What's the software update password

What are you trying to download ?

If you are being asked for a passcode when trying to download an iOS update on your device then have you got Settings > General > Restrictions in effect - if you have then use that passcode

If you aren't using a passcode to unlock the phone, and you no longer have a Restrictions passcode, then it shouldn't ask you for one to update iOS - Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

If your device is passcode enabled, it will ask you to enter the passcode before installing the update.

Try closing Settings via the phone's taskbar : double-click the home button to open the taskbar, and if on iOS 7 swipe/drag the Settings app up and off the top of the screen to close it ; if on iOS 6 or below then press and hold an app on the taskbar for a second or two until they shake and then tap the 'x' on Settings to close it ; press the home button to close the taskbar.

And then do a soft-reset : press and hold both the sleep and home buttons for about 10 to 15 seconds (ignore the red slider), after which the Apple logo should appear - you won't lose any content, it's the equivalent of a reboot.

The see if you are still asked for a code to update when the phone has restarted.

My Apple ID Did nt work

It's under Settings> Software Update. Ive removed the restrictions in effect, but i was under 50% at the time, but i plugged in and tryed again, still my password does not work.

I have reset my Apple IP id and that has not worked either, I'm really frustrated.

When I updated the iOS version on my iPad it wanted the passcode that I use for Restrictions. If you no longer have Restrictions in place and it's still asking for a password then have you tried the passcode that you use to unlock the device ? Or try putting a new Restrictions code in place and see if that works.

What does the screen that you are seeing look like e.g. is it just the numeric keypad, or is alphanumeric (and do you use a alphanumeric code to unlock the phone, or just a numeric code) ?

I dont have a passcode to unlock my iPhone, i found that to be to cumbersome. The promplem is i had a passcode and have been using it for updates. either I have forgotten it, or it has been changed. It's my personal phone, so there wouldnt be any other passwords on it.

Just wish i could reset this one, so i can update my phone.

NO. It's not your Apple ID passcode, it's the multi-digit passocde (not necessarily 4-digits) to your iOS device when you log in after a hard restart, regardless of whether your device reads fingerprints.

Why doesn't Apple say this ("iOS device passcode") explicitly when it asks for a passcode. Does anyone actually test new software interfaces at Apple? I used to develop commercial software for DEC and this problem would never happen if Apple bothered to test it on uninitiated users, i.e."non-computer industry person"! Get your act together Apple!!!

Hi manojdesilva,

Welcome to the Support Communities!

The passwrod that is being asked for on your iPad is your Apple ID password for the iTunes Store. If you forgot your password, you can reset it:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5622

The only way to get past the 4-digit passcode is to restore the device. See the instructions in this support document for help. If you forgot the passcode for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, or your device is disabled - Apple Support

If the passcode screen that you are seeing on the Software Update screen is alphanumeric, then is the passcode that you use to unlock the device also alphanumeric ? And that code doesn't work ?

And if you re-enable Restrictions, which I think can only be a 4 digit numeric code, do you still get the alphanumeric keyboard showing for Software Update ?

And it's your own iPad i.e. it's not supplied by work - if it is then they might have set a password.

The passcode is not the Apple ID password. I have an iPad Air 2. It has the fingerprint reader, so I set it up with the fingerprint lock, which requires you to create a "passcode". When I tried to do a software update in the App store, I was prompted to enter my passcode. Like so many others, I entered my Apple ID password, which didn't work. Always using the fingerprint reader to open my iPad, I had completely forgotten about the passCODE. It's the lock code you set up with your iPad or iPhone and is specific for that device, not an Apple ID or iTunes password. Fortunately, I knew the passcode (I believe it has to be 4 characters, alpha, numeric, or alphanumeric), and that did the trick. Hope this helps.

Thanks I.Michael - I had the exact same problem and it wasn't till I got to your reply that I found the solution. I have never recalled putting that password in for an update, I thought it was always my Apple I.D (only had Ipad and laptop in the past), but good to learn that it is the phone passcode that does the trick. I was beginning to doubt my sanity :-) I totally agree with your comment for Apple to make it clearer what passcode is required.

I just went through two frustrating days and an umpteen number of icloud password resets. The issue was when I was trying to update to the latest version of IOS (9.3.3) the password I was submitting (icloud) was not being accepted. The message was "x# Failed Passcode Attempts". I reset my icloud password several times with no luck. King_Penguin on this board suggested it may be your device password. So I decided to plug the password to unlock my phone and voila! it worked. Thank you King_Penguin.

Yes! I'm fairly experienced by now, but this threw me for a loop. J.michael's comment about the clarity of just "passcode" vs, "iOS device passcode" is on target, especially since the fingerprint/numerical passcode has come in as of late iOS 9 and 10.

When i first go into the the "Enter Passcode" part i's showing alpha, but if i click on the ".?123" below i can have numeric also.