Lost Password to iPhone Backup

RBNetEngr wrote:

But, in this case, it turned out to be the same password for the lock screen on my iPhone 6. So, by default, perhaps the iCloud backup selects the lock screen password of the device it is backing up, as the password for the backup file as well. So, I was able to restore my iPhone 6 backup to my new iPhone X.

You don't need to enter a backup password to restore an iCloud backup, as the iCloud ID and password already had to be entered. But you do need to enter the phone' unlock passcode to allow access to the phone's contents.

Gave up and called Apple Support which helped! Had to delete the backup that was “encrypted” and then unchecked the encrypted box and do another backup.

If you look at the post immediately above yours you will see a list of passcodes that other users have discovered.

saxplayer8 wrote:

I know I didn’t set a password this morning and it is asking for a password. There is a serious problem with this process!

I know you DID set a password, because it is the only way a passcode can be set. You apparently don't remember doing it, but you did. You entered it into the dialog that is posted at the top of this page.

Fortunately, if you have iOS 11 on the 6s, there is now a way to bypass it:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht205220

Scroll down to the section on "If you forgot..."

saxplayer8 wrote:

I know I didn’t set a password this morning and it is asking for a password. There is a serious problem with this process!

Passwords are not set by magic. There's nothing wrong with "the process." If you didn't do it, someone with access to your iPhone did it.

It is not simply a password. The text of this password is used to create an encryption key to protect the backup's data.

The owner of the data, who made the choice to create the password, is helped by a password/encryption key that cannot ever be recovered by anyone, other the the creator of said password/encryption key.

Was there a point in time when there were a lot iPhone backup hacks and this level of security became necessary?

Apple added the option to prevent unencrypted backups storing health data, HomeKit data and passwords. I would suggest the risk of annoying the "freedom fighter mindset" outweighs the risk of inadvertently allowing naive/inexperienced users to store private sensitive data in a non-encrypted manner.

You could also post the question to the many corporate employers out there who force the encryption requirement on their iOS device users via a management profile.

It is almost 2018 and this problem has still not been solved. I have no idea why Apple has not come up with a "forgot your password?" option or for their advisers to have the ability to reset the password. Just as most of you, I have never set up an encryption with a password at all. I have had two previous phones before my Iphone 8 and I never had this problem before. At this point, I have lost over 2000 photos and business content that was saved in this back up.

Regardless of the fact that Apple warns it's customers to not forget this password, there are two major factors to realize:

1: Looking at it as a 50/50 margin, half of us Apple customers will not forget their back up encryption password and half will. But for the 50% of people who can't remember a password, they are stuck in a situation where their files will realistically be unattainable. This is why having "forgot your password?" would help the 50% who can't remember.

2: There are half of the people on this forum stating that they have never set an encryption password, with myself being in this 50%. With this being said, if there is a password set, there are numerous password possibilities and combinations. This leads many users to find third party applications (such as iSeePassword) to basically hack their own password, which can be very dangerous and risky in regards to their own personal files and information.

At the ends of the day, I can speak for most people and say there has to be a solution. This thread started in 2011 and people are still facing this problem.

Just as most of you, I have never set up an encryption with a password at all.

You clearly have not not absorbed a great deal of this conversation.

Many, many, many users have come back to this thread with a mea culpa.

They, after some effort on their part, and the good guidance of Mr. Finch, came to realize that not only did they set a password, they recalled what is was and resolved their issue with no further histrionics.

As has been written ad nauseum, it's impossible for an encryption password to have been set without your involvement. Without your awareness is different.

I suggest reading the thread you have posted to; it would be quite enlightening. There is no "default backup password" - if the password was 987654321 that's because whoever made the first encrypted backup entered that password - twice. I've also catalogued many of the passwords that people have discovered was the one they entered, and none of them are 987654321.

Panoszokxviii wrote:

Hey there,

Usually the password that apple requires for the backup is the security passcode that you have set on your lock screen

That is absolutely not true. Apple doesn't "require" anything. The passcode for the backup is whatever the user who first made the backup chose. See my post in the middle of this page for a lot of examples.

No, it is not the same as the unlock passcode unless that is the passcode that you entered, twice, the first time you made an encrypted backup.

About encrypted backups in iTunes - Apple Support

ApparentlyApple has no plans to fix this// Typical....

Erase your backup in iTunes then erase your settings in the device and do a new backup without encryptation

There are 72 pages of helpful comments in this thread. I suggest reading just a few of them.