iPhone Backup Password – What To Do If You Forget Yours

Our phones carry a wealth of information, mostly personal, and for some people official, all of which is very important.

Backing up such data is a good idea, but, even better is being able to securely back it up using a password or other means of protecting it from unauthorized access.

If you use an iPhone, you definitely h

ave a backup password that encrypts your data so that only you can access it. however, if you find yourself locked out of your data because of a forgotten password, here’s what you can do.

Reset your password

For iOS 11 and later, reset your backup password and create a new encrypted backup altogether.
Although it is a simple and straightforward process, resetting your password also resets other options like your wallpaper, home screen layout, and other personalizations.

To do this, go to Settings>General>Reset and tap Reset all settings.

Enter the passcode and follow on-screen prompts to complete the process and remove the encrypted password. Connect to iTunes and create a new encrypted backup.

For older IOS versions, resetting isn’t an option, but you can try other solutions below.

Recover your iPhone backup password

There are a few things to check here before getting your backup password:
• Check the macOS keychain to see if your password is stored in there
• If someone else set up your iPhone for you, ask if they know the backup password
• Try a web search, as sometimes you may have typed in your password by mistake
• Also try out a few password combinations of frequently reused characters
• You can also try your iCloud password or your iPhone’s passcode

Use iCloud backup

Besides iTunes, you can use iCloud as most iPhones can backup to iCloud by default.

To check this, go to Settings>Tap your name>iCloud. Scroll to iCloud Backup and set the slider to “on”.

To restore from iCloud backup, do this:
• Go to Settings
• Tap General>Reset
• Select Erase all content and settings and follow instructions
• On the Apps and Data screen, select Restore from iCloud backup
• Sign into iCloud
• Select Choose Backup
• Choose the backup you want to restore from

Older iTunes backup

For backups that weren’t always encrypted, you can use older iTunes backups to restore them. You may want to back up your data to iCloud first, restore lost data, and then recover your newer backup.

Use Third Party apps

There are third-party apps that recover lost data, though they’re not always free, plus there’s no guarantee they’ll always work. Such apps use brute force or dictionary attacks to unlock data.

The method you use to try and unlock your backup depends on the app you decide on. Sometimes knowing part of the password helps the app as it takes that bit and uses brute force to guess the rest.

But this still isn’t guaranteed. Try the apps for free before you pay for any of them.

Let us know in a comment what worked for you among the solutions we’ve listed.