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Lost Password to iPhone Backup

Actually, I don't recall ever setting one. Now however, I have a new phone and cannot restore it from the backup, as there it prompts me for a password I don't have! I tried all the ones I've used for my iPhone and pretty much every other one of which I can think, all to no avail. I need the data in the back up. But I can't get to it. I've already tried the keychain route to no avail. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have a MacBook Pro running Mac OSX 10.6.7 and iTunes 10.2.2. The iPhone is an iPhone 4.

iPhone 4

Posted on May 31, 2011 9:28 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 3, 2018 4:29 PM

Lawrence Finch wrote:


m-zreik wrote:


I lost backup password. But I dont remember that i put any password . is their any solution to get back my backup??

Start guessing. You entered it, twice, possibly years ago. It never changes. You get unlimited guesses. to speed up the process uncheck "Encrypt Backup" and you will be prompted immediately. If you are like most people you reused a password, probably related to your iPhone or your Apple ID. If you have a company MS Exchange account on your phone it might have been a company email or domain password, and on rare occasion, it was actually entered by your system administrator.


To jog your memory, I have created a list of passwords that users in this thread have discovered when they guessed the right one:


  • First iTunes account password (40 different users)
  • Old iTunes account password, but not the oldest one
  • Password used for almost all accounts (3 different users)
  • All digit Password created a long time ago
  • Computer/laptop login password (4 users)
  • Laptop password (2 users)
  • Computer password (4 users)
  • Email password (3 users)
  • iTunes with no capital letters
  • Password not used anywhere else
  • All numeric used in the past
  • Password for old gaming site
  • PC password (5 users)
  • “iphonelogin”
  • work computer password
  • Current app store password (2 users)
  • Paypal account password
  • iPad unlock passcode
  • Strongest variation of the base password I have ever used
  • Old password
  • Old work password
  • Macbook password (2 users)
  • Restriction passcode
  • Gmail password (2 users)
  • Current Apple ID password (2 users)
  • Apple MobileMe password
  • Apple ID password, but all lower case (8 users)
  • Apple ID password, first one ever used, but all lower case (2 users)
  • iPhone passcode when corporate profile was installed
  • Passcode for a website
  • iPhone screen unlock passcode (9 users)
  • iPhone unlock passcode at the time the first backup was made (3 users)
  • First password for work computer
  • Old password used over 2 years ago (2 users)
  • Previous owner’s iTunes password
  • Current laptop password
  • Wireless network password
  • Electric bill and Skype password
  • icloud password, all lower case
  • Windows login for very old laptop
  • iMac password (3 users)
  • First iPhone 4 digit passcode
  • iTunes password from last year
  • 4 year old password
  • iTunes password (current) (3 users)
  • Old PC password
  • Password for “Good” application
  • Password used for everything+1234
  • 1234 (4 users)
  • 12345 (2 users)
  • 0000
  • Password I use for everything else (2 users)
  • One of my husband’s passwords
  • Some old non-Apple product password
  • Screen passcode of the first iPhone that was backed up (2 users)
  • Old password with different case on first letter
  • “password” (2 users)
  • Windows Administrator password (2 users)
  • Original Windows Administrator password
  • Mackbook administrator password
  • “iphone”+4 digit unlock code
  • Voicemail password
  • asd
  • “herpderp”
  • “darwin” (first name from credit card account)
  • First name, all lower case
  • Ms Exchange account password
  • Facebook password
  • Browser password
  • Network admin password

Nice list, Lawrence! My god, I can't believe this issue is continuing. ITunes needs to warn people about the implications of entering a password for a backup. If it said "This password will be used automatically without prompting for all future backups. Please record it in a safeplace" then people wouldn't continue making the same mistake they've been making since this thread started 7 years ago.


Yes, I've suggested it at Product Feedback - Apple. If all the people here reporting problems did too then it would be fixed.

1,060 replies

Feb 27, 2013 2:13 PM in response to mohammadjee

Please, stop saying, "don't blame Apple for forgetfullness" because that does not help the situation. You might as well just close out your browser and go on with your life.


Apple makes mistakes sometimes, as do it's users. Apple is not the pinnacle of perfection, and neither are it's users. It's okay to question Apple. Smart consumers question their product's makers.


Any good user interface will allow for some 'proper' administration of a password. Only a poorly thought out interface would leave you high and dry in the event of forgetting a password.


It is apparent that Apple did not properly test this for real world usage. How do we know that? We can see that real world usage has indicated the password creation process for the backup is obviously something that gets thrown by the wayside for many users, a no brainer really. Apple should have taken that into account, and had a plan B that didn't involve people losing their data and their customers with it.


Blame Apple for using it's customers as guiniea pigs. It's okay.


Gold star for whoever happens to remember their password along with all the hundreds of others. Congratulations.

Feb 28, 2013 10:05 AM in response to mohammadjee

Right, Apple is in Sabatoge Cent Com watching and laughing as people are ditching their iPhones for Samsung devices.


People pay a lot of money for their Apple products. The 8 pages of this thread clearly indicates a flaw in their user interface - root cause being lack of full password administration. Again, a user interface should take into account repetative user error (forgetfullness), and deal with it appropriatly vs just saying your screwed.


Pointing to Apple to resolve this poor design is best because then they'll make it better, and they'll lose less customers, and the customers don't have to lose their data. Get it yet?

Feb 28, 2013 3:59 PM in response to eagleVshark

eagleVshark wrote:


Lawrence - what percentage of user interfaces in your life offer a password reset for forgetfullness? I'd say upwards of 95% for me.


Re: Windows pw - I'd say using Windows would be your first problem.

You will find the same thing true of Mac OS X, Linux, even a mainframe. Web sites let you reset passwords, but most computers and critical programs do not. They DO let you erase your content and create a new password, just like the iPhone backup does.

Feb 28, 2013 4:00 PM in response to mohammadjee

Smart people choose to use complex passwords that are not easily guessed because that's what smart security experts recommend. Once you tally up a few hundred of them, they can't be remembered so easily. That's why there are methods to prove who you say you are, and reset passwords. It's very common.


Mohammadjee - you said yourself earlier in the thread that your's had "slipped through your fingers" so are you included in this "stupid" bunch? Too bad all people weren't as perfect as you, they wouldn't even need computers or other devices.


If a computer/device works against human nature, then it's pointless. They are here to help, and work with, us.


Again, congrats to all of you who are so great at remembering your passwords.

Feb 28, 2013 7:38 PM in response to eagleVshark

Yes, it's a backup. A backup of potentially sensitive data. And it can be forced to be encrypted by a IT department if you have an Exchange account. If there were any way to decrypt it most Fortune 500 companies would not permit the use of iPhones with corporate data on them.


And the worst that can happen if you have to trash the backup is you have to reinstall software on your phone, and lose some game scores.

Mar 1, 2013 8:51 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence - Nobody is going to be storing important information on their top secret bat-iPhone if they're not going to reliably get it from their old device onto their new one. Sh*t happens. IT folks who create passwords, leave companies and/or die with the password in their cold dead brains.


Mohammadjee - It does take "samrts" to remember your password, but it takes a samrts-a*s to remind somebody about it AFTER THE FACT!

Lost Password to iPhone Backup

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