IOS 5 Update encrypted my backup, WTH is the password????

Used my **PREVIOUS** Mac OS X password and it worked. Back up of iPhone was made same day as update, with obviously current Mac OS X password. That did not work, but previous did.

I have tried every password and ATM pin I've ever had in my life and NOTHING! I've noticed that my last few backups are encrypted and the last one that I can use is from over a year ago when I got the iPhone 4. Its hard to just accept that I've lost all my pics, videos and notes!

Is anyone aware of Apple acknowledging the issue or any plans to correct it with an iTunes update perhaps?

Hi everyone

For those who are trying all passwords... try every password you might think....it was my numeric (1st field's) password of my web banking account!

Hi Guys,

I followed mariuswaldal post (pg. 3) and it worked and restored my Ipad2 with my widows laptop.

But...when you input the new password it does not work...and the second try with my windows login password it start restoring....VOILA!!!

Success guys...I hope Apple will come with a patch on this issue.

iTunes is weird with its passwords. For me, the solution was the password that I used to have for the administrator account on my computer way back when I first got my iPhone. Very weird as I don't know why that's the password for my iPhone. Anyways, I found this tip here. Hope it helps someone else too.

I manage ~30 iPads for business program. I set up the iPads originally almost 2 years ago. There was no encryption specified on initial setup.They do not get synced to any machines. We are bringing the devices back in now for an upgrade to iOS5 and some additional apps to be installed.

I've run into this issue with 3 of 9 iPads that I've tried to update so far. I've spent countless hours trying all the suggestions here and in other forums with no success. I've spent over 6 hours on the phone with Apple support with no progress and no admission that this is in any way their fault. Their contention to date is that WE specified a password for encryption at some point - either on the original configuration - or the user specified it during a sync/backup to iTunes without my knowledge. This is simply not the case. There has been no password set by me or any user as they do not sync/backup these devices. I have an open ticket with Enterprise level support and hope they will provide some insight very soon, but based on what I've been reading here and other places I'm not entirely optimistic.

A few things that I have discovered along the way:

1. When you plug your iPad into your computer, if it asks to install iOS5, cancel it. Then select the device at the left, look at the bottom of the summary tab. If the box is checked that says 'Encrypt iPad Backup' and you don't know the password - stop there. If you initiate a backup with this checked, you will never be able to restore unless you magically guess what password iTunes assigned. (Again, see above - Apple support is adamant that YOU specified a password for a backup somewhere along the way and assumes no responsibility for "lost" passwords and the fallout resulting in a blank iOS5 device that can't be restored.)

2. On a mac, unecrypted backups are stored in Library>Aplication Support>MobileSync>Backup

Encrypted backups end up in Library>iTunes>MobileBackups

I can't say WHY they go to a different place or how this might help you, but that's where they are.

3. If you do end up with a blank iOS5 device, you can at least recover apps by signing into iTunes, connecting your device, and checking the sync apps checkbox. This will at least reload the apps - but associated data, pictures, movies, mail settings, etc. will not be reovered.

If Apple support is any help or if I find a solution that works for me, I will add another post. This is a legitimate problem that is not user-created. I would be able to believe that a FEW users may have assigned a password on backup and then forgot they did, but thousands? No way. And as in my cases, these machines have never been backed up, so there was never even an opportunity to assign a backup password. I hope Apple takes this seriously and provides a fix, but it looks like this has been going on for a while unaddressed.

Same problem here, 😟 upgraded to firmware 5, prior to upgrade iTunes did complete backup, and then updated the iTunes to 10 and firmware.

When iPhone restarted I got the message in iTunes “unable to connect to update server…”; and my iPhone shows iTunes and USB cable picture.

Later when I connected Internet the operation resumed and reported it failed to restore backup.

When I do restore manually now it asking for password, what the **** is this, I never selected the encryption option in iTunes.

All I have is iPhone Screen Lock passcode and iTunes account Password, I tried both and also other passwords that I remember, no luck.

All my data gone….. unable to restore, Is this why I opt for iPhone…….????????????

I'm using iPhone 3gs bought in 2010, since then I upgraded few times but no issues, iTunes never ask any password, why this time????

Sooooooo frustrating and disappointment that Apple not even one response for this issue even though many people reported?

Marius, I owe you big time!!!! Thanks a ton! It worked like a charm for me! Thaankkk you! You got your seat 😝

ok so the same thing happened to me and after SEVERAL HOURS of trying to figure out what in the world the password could be i soon realised it was my login to my computer, like when you lock it, you have to put in a password to unlock it to get back onto your account, I never chose this password but for some odd reason it set it up as my Encryption password,,,Try it and see and try some old passwords that you may have used to log into youre account on your computer my password was the one aout two or three times ag beforei cahnged it. Good Luck! i know how much of a pain this is!!!

i've tried everything, the random passwords online, the apple ID password, nothing seems to work at all. my computer doesn;t have a user password so what in the world can my password be? i even tried Elcomsoft but that didn't work to. i really don't want to lose all my contacts and old messages can someone please help me?

Mate, check out my post on this issue. i've posted on other forums as well and everyone who hasn't been able to get it working using one of their random old passwords has managed to resolve this using my method. I've switched to Android now coz i'm a techie and android is clearly the way forward if you like to 'do your own thing' so i won't be posting on here aving moved on to bigger andbetter things (just to stir things up a bit heh heh) but give it a go. it works. then move on. apples control ob users *****!

Ok so where exactly is your post on this issue or is the solution for all of us to switch to Android? Because that's not really helping anybody with the issue at hand.

ah, now ur reply sounds a bit arsey. i'm not an android boy i just like what works and works well. clearly you haven't trailed through this post otherwise you'd have seen the posted solutions and tried them. i was just trying to help but seeing as you've posted such a crapy reply to me when i've clearly tried to help you then all i can say is good luck hahaha i'm working fine and to be honest couldn't give a stuff whether you get it resolved or not. honestly, you try to help some people! and you can reply what you like because no matter what you say i'm all good and you're still stuffed. i'll go help some people who deserve it and are grateful. heh heh :-)

I hope that I'm not speaking too soon but, after trying various other passwords, mine appears to be restoring from backup after trying the unlock password from the phone itself. I haven't been using the lock feature for a while, but it started restoring when I used that number.

It ended up being my PC login password, which I've never used in any form for my Apple products. Good luck!