iPhone” app and enter your Apple ID password again if asked.
- Click on “All Devices” on the top of the screen to open up a drop-down menu and select your iPhone from the list of different devices.
- Once you’ve selected your iPhone, a little box will pop up showing your device and the three options “Play Sound”, “Lost Mode”, and “Erase iPhone” to choose from. To reset your phone, click the “Erase iPhone” option.
- Next, follow the prompts and instructions to confirm that you want to erase your iPhone.
There’s no going back after you confirm that you want to erase. This method will make you lose all your data so if you have things on your iPhone that you can’t afford to lose then this method should only be used as a last resort. Doing this will completely erase your iPhone and reset it to factory settings.
Once your phone has been completely wiped, you’ll be able to set it up as a new device. Go ahead and set up your iPhone and this time be sure to remember your passcode so that you don’t have to go through all this trouble again.
