Q: Lost Password to iPhone Backup

This worked for me, thanks!

Here is how to recover you iPhone backup password on a Mac:

When you enter your password to encrypt your Iphone backup on your Mac it stores the backup password on your macs keychain.

Click on help on the main desktop to find where your keychain passwords are stored.

Look for the iPhone backup password.

To reveal it, it will ask you for the login password for your Mac.

Viola - there's your backup's password.

End of thread.

Of course, this only works if you chose to save it to your keychain. It asks when you create the backup password. If you did not choose to do this it won't be there. And if you did choose to do it the password will fill in automatically.

New 5s from my 4, I have never setup an encrypted password though it is asking me for one and I can't change it, look it up or anything. Now what I have spent two hours, tried every password I ever used on iTunes and so on. What a crock of crap. If I am going to have to key in my 200 plus numbers and contacts by hand I may as well do it with a new Galaxy instead, this 5s is going back. Apple, you have done it to me the last time!!!

If you have a corporate Exchange account set up on your phone, the administrators can forcibly require encrypted backups. Try the administrator password for your computer or your Exchange account password.

The setting for encrypted backups does not turn itself on. If you didn't turn it on yourself, the most likely explanation is the Exchange account policies. Don't blame Apple, blame your IT department for not bothering to communicate that to you.

I am a not a corporation I am a small business owner. I would remember the password I don't use any passwords I can't replicate, I have a system. I restored my phone a month ago and was not required a password. Something is not right.

This method worked for me. Thanks very much!

I had a similar problem and the solution came to me in the form of this Youtube video by a little kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhTRc3HoHQs

Apparently the problem was that iTunes is asking me for a password when I didn't set one in the first place. The solution is to type in your current Apple ID password but WITHOUT any capital letters. Wierd, but it worked...

If you have Gmail as your email provider on your phone, use your Gmail password :-)

I didn't read all the posts, but running through most of them I didn't come across this answer.

I had the same probelm many described: being asked for a password I never set when I tried to restore a backup (in my case, after getting hardware replaced under warranty).

What worked for me was using the 4-digit screen unlock code that was set on the phone when iTunes prompted for a password to restore the backup.

Good luck!

I had the same problem as most of everyone else in this post. I had never setup a password and suddenly iTunes was asking for a password to restore the backup to a new iPhone.

I tried all sort of possible passwords, the ones I use in the phone and iTunes, 1234, "password", etc, without any success.

When I tried with my Apple ID password, it allowed me to change the backup encryption password. I hope it works for you too.

I had the same problem that I never set a pasword for backup and when tried to backup it asked me for one. I tried manythings. Finally an old 4 digit password which is not in use worked !. Thats stupid and apple should solve this problem as you canot always remeber all passwords. !

This is what happened to me today as well. I took a backup of my phone and tried to restore it to a new handset. I was asked for a password but I hadn't used one in the first place.

I tried every password I could think that I'd ever used, with and without capitals and numbers etc but none worked. I then tried the 4 digit pin I had used at the very beginning when I got my last phone and although I hadn't used it in months as I had changed it this is what worked for me.

Hopefully this helps for anyone with the same problem !!

Ok, I have tried EVERYTHING! I read all the pages to this thread.... I spent hours trying to solve this.

The solution is simple.

1. Open your phone.

2. Keep it on the home screen.

3. Click on "Encrypt iPhone backup"

4. Try every possible password that you have EVER typed.

5. After a lot of time you are sure to hit the jackpot.

This is what happened to me. My password? An ancient one that I have not used for decades. How it got their? I have no clue. This is all I can say for others.

Thanks to bec14

Since my apple ID password contains uppercase letters I just entered my password in lowercase as advised by bec and I was just Amazed it worked after trying and guessing a lot of passwords. Now I finally transferred everything from my 4s on my new 5s.

Hopefully this works for you too.