iTunes asking for backup password???

Just adding to the heap..........

In iTunes v11.x, iPhone 5S iOS 8x, wife selected backup to this computer and clicked Encrypt checkbox...... *and was not prompted to enter a password*, we were stuck, just wanted to uncheck the checkbox.

After finding this thread used her iTunes password with only lowercase letters and it went through 😕 - said she has never used that combination before

I visited the Apple Genius bar with a problem with my iphone 5C camera. They couldn't fix so replaced the phone. I backed up the iphone onto my Mac at the Genius bar before they swapped the phones. We did not select encryption when doing the back up, but when I tried to restore, I was asked for a password. The Genius guys suggested I try my Apple ID and passwords associated with the phone, but none of these worked. They apologised, but said there was nothing they could do.

After trying lots of different passwords over the last 2 weeks, I started trying options suggested on this thread. My previous Apple ID (from about 6 months ago) worked. Hope this works for others too as I know how frustrating this problem is.

Good luck

I tried many many passwords i previously used. And I am amazed "1234" worked!

I was having this same problem - plus being on the road in europe and trying to unlock my iphone (hence the restore in the first place)

thanks for all the info from the posts - what JUST worked for me pretty quickly, neither my apple i.d. or the code I used to lock my phone or encrypt my phone, but the password to open my MacBook when it starts up.

Thank you for your help!! I had exactly the same problem this morning!! I entered some old passwords like you said from Windows and believe it or not it worked!!!!!!

THANK YOUU!!!

🙂

the password they want is the administrator password for the computer - the one you use to make any changes, not the iTunes (apple) password or the 4 digit iPhone log in password

I just ran into this issue, and all of these crazy forum threads. I just want to turn off that encrypt local backup checkbox -- I don't care about the prior backup. Almost 4 years later and there is no fix to this? I am imagining Apple picks one major bug at random and refuses to not fix it just to maintain an edgy image, and their team building events they get popcorn and read these forum posts. I hope I entertain you, Apple.

This is not a bug. If you turned Encryption on, then you need the password to turn it off:

Encrypted Backups Troubleshooting

Cheers,

GB

jared275 wrote:

I just want to turn off that encrypt local backup checkbox ...

You can, but you need the password to do so (it would be pointless to have a password if it wasn't needed to access your backup).

jared275 wrote:

I don't care about the prior backup.

In that case, restore your iPhone and don't try to load the (encrypted) backup. Or without having to restore, change your process to backup to iCloud instead of your computer.

It may not be a programming bug, but it most definitely is a UX bug! http://prntscr.com/88uomg

Section: Backups (not device encryption)

Subsection: Automatically Back Up (not lock up your device forever)

Radio button option: This freaking computer (Not irreversibly do things to another device)

Sub option checkbox: Encrypt LOCAL backup (not encrypt iPad, not lock iPad with a password, etc.)

Fury level: high

That's 5 solid reasons of why it is a critical UX design bug. And you tell me to read a troubleshooting webpage, years after I have forgotten the password. (I assume I set a password. Some people claim they never turned it on.)

You cannot fix a UX design bug by writing up a troubleshooting webpage and saying "sorry guy, you should have remembered your password from 4 years ago, even though we never warned you about this 4 years ago.)

I just want to turn off that encrypt local backup checkbox ...

"You can, but you need the password to do so (it would be pointless to have a password if it wasn't needed to access your backup)."

You are right, and you also don't get it. I obviously do not want me or anyone to be able to access my encrypted local backup without a password. However, I wish to make a future backup that is not encrypted. Computer logic 101 dictates that I should be able to delete whatever encrypted local backup may exist and create a non-encrypted local backup. Apple logic 101? Still waiting for the handbook on that.

jared275 wrote:

I don't care about the prior backup.

"In that case, restore your iPhone and don't try to load the (encrypted) backup. Or without having to restore, change your process to backup to iCloud instead of your computer."

I don't want to restore my iPad. That scares me. It says that it only backed up the most important data to iCloud. It also takes time, and how am I supposed to know if it will allow me to backup unencrypted to my computer? .... Ok I read the rest of the troubleshooting guide and apparently I have to spend a bunch of time, and lose whatever data is deemed unimportant in order to turn this checkbox relating to local computer backups off. I am not impressed.

