My Mom passed away unexpectedly and we don't know her passcode on her iPhone. We need to get any photos, etc. off of it before we cancel her phone plan and turn the phone in. How can I gain access? We also don't know the passcode to her laptop, so can't access her email to reset it that way. My brother and I are her only children and are Co-Executors and beneficiaries of her estate. Please help. Thank you.
iPhone XS Max
You should be aware that while Apple will, in the correct circumstances, get you access to your mother's account so that you can perhaps access photos and other data from her iCloud account, as JiariWang has helpfully suggested, Apple cannot get past the passcode without erasing the phone, because it is stored only on the phone itself.
In this it differs from an online password or an Apple ID, which since it must be stored on the server can be accessed by Apple (once the correct legal formalities are in place). As the passcode is stored only on the phone, so that access is encrypted using it as a key, there is no way at all of retrieving or bypassing it.
If you factory reset, it would get rid of the photos, right? ........ If you know her iCloud account, you technically could sign in on another device then sign out after you finish.
or try this link https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208510
Yes, we do not want to reset her phone or we will lose everything on it. I don’t know if she used the cloud (I do not), nor do we know any of her passwords for anything. She died immediately and unexpectedly so nothing is written anywhere. Thank you.
Reset passcode for deceased Mom's iPhone
