Lost Password to iPhone Backup

"If it didn't there would be no point in having backup encryption, because anyone (the FBI for example) could just back up the phone to a new computer and bypass the backup encryption."

While you seem to be right in how it works, I disagree that this makes any sense whatsoever. The purpose of backup encryption SHOULD be to protect the backup, NOT to protect the phone. If one wants one's phone protected, that ought to be a whole different consideration. I mean, whether or not I happen to want my backups protected, should not mean it is permitted to backup my phone without appropriate passwords etc. Maybe I keep my backup drive in Fort Knox and don't need backup encryption, but that doesn't mean if I lose my phone on the train the FBI should be able to break in. These ought to be 2 very different concepts.

I came to this forum coz I had the same issue. After numerous tries, I decided to restart my laptop, reset my new iPhone again and select Sync via iTunes. This time it doesn't ask me for any password (which I didn't set in the first place). It works. Hope it helps.

It's your Apple ID password only if that is what you entered the first time you made an encrypted backup. If you read the thread you posted to you will see hundreds of different passwords that worked. Because all of them were passwords that were entered when the first encrypted backup was made.

Hi, here is what I did and it worked. Same problem with pass on restoring...

Before I started reinstalling ios on my iphone 7, i backed up my phone on iCloud and computer. Hope you did it to!

My phone was connected to computer and on the phone was that "welcome" screen in different languages. I disconnected him from computer and started setting him up. After few steps, he asked me from where I want to restore.

I checked that I want restore from iCloud. He did that, restarted him self and automaticly started to download and install all the apps I had!!

Hope you also backed him up on iCloud!

No password at any point 🙂

clinejm wrote:

I know I did not set a password as most people are saying so far. 1234 didn't work, or 0000, or phone passcodes. What finally worked was the iTunes account password in use at the time of the backup.

Then that's the passcode that you set. It's logical; you were prompted for a password by iTunes, you probably didn't read the dialog (who does?) and you entered the iTunes password. The backup process could not have chosen that password, because it isn't stored anywhere on your computer; it is only on Apple's servers, and there it is enciphered with an irreversible encoding, so even if Apple wanted to somehow make trouble by choosing that password there is no technical way for them to do that.

So yea that just happened. I just kept trying all of my passwords, the one that worked I had already tried at least 3 times. Fracking stupid, but thank god its restoring. What a waste of an hour from my life..

novembertango wrote:

This literally made my day - why does Apple not mention this in their own support page.

Because it is wrong. It will only be your unlock code if that's what you entered when you first enabled Encrypt Backup. You must have done it, because the unlock code exists in one place only - on the phone itself. iTunes doesn't know it, and has no way to get it.

If there was a function to reset it then it would not be secure, and there would be no point in having encrypted backups. And actually, there IS a function to reset it. Restore the phone as New. You can then create an unencrypted backup, or one with a different encryption key (which is what the password is). You would still lose all of the data in that backup. The other strategy is to switch to iCloud backups, which are encrypted, but do not require you to enter an encryption key.

Obviously it would create a second security risk. But that's not the point.

I'm glad someone on this thread posted a work around. I almost went to the iCloud restore method until my last try worked.

I read through so many of these answers, and tried everything (from 0000, 1234, through to keychain passwords etc) and it was basically my MacBook password.

I suggest going through EVERY password you use, from your laptop, through to numerical phone entry passcodes, I was about to give up and then it finally worked!

Holy Crap...my network PW worked...crazy! So, it seems if you have a network set up with a unique PW, iTunes will use it if you do not specify one when initiating a BU...***! Thank you Apple for creating yet more user anxiety...geez

iTunes will use it if you do not specify one when initiating a BU...

People have to stop believing this.

iTunes will sit at the password prompt and wait, forever perhaps, for input from the user.

iTunes will not go looking for an entry to use.

So the short is when you r first research transferring Apple suggests running an encrypted backup. If you do not remember it you screwed... I fortunately after 50 tries tried a password that worked and I reset to something uber simple I would never forget. Short story write that **** down and then these are avoided. Absolutely ridiculous that this is had to happen. I love Apple products, but iTunes as a product ***** ***. Like how all of burned CDs disappear from my albums... only music purchased on iTunes loads. Total garbage software despite their amazing products.

Well, you are mixing apples and oranges here. You admittedly put an encryption password on your iTunes backup. You then forgot it. It took some of your time and energy to figure it out so you could use your backup. You finally did. So, why is it "absolutely ridiculous that this is (sic) had to happen"? What would the point of an encryption password be if somehow it could be recovered? That means that if you could recover it, so could someone you don't want getting into your backups could recover it. If you are going to take the precaution to encrypt your data, then you should have the wherewithal to keep that password safe somewhere so you would be able to find it if needed. Someplace only you would know....

What that has to do with an issue you seem to be having with your burned CDs "disappearing" from your "albums"? Not sure what you are referring to. Are you using Apple Music? iTunes Match? What albums did CDs that you burned disappear from, exactly?

If you want help, then please explain exactly what your issue is with your burned CD tracks, and we will try to help.

GB

The short is that you didn't bother to read the warning that if you forgot the password the backup would not be retrievable. Which is a good thing. It means that the FBI couldn't retrieve it either. Once you add a back door to any encryption scheme it eliminates the purpose of encryption; there would be no point in encryption at all.

If the burned CDs disappeared from your albums you screwed up. Not Apple. I current have about 600 burned CDs in my iTunes library, some of them have been there for over 15 years.