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iPad Backup Encryption Password Nightmare

I am having a bad time with trying to ensure that my future iPad backups are not encrypted. I have never told iTunes to encrypt my backups. iTunes has done this automatically and without my knowledge. A significant number of people online (and on this site) have noted that they also feel that iTunes has done this without their knowledge.

I do NOT want to recover previous backups I only want to create new backups which are unencrypted so I can be sure that I will be able to restore my iPad without being asked for a password I did not enter, but apparently until I input the aforementioned password (whatever the **** iTunes has decided that should be) it won't let me uncheck the "encrypt" box on the device summary page to do this.

As part of the advice I received from the Apple tech I deleted all my historic backups (unencrypted and the last which was encrypted) and tried recreating a new one. This was also encrypted.

Due to the fact I am running iTunes on Windows I cannot access keychain and so recover the password.

Apparently the password is NOT:

My current PIN,

My current windows admin password (I thought this would be unlikely but it was the Apples phone tech's advice so I thought I would try it)

ANY 4 digit number or combination of such (had to run Elcomsoft iPhone password cracker to determine)

ANY word in the English language with minimal mutation (again courtesy of Elcomsoft)

So basically unless I want to run a comprehensive brute force attack on the backup to determine the password (Elcomsofts excellent iPhone password cracker calculates resolution within the next 153 years) then my only other option is to lose a lot of data and more of my precious hairline.

As mainly a PC user I want a proper solution to the issue and not some guff about wiping my iPad and its data. Hopefully someone from their software devs will admit that iTunes does this so they can tell me what the default password should be. Although I rather believe that my post will more likely find itself censored or deleted.

Sent from (Apple's pwns) My iPad.

iPad

Posted on May 14, 2011 4:32 PM

Best reply

Lawrence Finch

Level 10

202,358 points

Posted on May 15, 2011 1:07 PM

Tom_Cheltenham_UK wrote:

I am having a bad time with trying to ensure that my future iPad backups are not encrypted. I have never told iTunes to encrypt my backups. iTunes has done this automatically and without my knowledge. A significant number of people online (and on this site) have noted that they also feel that iTunes has done this without their knowledge.

What is a "significant number?" In almost 4 years my iPhone backup has never been encrypted against my will by iTunes. With 100 million phones a significant number would be over a million. The few messages posted about this are likely from people who chose to encrypt the backup at some time in the past and forgot they did so. You only have to do it once; you don't have to reaffiirm with each backup.

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80 replies

Jan 15, 2012 10:58 PM in response to FixTheBackupSystem

I REALLY hate Apple. I lost ALL of my data. The only good thing right now is I now have my password.

Jan 16, 2012 8:53 AM in response to Tom_Cheltenham_UK

AGREED!!! This is beyond ridiculous and Apple needs to fix it immediately! Everyone understands the whole purpose of an encryption password. Thank you!! We don't need to keep hearing about it. Unfortunately, there are a ton of people that never even set a password. And there are a ton of people like me that use the same few passwords over and over again. With that being said how in the sam h would I forget my password?!?! I mean seriously? There has got to be a way to fix this problem........

Jan 16, 2012 9:08 AM in response to sportvixen

Everyone who has an encrypted backup either set a password or had one set by their Exchange administrator when they created a corporate Exchange email account on their phones. Backups do not get encrypted by accident.

Jan 16, 2012 9:34 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Well, then someone needs to explain to me why i've tried the same cycle of passwords I always use and none of them work! If anything there should be a way for the user to have the forgotten password option. Yea yea defeats the whole point of encryption. I can guarantee you I did not "forget" my password! I literally use the same ones over and over again. Probably not smart I know but it stops me from "forgetting" my password!

Jan 16, 2012 9:57 AM in response to Tom_Cheltenham_UK

SportVixen, basically what I think has happened (as happened with mine) was this - not sure if it makes any difference if you use a PC with iTunes (like I do) but it seems from others comments that MAC users have it easier in retrieving their passwords afterwards.