I think I will wait a little bit longer to see if Apple changes their ways before I accept Apple's suckerpunch and lose my unimportant data, or resort to the world of jailbreaking and password recovery hacking tools.

PS - Thanks for posting the guide, Gail. 🙂

(At least there is an (inconvenient, data loss) answer in there for me if I really want it, to restore from iCloud.)

There is so much stress in life sometimes -- I figured I would vent and flip out over a checkbox instead of something more important 😝

jared275 wrote:

Computer logic 101 dictates that I should be able to delete whatever encrypted local backup may exist and create a non-encrypted local backup.

That demonstrates that you don't get it ... if I had access to your stuff and wanted to unencrypt your backup, and all I had to do was delete the existing (encrypted) backup and make a new (unencrypted) one from what's on your iPhone,that would completely defeat the purpose of passwords and encryption. Think about what you're proposing and you'll see the flaw in your logic.

jared275 wrote:

I don't want to restore my iPad. That scares me. It says that it only backed up the most important data to iCloud. It also takes time, and how am I supposed to know if it will allow me to backup unencrypted to my computer? .... Ok I read the rest of the troubleshooting guide and apparently I have to spend a bunch of time, and lose whatever data is deemed unimportant in order to turn this checkbox relating to local computer backups off. I am not impressed.

Yes, restoring your device takes time and not loading a backup means losing information that was in your encrypted backup. Backing up to iCloud is a viable alternative to a local backup and does not require restoring, but the difference in what is backed up in iCloud vs. locally is minimal. Apple used to document what was different but that article has since changed, so perhaps the backup content is identical now.

Yes these are inconveniences, but since you set the password and don't remember it, and the encryption process is doing what its supposed to do, I fail to see how this is Apple's fault or responsibility to give you an out. Personally I'm glad that the system is solid and that there are no workarounds to get at my information.

"That demonstrates that you don't get it ... if I had access to your stuff and wanted to unencrypt your backup, and all I had to do was delete the existing (encrypted) backup and make a new (unencrypted) one from what's on your iPhone,that would completely defeat the purpose of passwords and encryption. Think about what you're proposing and you'll see the flaw in your logic."

In your example here, you have access to my iPhone. In the normal computer world, if you had access to my device, then you should be able to access all the data on it. It would be my responsibility to either encrypt the device to make it inaccessible, or else make sure it doesn't fall into your hands.

The Apple iTunes user interface makes no mention that it is making my device inaccessible when I encrypt a local backup stored on my computer, therefore Apple is clearly in the wrong, UX-wise.

In the normal computer world, if I make a backup of something, and encrypt that backup, that does not lock me out of whatever I encrypted. That would be bizarre. Yet here we are.

jared275 wrote:

In the normal computer world, if you had access to my device, then you should be able to access all the data on it.

If I had your device there's no way I'm getting any information out of it without your passcode or finger. Sure there are tools out there to hack into the device, but not available to the average dirtbag. Without your passcode or fingerprint, no one's getting in. However, your computer may or may not have the same level of access restriction, hence the option to encrypt the computer's copy of your backup.

jared275 wrote:

The Apple iTunes user interface makes no mention that it is making my device inaccessible when I encrypt a local backup stored on my computer, therefore Apple is clearly in the wrong, UX-wise.

In the normal computer world, if I make a backup of something, and encrypt that backup, that does not lock me out of whatever I encrypted. That would be bizarre. Yet here we are.

Apple doesn't need to mention anything because it is quite evident that applying encryption requires you to remember the password (hence the requirement to verify the password you chose when you set it).

You seem to be confused ... encrypting your backup does not make your device inaccessible or locked out for normal use. The only time you're "locked out" is if you erase your device for some reason, then try to install the encrypted backup without knowing the password. Other than that you have free use of your device with or without your backup's password.

Your computer analogy does not apply to this scenario at all ... name a situation "in the normal computer world" where if you password-protect some information that you still have the ability to access the same (protected) information without the password. In some computer situations there are password recovery options, but not in situations where you, the user, assign and administer the password yourself.