password to unlock your iphone backup file

it's the 4 or 6 digit number passcode that you use to unlock your iphone - i tried all the passcodes i've ever used (the one that worked was the first one i ever used on my old phone that i created the backup with)

sophuss89 wrote:

it's the 4 or 6 digit number passcode that you use to unlock your iphone

It is only that if you chose the same password for both. The password for my back up is not the same as the password I use to unlock my phone.

WillMedina wrote:

Hello people, I don't know if you guys already had the answer for this situation, I just got the same issue and found that the password iTunes ask for when you connect the iPhone after the factory reset is the password you use when you start that computer

Yes, that's what it will be if that is the password you entered the first time you created an encrypted backup. But others have discovered different passwords, because they all entered different passwords the first time they were prompted.

The fact that Encrypt Backup has been checked, and the hashed backup password/encryption key, are stored in iOS. So any time you create a backup of the phone on any computer that backup will be encrypted. Whether you deleted the encrypted backup or not from any computer that you had backed up to. When the encrypted backup was made the very first time Save in Keychain must have been checked also, which is what saved you.

You may be correct, but Encrypt Backup wasn't "checked" this morning. I checked it this morning only so I could then change it. I guess I must have made an Encrypted Backup at some point, but I don't know why, since my SSD is already encrypted.

It won't be checked until you initiate a backup if there is no prior backup, as iTunes does not know it was encrypted until the phone "tells" it. The reason to encrypt the backup, regardless of disk encryption: If it isn't encrypted personal information such as health data and passwords will be excluded from the backup.

iCloud backups are always encrypted, but don't need a password because your Apple ID and password are used as the encryption keys.

Lawrence,

I'm reaching out to you directly to avoid reading this entire thread and because you have recent advice in this area. I’m giving my daughter an iPhone 7 Plus and trying to restore an encrypted backup from her 6s. We don’t remember the backup password but may be able to guess it if we have enough attempts. Are there limits to the number of failed password attempts and if so is the backup ever destroyed as the result of too many failures?

Thanks

While I was creating backup I did not select Encrypt iPhone backup and did not set password for that when I was trying to restore that on my new phone it ask me password what should I do I tried every password that I can possibly remember but did not work?

No.

The user set the password at some point that Apple placed on the device to protect the backup from being restored by any othpsssword.

That is what passwords do.

Read through this conversation. Apple did not set the password.

Zikeokiller wrote:

Apple in their genius have decided to use the password you first used to set up your iphone a(maybe like 2 years ago), even though you only took the backup 5 minutes ago. Give that a try.

Apple in their genius decided that only the user should be able to create and set a backup password, so they NEVER create passwords for you. If your backup has a password YOU created it and entered it - TWICE - whether you remembering do so or not. YOU created the password the first time that you made an encrypted backup, which it sounds like it was 2 years ago for YOU. Once created by YOU it never changes, unless YOU change it.

Zikeokiller wrote:

Apple in their genius have decided to use the password you first used to set up your iphone (maybe like 2 years ago), even though you only took the backup 5 minutes ago. Give that a try.

Yep this did it for me - only in my case it was a password I first used about 3 years ago and not my current password despite having only just made the backup 1 hour ago. #genius alright .

Apple in their genius has NEVER CREATED ANY PASSWORD. YOU, THE USER, created any password that unlocked the backup, whether you remember doing it or not. Stop trying to shift the blame for your forgetfulness. If you know anything at all about the way passwords work, Apple could not possibly reuse a password, because they do not know what your formerly used passwords were. What IS true is that the first time you created an encrypted backup you were forced to enter a password - twice. As it may have been 3 years ago, it's easy forget doing it. And that backup password never changed, unless you deliberately changed it.

This is because the password for your encrypted backup and your Apple ID password, ARE NOT the same password, unless you specifically set them to be.