Request for Resolution of iPhone 11 Passcode Lock Issue Without Data Loss

Sounds as if you already know the answer, which is to reset the phone and lose your data without a recent backup. The passcode lock is a feature to help cut down on theft of devices and no way around it unless your recently (72 hours) changed your passcode.

The following is cut and pasted from Apple online support:

If you recently changed passcodes, use your old passcode to temporarily sign in

When you change your passcode in iOS 17 and later, Passcode Reset gives you 72 hours when your old iPhone passcode can be used to sign in to your phone. When you sign in to your iPhone this way, you must immediately change your passcode again.

To use Passcode Reset:

1. From your device's Lock Screen, try to enter your passcode until the "[Device] Unavailable" screen appears and your device asks you to try again later.
2. When you're able to, tap the Forgot Passcode? option in the bottom corner of the screen.
3. Tap Try Passcode Reset.
4. Enter your old passcode then follow the onscreen instructions to set a new passcode.

This forum is made up of users, like yourself. No one from Apple is here to read your post or to help you.

And one more thing, start backing up your phone regularly.

You are not speaking to Apple here, but to other users, like yourself.

If you have entered an incorrect passcode too many times, your phone may have gone into a security lockout from which the only way forward is to reset the phone. That reset will wipe out all of the data on the phone, and you will lose any data that does not exist elsewhere.

It may be the case that "losing this data would be extremely difficult for [you]" – but if you "do not have a backup" and you do not have copies of the data elsewhere, losing the data may be exactly what is going to happen.

If you have been synchronizing any data to iCloud, that data might be in iCloud, and might survive the reset of the phone. For instance, if you were using iCloud Photos, your phone would have been uploading copies of its photos and videos to an area in iCloud that is separate from iCloud backup. Resynchronizing the phone to iCloud Photos would cause it to start downloading copies of what is there.

This would not save all of your data – just categories of data that you could synchronize, and were synchronizing.

You can see what is in iCloud (if anything) before resetting your phone, by logging in to https://www.icloud.com/ .

Zorksortronz wrote:

And one more thing, start backing up your phone regularly.

How to back up your iPhone or iPad with iCloud - Apple Support

I recommend the automatic backup feature.

Once you have this turned on, if you are in the habit of leaving your phone charging overnight, with a Wi-Fi Internet connection, and with the screen locked, the phone will make periodic backups on its own – without you needing to lift a finger. You can still do extra manual backups, if you like – but if you have automatic backup turned on, you're MUCH less likely to find yourself in the situation of losing all of your data.

I can't remember the last time that I backed up my phone manually. I do that occasionally, but mostly, I just let the automatic backup feature do its thing.

I would also recommend using iCloud Photos, rather than including photos and videos in iCloud backups, or failing to back up your photos and videos at all. There's no good way to see what's inside a backup or selectively pull out individual items (like photos) – whereas with iCloud Photos, even if all of your Apple devices have been run over by a steamroller, you can still check on your photos from a Web browser.

sharaf49 wrote:

I believe that, as a leader in the tech industry, Apple should prioritize helping its customers retain their valuable data.

Apple does prioritize this by making it very easy to back up your phone. Going forward, please take advantage of this.

How to back up your iPhone or iPad with iCloud - Apple Support

Bob Timmons wrote:

Apple should prioritize helping its customers retain their valuable data

They have. It's called automatic daily backups. Set it up once and you are done.

It saved me at least once. For no reason I ever discovered, my iPhone 11 Pro once reset itself to factory state while it was in my hand. Weird. Such a thing has never happened before or since. But I had an iCloud backup that was less than 24 hours old and I was up and running again in under 30 minutes. Minimal to no data loss.

Apple should prioritize helping its customers retain their valuable data

They have. It's called automatic daily backups. Set it up once and you are done.