wsucoug95
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iTunes asking for backup password???

I am upgrading my iphone 4 to iOS 5. I backed up my phone (via iTunes 10.5) and downloaded and installed iOS 5. I am now going through the setup process and it is at the "Restore from iTunes Backup" step. I connect to iTunes and iTunes is prompting me for a password to "unlock your iPhone backup file." No I did not encrypt the iPhone backup, nor is it or was it checked in iTunes. I have tried my iTunes password, my 4 digit unlock code for the iPhone, and several other passwords. When I did the backup an hour ago I was not asked for a password. I am at a loss as to what it is.

iPhone 4

Posted on Oct 12, 2011 1:11 PM

by wsucoug95,Solvedanswer
wsucoug95 wsucoug95
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

Well I finally got through with the correct password. For some reason it was the original iTunes password I had setup when I first got the iPhone 4 and iTunes 17 months ago. I had changed that password soon after creating it and have since changed it several times. Somehow it popped into my head and after trying hundreds (no I'm not kidding) of passwords, success!

 

It is important to point out:

 

  1. When I have performed previous upgrades to the iOS I have never been prompted for a password when restoring the data.
  2. I have never checked the box in iTunes to encrypt the iPhone backup.
  3. I still have no idea what made iTunes go back to an ancient password.

 

Good luck to all if you have to go through this because this has not been a fun few days.

 

Let me add a suggestion that I have come up with for storing passwords where you can access them from anywhere. Setup a Yahoo or Hotmail account with all fake information (Name, address, b-day, etc.) with a “handle/name/email address” that has nothing to do with you but you can recall. In other words, you are setting up an anonymous email account. In this email account, create an email to the same account and put your passwords in it but do not include the accounts/websites they are for. You could include hints (that only you could recognize/decipher) that would tell you which accounts/websites went with which passwords.

 

This will just be a list of passwords so at least you have a master list somewhere and not stored on your computer(s)/drive(s). Just an idea I wanted to share.

Posted on Oct 14, 2011 12:21 PM

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Q: iTunes asking for backup password???

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  • by helenvictory,

    helenvictory helenvictory Nov 22, 2013 5:03 AM in response to wsucoug95
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 22, 2013 5:03 AM in response to wsucoug95

    It was a real nightmare! I made a backup, updated my iPad mini to iOs7 and wanted to restore my backup. Cause all my photos and books were there, in iTunes, but all my Notes (which were not synced with iTunes or iCould) were gone. And I have very important information there.

    And surprise! Same thing - iTunes requires a password which i have NEVER set up. The proof that i have never set any password for my backups that in this same iTunes I had another backup from my iPhone and no password there. If I could set that password - I would probably remember it, as I was making this backup right before the updating!

    I spent about 20 hours trying all possible and impossible passwords, I read every single post here and tried EVERY advice (thank you everyone!). I tried to restart my Mac and iTunes, started the process over and over, i tried every password from keychain, i downloaded 4 programs, but non of them worked for me as I have only Macbook Pro and no Windows. I turned on my old Macbook (which I was using when I started to use iTunes) and tried every password from its keychain. No result. At 3 AM i was so exhausted.. I decided to visit the service office in the morning.

    In the morning I decided to restart Macbook and iPad again. I tried at least 10 different standard password which I tried about hundred times yesterday - and wow! One of them worked!

    It was a password from one of my Skype accounts which I also used for a social media (not FB) about a year ago! And I am 100% sure that I tried this one for a hundred times yesterday!

    Thanks God I have my information now. Now I know that my decision to NEVER update my iPhone was right even if I can't use FB or other apps there because they require newer iOs. But this is really NOT ok.

    For the first time in my life I was hating Apple. I use Apple products for 6 years. But now, I dont know what to say! It's a HUGE bug, and I'm not sure I could forgive Apple if I would loose my information because of their updating which they forced me to make (new apps didnt work and I needed them). Seems like they are not gonna fix this. People started posting about this problem in 2011(!) and it's 2013(!) now. TWO YEARS! Come on guys! You created such things as iCloud and you aren't even able to make something like "forgot my password" if you create such option as password?? Or maybe you can fix this bug so your program will stop requiring a password which we didn't set up?

    My advice is to keep trying day after day, restarting computer and ipad/iphone and starting the process over and over. And to try passwords which you already tried.

    Good luck everyone!

  • by Eduardo Gutierrez De O.,

    Eduardo Gutierrez De O. Eduardo Gutierrez De O. Nov 22, 2013 12:00 PM in response to helenvictory
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Nov 22, 2013 12:00 PM in response to helenvictory

    And I am 100% sure that I tried this one for a hundred times yesterday!

     

    Hi. Sorry to be blunt but you didn't. Not only did you set that password all that time ago but you, 100% sure, didn't input it correctly any of the times you tried yesterday (which I'm willing to bet weren't a hundred times, but it's not important any way).

     

    Everyone in this thread must understand this:

     

    • You or someone in your computer set the password you insist you didn't.

     

    • You didn't type it correctly any time you think you did, when you tried before and it didn't work.

