itunes could not restore the iphone because the password was incorrect

I think syncing it up helped, but I ran into this issue too and it wasn't my wi fi password... I use a remote server to log in to work stuff on my pc, and it somehow got one of my old work login passwords mixed up as my backup password for iTunes (last night? Right). Just an fyi, if you ever log in remotely for work, it may have kifed a secure password that way. It's almost as if the software finds ALL your passwords ever used, chooses the most secure one and picks it... Strange.

Any ideas how this bug came to be? I am slightly concerned about how an iTunes account would know about other passwords on hardware and/or software not all associated with it... Creepy. Additionally, I never had this problem before the ios update and iphone 6. It must be with the new software.

This makes absolutely no sense at all but after trying every form of my current set of passwords I tried one I haven't used in years and I'm sure I never used it with any apple products. I'm currently on a new computer and a fresh installation of iTunes and the backup was locked with that ancient password 🙂 iTunes, you make no sense 😀 but thank you everybody for this thread, gave me an idea of what to try in desperation

Hi, I found a solution that worked for me:

My previous iTunes / Apple ID password.

I changed this password about 3 weeks ago. The backup was made today but for some reason it required my previous password.

Hope this helps

That's because your encrypted iTunes password has nothing to do with your Apple ID password. Changing one doesn't change the other, same as if you change your Apple ID password, that doesn't change the password to the email account you use for your Apple ID's primary email address, unless it's an Apple email like an @icloud.com address.

Thank you very much to all people who replied this thread. It's really incredible how apple allows this. I'm and I will be a huge apple fan, but things like this sometimes make me think I'm dealing with the guys in Redmond instead of Cupertino.

😠

OMG - yes! Thank you all on this post. I finally got in with a super super old password I phased out 5 years ago. Hey Apple "Geniuses" - here's a coding tip for you...prompt for password when people back up their i-whatever.

What a Mission....... !!!! I tried everything that was suggested but no love( thanks for all the suggestions though )....... BUT when I disconnected my phone And tried via iCloud and signed in my iCloud could not backup either..... So I plugged in the phone again via iTunes and it went strait to " restore iPhone " without any Bloody password or nonsense. I guess singing in with iCloud first does the trick......Worked for me.....!!!!!!

I just segued from one Apple phone to another, as well as upgraded software, so i was well prepared on backups, and actually wrote down the password. Tonight when a piece of software glitched badly and I needed to restore the iPad, iTunes will not - positively WILL NOT - accept any version of any password. None. Caps, no caps, spaces, zip, nada, zilch. This is ridiculous. I just lost days worth of work, unless someone has an idea - soon - how I can salvage this mess. I have a deadline - tomorrow.

Stevie J., I miss you. 😢

I finally recovered my backup thanks to this discussion.

I tried all the suggestions for common current passwords for wifi etc, but nothing worked ....including the all caps.

Ultimately, it turned out to be an ancient apple password I've not used for years. I would have never thought of this. Thank you everyone.

Apple, you need to fix this. This is a ridiculous issue.

After reading this thread to solve the same problem and trying dozens of permutations of half-remembered passwords, I finally found the nearest thing to a proper solution (short of Apple actually fixing the issue so it doesn't happen in the first place!)

Open Keychain Access and look for an entry called iPhone Backup. Open it and 'Show password'. Whatever that reveals is what you need to continue restoring your iPhone!

You're welcome!

out of all the ridiculous things encountered while using and supporting Apple products for years, this takes the cake. I look forward to an afterlife, but now I also to look forward to the day when I never Ever EVER have to use or support another Apple product. That's it, Apple. I've cursed your name for years, but I am at peace with my decision. I will now wipe and destroy every Apple device I own. Cheers!

Dude you are just awesome, the password I have encrypted long back worked for me! Apple is really complicating simple updates, I couldn't update due to some error 9 and restore finally worked after couple of retries, and back up restore also didn't work until I saw your post. Thanks.

Of course it's not that simple, dude! Do you think people would be tearing their hair out on this and other forums if it was as straightforward as that? Yes, if your passwords are still the same, I guess it is simple but I assure you my iTunes password is now totally different to the one I used to set up my iPhone all those years ago! And that is the password we are expected to be able to dredge up now to restore our phones! In my case, fortunately, the old password was stored in my Keychain, although it wasn't offered up; I had to go searching. Others mightn't be so lucky. But honestly, our iTunes password is one of the first we all tried!!!

This was the most frustrating process, the "password" had nothing to do with any of my Apple passwords; recent or ancient. It turned out to be the password for my computer which I have NEVER used for anything else. Creepy and ridiculous. Why not just tell us where the password is from?

DFWPOP, your solution worked for me. I can't imagine why that did not occur to me! I think it's because the whole password thing is so confusing... the field box as presented being the same for various requirements. And... sometimes, the word 'Passcode' is interchanged with 'Password'. That's a problem.