HT204085: Frequently asked questions about iCloud Keychain

Learn about Frequently asked questions about iCloud Keychain
In G0D We Trust
Level 1 (5 points)

Q: How do I create a new backup of my phone with a NEW password since I don't know what my old one was?

Can you tell me what other password that the average human being encounters cannot be reset if forgotten? My bank, my healthcare, my credit cards... all the biggest and most important ones. Yet I can't create a new password even when I create a new backup of my iPhone. This makes absolutely no sense.

 

When I created the password, I assumed it was temporary and attached to that backup which I would never need again. Now I find out a year later that it is forever linked to my phone and I can never truly use the backup feature of my phone again.

 

Please help. Since this was brought up to me, I found I was in the same situation and I have spoken to others who are in the same situation and it has been less than 24 hours.

iPhone 6, iOS 9.1, Business phone w/o iCloud access

Posted on Oct 23, 2015 6:38 AM

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Q: How do I create a new backup of my phone with a NEW password since I don't know what my old one was?

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  • by AmishCake,

    AmishCake AmishCake Oct 23, 2015 10:04 AM in response to In G0D We Trust
    Level 6 (9,388 points)
    Oct 23, 2015 10:04 AM in response to In G0D We Trust

    Read: About encrypted backups in iTunes - Apple Support

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Oct 23, 2015 10:19 AM in response to In G0D We Trust
    Level 9 (59,062 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 23, 2015 10:19 AM in response to In G0D We Trust

    In G0D We Trust wrote:

     

    Can you tell me what other password that the average human being encounters cannot be reset if forgotten? My bank, my healthcare, my credit cards... all the biggest and most important ones. Yet I can't create a new password even when I create a new backup of my iPhone. This makes absolutely no sense.

    And the NSA and the FBI are not complaining about how hard it is to access your health or banking data.

     

    The TL;DR for AmishCake's link is that you will have to delete the back up from your computer and restore the phone as new.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Oct 23, 2015 10:44 AM in response to In G0D We Trust
    Level 8 (38,039 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 23, 2015 10:44 AM in response to In G0D We Trust

    The difference is your bank stores your ciphered password on their server. But the password for your backup isn't stored anywhere except in the backup itself. Apple doesn't know it by design, because if they did they would have to respond to a court order to decrypt it for police or other agencies. By making it impossible to bypass the password they protect your data from anyone who might might want to access it.  But that puts the responsibility on you to use it wisely.

  • by gdgmacguy,

    gdgmacguy gdgmacguy Oct 23, 2015 10:47 AM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 7 (20,666 points)
    Oct 23, 2015 10:47 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

    Personal responsibility?  How dare you suggest such a thing!

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Oct 23, 2015 11:57 AM in response to gdgmacguy
    Level 9 (59,062 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 23, 2015 11:57 AM in response to gdgmacguy

    gdgmacguy wrote:

     

    Personal responsibility?  How dare you suggest such a thing!

    deggie already took me to task for that once today.

  • by Demo,

    Demo Demo Oct 23, 2015 12:02 PM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 10 (95,619 points)
    iPad
    Oct 23, 2015 12:02 PM in response to Meg St._Clair

    Meg St._Clair wrote:

     

    gdgmacguy wrote:

     

    Personal responsibility?  How dare you suggest such a thing!

    deggie already took me to task for that once today.

    It's his birthday today, so be nice to him, or at least be forgiving of his chastising ways.

  • by In G0D We Trust,

    In G0D We Trust In G0D We Trust Oct 23, 2015 1:51 PM in response to AmishCake
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 23, 2015 1:51 PM in response to AmishCake

    Are there any password requirements as that may help me in figuring out what it was. Thanks.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Oct 23, 2015 2:29 PM in response to In G0D We Trust
    Level 8 (38,039 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 23, 2015 2:29 PM in response to In G0D We Trust

    There are several things that might help you figure it out:

    • First, to make guessing faster, uncheck "Encrypt Backup" and you will be prompted for it immediately.
    • You had to enter it (twice), so it is a password that you know, and if you are like most people, it is a password that you have used elsewhere.
    • As the prompt would have come from iTunes, try Apple-related passcodes because you would have been in an Apple environment and it would probably be the first thing you would think of.
    • Unless you take action to change it, it's the same password that you used the first time you ever backed up with Encrypt checked. So that could have been years ago.
    • If you have a MS Exchange company account and there is an Exchange or company security profile in Settings/General/Profiles it might be your domain password in effect the first time you backed up after installing the exchange account.
    • If you are desperate, Elcomsoft makes a password cracker for iPhone backups that is intended for use by law enforcement. It is priced accordingly. It is not guaranteed to work for really good, long passcodes. However, they have a trial version that will give you the first two characters of the passcode.