HT201252: Use iTunes on your Mac or PC to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings
Learn about Use iTunes on your Mac or PC to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings
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Helpful answers
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Feb 15, 2015 6:59 AM in response to IndLindby King_Penguin,Without knowing your backup's password you won't be able to restore to it. Did you have an Exchange email account on your iPad ? If you did then it's possible that the account administrator forced the backup to be encrypted - in which case contact them and ask them for the password. If you didn't then see if anything on this page helps you remember it : iOS: Troubleshooting encrypted backups - Apple Support.
But if you can't find or remember your password then you won't be able to restore to the backup, you will have to start from scratch with your iPad.
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Feb 15, 2015 7:56 AM in response to King_Penguinby IndLind,I don't even know what an Exchange email account is. It's just me and my devices. If I start from scratch, can I still sync to the apps and such that are saved in iTunes? If all I have to set from scratch is my email login details, that's not a problem. I didn't have any music or photos or videos saved. Just a bunch of apps and podcasts. What exactly am I losing by not being able to restore the saved backup?
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Feb 15, 2015 7:59 AM in response to IndLindby IndLind,I'm also a little miffed that the instructions I followed in an Apple Support page did not give any warning about needing a password to restore an encrypted backup, not anywhere in the detailed steps provided. It would have been good to know that before reverting to the factory default settings.
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Feb 15, 2015 8:08 AM in response to IndLindby King_Penguin,Did you have a work email account set up in the Mail app on the iPad ? If you did then it's possible that it was an Exchange email account - a lot companies use Microsoft Exchange for their email systems, and the administrator of such accounts can (for security reason) force things such as encrypting backups and having a passcode to unlock a device.
You can sync your apps back from your computer's iTunes, and the podcasts if you have them on it. What you will potentially be losing are any documents or files that you had in the apps (unless the apps use a cloud server to store your content), and, if you had games, possibly their progress (though if they are linked to game centre you might be ok).
For the warning, presumably Apple thought that there is no need to give a warning about a backup being encrypted, the only way that I know that a backup can become encrypted is if you had chosen yourself to make it encrypted (encryption can't be turned off without knowing the password), or if you had an Exchange (i.e. a work) email account and the account administrator is forcing encryption for security reasons.
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Feb 15, 2015 8:33 AM in response to King_Penguinby IndLind,Thanks, that's very helpful. I did at one time sync a work email account to the iPad, but I removed it quite a while ago, completely deleting that emal account. So perhaps the person who manages our Google Office account knows the password. But it doesn't sound to me like I'll need it as I didn't have any of the types of things you mentioned.
I do still think that the step-by-step instructions in Apple's support section should at least MENTION the possibility of needing a password to restore the backups. It IS a step, after all.
Thanks for your help!