Lets face it, if you forgot your Apple iPad or iPhone passcode, you don’t deserve the Apple device you have. Apple puts in a lot of time and effort on device security both internal and external. The 4 digit or 6 digit passcode verification system and also the fingerprint sensor system is an added security feature for the user. The security feature saves your personal data, chats, browsing history, login passwords from misuse by anyone other than the device owner. Hence data retrieval is next to impossible, however you can redeem your iPhone or iPad by formatting the data on the device.
In case you or somebody else entered a wrong passcode 6 times, the device will get locked / disabled. So be careful with your device, dont leave it with unwanted pestering people.
So unless you made a backup before you forgot your passcode, there isn’t a way to save your data present on the device. You shall have no option but to erase your iPhone or iPad data and settings completely.
Recovery using the “Recovery Mode” (for Forgotten Passcode)
If you’ve never synced with iTunes or set up Find My iPhone in iCloud, you’ll need to use recovery mode to restore your device. This will erase the device and its passcode.
- Connect your iOS device to your computer and open iTunes
- Keeping your device connected, force restart it: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home button at the same time. Don’t let go untill you see the Apple logo — keep holding until you see the recovery mode screen.
- From the displayed option “Restore” or “Update”, choose “Restore”
- iTunes will download software for your device. If it takes more than 15 minutes, your device will exit recovery mode and you’ll need to repeat steps again
- Wait for the process to finish. Then you can set up and use your device.
