How to Restore & Update iPhone SE (2020) with forgotten password
This is not a question, but some advice and collation of resources on how to restore and update an iPhone SE (2020) to iOS 18.2.1 using a MacBook (2019) running macOS Sonoma 14.7. I found this process unnecessarily complicated which was made worse by my rubbish wifi connection.
I purchased a second hand iPhone SE (2020), chose a password for it and then became busy so didn't finish the set up. Two weeks later, I went to set up the phone and discovered I had forgotten the password (always write your passwords down in a safe place!).
1. Before starting the restore and update
Ensure that you the available storage on your mac is at least double the amount of the software update.
For example, if the software update is 8GB make sure you have at least 16GB of available storage.
I didn't know this the first time and got the errors 'The iPhone “iPhone” could not be restored because the firmware file was corrupt' and 'your iPhone can't be updated you must restore it to factory settings' after the software update download had finished and I tried to upload it onto the phone.
2. Put phone in recovery mode
The Apple website has a comprehensive tutorial which is here: If you forgot your iPhone passcode or your iPhone is disabled - Apple Support
3. If recovery mode times out
After 15 minutes, recovery mode times out. This was very frustrating for me as my software update download was slow and didn't download in that time.
If recovery mode times out, your mac will still continue download the software update in the background, you can monitor it using.
Throughout the download of the software update, I kept the iPhone attached to my mac, reseting it into recovery mode each time it timed out. Although, I did have to unplug the iPhone a few times to get it to go into recovery mode again.
If the software update download is interrupted for any reason, you will have to start the process again.
4. Viewing the progress of the update
To view the progress of the update and ensure that the download is occurring, copy and paste this code in the Terminal which you can find by searching in the Launchpad:
while true
do
clear
ls -lhrt ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone\ Software\ Updates
sleep 20
done
Here is the link to the forum where I found this: iOS Software Download Progress in Finder - Apple Community
This code will cause the progress to reload every 20 seconds.
If the download is interrupted, 'total 0' will show in the Terminal window.
Alternatively, you can view progress in Activity Monitor which you can also find by searching for it in the Launchpad.
Look for AMPDevicesAgent under the 'Process name' column and watch the number in the 'Rcvd Bytes' column.
If the download is interrupted, you will no longer be able to see a row named AMPDevicesAgent.
Downloading the update took multiple hours for me so try and be patient.
5. Once software update download is finished
Once the download is finished the text shown in the Terminal Window should change from something like this:
-rw-r--r-- 1 username staff 7.6G 13 Jan 14:49 iPhone12,8_18.2.1_22C161_Restore.ipsw.download
to this:
-rw-r--r-- 1 username staff 7.6G 13 Jan 14:49 iPhone12,8_18.2.1_22C161_Restore.ipsw
If I remember correctly, you then have to click 'update' in your Finder window and that begins to upload the update to your iPhone.
Then, a white Apple logo with a black screen should appear with a progress bar underneath. In your Finder window, there should also be a progress bar and text should say something like 'Uploading software update to iPhone'.
6. After the iPhone has been updated
After the iPhone has been updated to the latest software, follow instructions on your screen. I had to unplug the iPhone from my mac and plug it back in. Then, I clicked 'Update and restore' and the restoring process began. Similarly, a white apple logo should appear on a balck screen with a progress bar underneath. In your Finder window, there should also be a progress bar and text should say something like 'Restoring iPhone'.
After the iPhone has been restored, a notification should pop up on your mac telling you that. Then, a third and final Apple logo and and progress bar appear before the iPhone displays the 'hello' screen.
Then just follow the steps on your iPhone screen to set up your restored iPhone!
I'm definitely no expert but I hope this helps somebody! Good Luck!
Other resources I found useful:
If you can't update or restore your iPhone or iPod touch – Apple Support (UK)
My phone is on recovery mode and my compu… - Apple Community
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