A little while back there was a big kerfuffle at Apple about peoples iPhone backups containing a little too much personal info (enough for say an obsessed spouse/ partner to go ape with - texts, who the person has called, locational data yadda yadda). I think some "bright spark" coder at the company thought that they would set iTunes so by default it would encrypt backups - problem solved... However the person was obviously a Mac user as they completely failed to understand how it would effect PC users. Furthermore the (wrong) advice I was given by the telephone support folks was to try my windows password (which others have said has worked for them). Funnily enough I think that a 3rd party peice of software decrypting/ unhashing my own personal OS password and using it for my iTunes password may well be illegal? Basically there is no way that anyone at Apple is capable of admitting that there is a problem with anything they do (Iphone antennas anyone?) and the points system on this site seems to award peeps for covering Apple's rear rather than helping people so I would show greater disregard for those with the most points.

My advice... jailbreak the device. It is much better outside the walled garden and there is a large community of very helpful unbiased folk in that community that can help you with issues and you may even be able to retrieve your data at some point (no hopes up though).

Or you could follow Mr Finch's previous advice to me... something along the lines of go and buy an Android device wasn't it Lawrence?

Jan 16, 2012 11:35 AM in response to Tom_Cheltenham_UK

Thanks Tom!! Yea I don't care how many points you have so long as you're giving me a solution to my problem. Isn't the world just amazing now days?!?! Can't own up to mistakes!! My hopes aren't up anymore and it just ***** because we really need the text messages for a custody battle. These are the only proof we have in writing against the other parent. Now, without it we are probably going to lose and the kids' future are in real jeopardy. Apple doesn't understand the extent of the problems that this is causing!!!

Jan 22, 2012 11:26 AM in response to sportvixen

I've got the same issue. I have a specific list of passwords that I use plus a password manager plus I don't recall ever setting the encryption on my backups.....yet here I am.

This is BS on Apple's part. At the very least allow us a way to verify our identity to get the backup option deselcted so we can use iTunes backup going forward.

Zureen09

Level 1

0 points

Jan 23, 2012 6:38 PM in response to Tom_Cheltenham_UK

I have the same issue..I have never back-up using iTunes before..only Time Machine but I have not set any password.

I have problem with my iPad, just bougt it on 7th Jan. The battery was depleted when it was 50% the night before. When I charged it, little revolving circle appears and keeps on revolving. I've tried hard reset using Home + Power Off Button for 10 seconds. Apple logo appears and then that litle revolving circle again. I can switch off the iPad either. It keeps circling until the battery depleted again.

I want to restore, but my back-up was encrypted. I'm afraid I would be losing all my data. Connecting it to iTunes does not prompt any error.

Jan 25, 2012 2:40 PM in response to Tom_Cheltenham_UK

I had the same issue. My computer login password was the one it endup assigning to the backup. Try that.

Jan 25, 2012 2:56 PM in response to brazrugger83

Nope.

Jan 25, 2012 3:50 PM in response to brazrugger83

brazrugger83 wrote:

I had the same issue. My computer login password was the one it endup assigning to the backup. Try that.

"It" would have no way to assign your computer login password, because your login password is not stored anywhere on your computer. Instead a version of it that is one way encrypted (meaning that given the encrypted password you cannot find out the original password) is stored. So if the backup password is your login password you must have entered it. There is no other way it could have been assigned. You have just demonstrated that anyone with this problem actually entered the password, either without realizing it or forgetting they did so.

Jan 25, 2012 3:56 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Maybe he did for himself, but it proves nothing for the rest of us. Thanks Dick.

Jan 25, 2012 4:06 PM in response to dgdapilot

From reading this and other threads, quite a few people eventually identified the password, and for all of them it was a familiar password (I've seen iTunes password, company domain password, previous domain password, login password, several personal passwords, phone unlock passcode, etc). All of the ones mentioned are stored securely (one-way encrypted), so in all of those cases they had to have been entered. While this doesn't prove it for everyone, it is a significant indication.

Jan 25, 2012 4:32 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

I actually have to change my login password every 90 per my company's system so even if I had put in the password and forgot, it wouldn't have been the same login password i used today.

Although I do not understand why this was the case, i read it on another post and it helped me. I figured if people are in a dire situation and were willing to try then why not. It might help someone and at least is an attempt at a solution.

Jan 25, 2012 4:41 PM in response to brazrugger83

Yes, that is a complication. If you have to change your login password periodically you may have entered your password at the time you first backed up, so you need to try previous passwords. Thanks for bringing this up.

The key to solving this is to try passwords that you use today or have used in the past. It most likely is one of them.

iPad Backup Encryption Password Nightmare