     

    Apple not only doesn't know your "other" passwords to be able to use it here, but it doesn't even know your Apple passwords. Encryption doesn't work like that and even if it did, encrypting local backups has no realtionship to what apple does remotely.

     

    As I said, I'm sorry, but this thread was already sad before people started insinuating upgrading is a bad idea due to security. This is ridiculous.

  • by lanfromlacey,

    lanfromlacey lanfromlacey Nov 22, 2013 8:38 PM in response to Eduardo Gutierrez De O.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 22, 2013 8:38 PM in response to Eduardo Gutierrez De O.

    Eduardo,

     

    You are wrong, I backed up my iphone and my husband's before we switched from AT&T to Verizon. I did not select encrypted backup. When we got our new phones home and I went to restore them my phone was fine, but my husbands back up kept asking for a password.

  • by joelPT,

    joelPT joelPT Nov 23, 2013 5:30 AM in response to lanfromlacey
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 23, 2013 5:30 AM in response to lanfromlacey

    Use your computer's password.

     

    iTunes asked you the computer's password once and you typed in (required to toggle on the Encrypt backup password). So, you typed it.

     

    I also thought the same, I never typed any password, but after trying a few times I realized it was an old "login" password on my computer that I didn't use for a long time but it was the one I used to enable the backup password.

     

    It's weird and not very pratical but that's what it is.

  • by OOyshee,

    OOyshee OOyshee Dec 6, 2013 2:00 AM in response to wsucoug95
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 6, 2013 2:00 AM in response to wsucoug95

    Seems to be a major apple bug. What worked for me was the old passcode of my iphone. Apple needs to address this issue ASAP.

  • by mmvandewalle,

    mmvandewalle mmvandewalle Dec 17, 2013 7:09 PM in response to wsucoug95
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 17, 2013 7:09 PM in response to wsucoug95
    1. Disconect your USB cable from the computer to your Iphone 
    2. Sign out of your I Tunes account in your computer 
    3. Connect your USB again back to your computer 
    4. Sign in again with your I tunes password

     

    That did it for me.

  • by midnightingredients,

    midnightingredients midnightingredients Dec 18, 2013 7:58 AM in response to wsucoug95
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 18, 2013 7:58 AM in response to wsucoug95

    Unbelievable! The password to restore my ipad backup ended up being my itunes password without the numbers. I have NEVER used this password before, so it is incredible that this worked. Am shocked and amazed and how it could have defaulted to this. Crazy Apple

  • by foxtongue,

    foxtongue foxtongue Dec 20, 2013 2:20 AM in response to wsucoug95
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2013 2:20 AM in response to wsucoug95

    Same issue. It wants a password I never set!  I have tried every password possible, as well as a few suggested here. What is the solution?

  • by tpdecker,

    tpdecker tpdecker Dec 21, 2013 4:26 AM in response to wsucoug95
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2013 4:26 AM in response to wsucoug95

    My iTunes password without the numbers also worked for me. Although, it could be that this password was a password I may have originally used.

  • by bannabear8,

    bannabear8 bannabear8 Jan 3, 2014 6:52 PM in response to wsucoug95
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 3, 2014 6:52 PM in response to wsucoug95

    Same for me, I just kept trying tons of variations of my current password, like skipping numbers and eventually one worked that I hadn't used in awhile so I guess it's just a really old one?

  • by gaiarossi,

    gaiarossi gaiarossi Feb 2, 2014 7:25 AM in response to wsucoug95
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2014 7:25 AM in response to wsucoug95

    Hi everybody!

    same probem to me. how can I do? none of the pws I have and I use work..

  • by lwild04,

    lwild04 lwild04 Feb 20, 2014 8:03 PM in response to hamayon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 20, 2014 8:03 PM in response to hamayon

    BINGO!!! This Worked for me!!! This has to be the most screwed up system ever! Thanks Apple

  • by MichaelTK,

    MichaelTK MichaelTK Mar 17, 2014 4:47 PM in response to mlturner92
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2014 4:47 PM in response to mlturner92

    I just solved this after two days of trying every password I've ever used in the past 10 years with no success and lots of frustration. Apparently the password is somehow connected to the apple.com cookie

     

    - exit iTunes

    - open Safari and clear all cookies

    - restart iTunes and connect your phone

    - uncheck the encryption box and enter your AppleID password at the prompt. (Or your phone lock code if the password doesn't work)

     

    This should release the encryption

  • by Praba_S,

    Praba_S Praba_S Mar 19, 2014 12:02 AM in response to mmvandewalle
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 12:02 AM in response to mmvandewalle

    Thanks veruy much for your suggestion and it worked for me as well.

     

    I have never set a password previously and when I tried to restore it kept asking for password. I have spent more than an hour trying different things.

     

    Thnaks again...

  • by Amandafrom gbr,

    Amandafrom gbr Amandafrom gbr Apr 11, 2014 10:15 AM in response to barcagiu
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 11, 2014 10:15 AM in response to barcagiu

    Had an issue when upgrading to 5s, ITunes asked for encrypt back up password, tried every possible password. Then tried my screen lock code/pin & thankfully this worked for me

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