password to unlock your iphone backup file

Yes it worked for me too. I used my iTunes account password to restore the iPhone backup.

Message is misleading: "password to unlock your iphone backup file" makes you think you need to enter the iPhone passcode.

Since posting the above, I have solved where the password comes from, it's actually held on the phone.

It is not dependent on which instance of iTunes you use to back up.Thankfully, the password was in my mac's keychain, so I am happily restoring now

Your first point is not accurate . Your second is. The only password/passcode entries stored on a physical phone are device passcodes and restrictions passcode.

An encrypted password for an iTunes backup is stored within the backup file itself. That is why if you can't recall it, you have to set up a device as new and "break" the chain. This also why the version or even installation of iTunes is not part of the issue. You can "move" backup file from one PC to another. The encrypted password would go with the backup file.

Yes! Thanks for the info.. I entered my oldest iTunes password which I had setup when bought the very first generation of iPhone and it worked!!!

This worked for me too. And, yes, I think it's the VERY VERY first and ancient password that you may have USED or ATTEMPTED to use at initial setup of your ITunes account. So depending on how long you've been an ITunes user, this could be a very long time ago (about 8 years for me.) But, it's the same old same old that probably most people default to that's probably the one (and yes, even if it was attempted but did not work due to alpha/numeric/caps error messages received). VERY confusing. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PERSON WHO SHARED THE DUMB LUCK OF FIGURING OUT THIS SNAFU. Maybe genius bar needs to figure this one out too........................

Ok, it only took me 30 minutes 🙂

Ok, pay attention.

When you first installed iTunes and encrypted a backup you used a password.

That is the password you are after. Close your eyes, meditate and remember what you used.

This is not an Apple software bug at play.

I tried every (current) password i had ever used with itunes. Fortunately, after reading carlo688 relpy, I remembered my FIRST itunes password which worked.

i want to use discussions.apple.com

ross132 wrote:

i want to use discussions.apple.com

You appear to be using them. If you have a question, start your own thread rather than adding on to a very old one.

so i know this is a realllly old thread but i have had this exact issue and have been at it for 5 hours now and i have read all 14 pages... i vaguely remember making a password for this a long time ago but unfortunately, i'm unable to remember it. i give major kudos to all of you who have been able to guess the "magic" password for the encryption, let alone remember any of your old passwords. websites, lately, require you to update your password every 60-90 days so to remember EVERY SINGLE ONE seems impossible to me... it makes sense to then write them all down, right? but is that safe? what if that piece of paper ends up in the wrong hands? i completely understand the reason to not have your encryption password retrieved if you happen to forget it but can't there at least be a few security questions to create a new password?

anyways, the whole reason i got to this thread was because one of my apps has been stuck on "waiting" for the past 3 days. i cannot delete it nor can i finish updating it... nothing works. i finally read that you can try "reset all settings" which i was super nervous doing because i have a lot of old pics and texts from my boyfriend that i did not want to lose. but i figured if i backed it up first, i could at least go back and restore that back up and just deal with the unupdated app. so i backed up my phone without realizing that the encryption was checked and then proceeded with resetting all settings... iphone restarted and i went to the folder with the "waiting" app to find out that this last ditch effort failed and i'm now stuck with this broken app that i cannot delete for the life of me... at this point, i'm so fed up with whatever this issue is that i dont care anymore and went to restore the backup to then find out that i need to apparently enter a password that i may have created 6+ years ago.... thankfully, the reset didnt delete any data or pictures but the fact that it looked so bare, made me so nervous that i could possibly be missing something without knowing its missing until i go to look for it.. my pics and old texts appear to all still be there, so i just needed to add the wallpapers to my home and lock screens and then modify here and there. i have spent so much time on this issue, entered i don't know how many passwords and i have come up empty. after fixing my phone up like it was before this whole mess, i went to back up my phone again but made sure i checked off the encryption.... everything went smoothly until it was finished backing up and the encryption was checked off again.... thinking it was a glitch, i went to unclick it and it asked again for this mysterious password...like, why???? apparently, to turn off the encryption, you need to enter your password.... we have now come full freaking circle.. what on earth am i supposed to do now? create a whole new apple ID? if i can't remember the password to restore a back up, how would i remember the password to turn off the encryption? am i just unable to back up my phone at all anymore, or at least on my appleID?

I want unlock iphone also boss

boss.i want unlock icloud so you help me

You my friend are a lifesaver! You made me realize that I probably used my iMac login password which I did! Thank you!!!!!!!!!

I had this problem too! And I don't remember being asked to create a password for the back up. But what worked for me was using the password I use for everything else. This is probably because iTunes remember your first attempt to create a password, since i normally dont use caps or numbers, i was asked to create one that was accepted by iTunes. So there's that! Go with your guts and try with the password you use for everything else!

I used the password i use for everything i own and it worked so just use a password you use for like all your social media apps and see if it works, if it doesn't ask your siblings or family to do the same.

DimitriG wrote:

Ok, it only took me 30 minutes 🙂

Ok, pay attention.

When you first installed iTunes and encrypted a backup you used a password.

That is the password you are after. Close your eyes, meditate and remember what you used. If this still doesn't help, then read this tutorial instead.

This is not an Apple software bug at play.

Thanks for the suggestion. It finally worked after two days researching.