while restoring an iPad iTunes asks for the password - which does it want; iTunes password or the one used to unlock the iPad normally?

Question

while restoring an iPad iTunes asks for the password - which does it want; iTunes password or the one used to unlock the iPad normally?

I was having issues with my iPad so decided to do a complete wipe and restore. The wipe went fine, but when I asked iTunes to do the restore it asks, "Enter the password to unlock your iPad backup"

I tried firstly entering the password I used to lock the iPad previously. That did not work

I then tried the iTune password. That did not work either.

Can it be there is another password for the back up of which I am unaware?

Is there a way to unlock the backup and restore it to the iPad? Can the password be reset somehow?

What is the point of a backup that you cannot restore?

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Aug 4, 2014 5:23 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Carolyn Samit

Level 10

165,615 points

Aug 4, 2014 5:27 AM in response to TheTerryFamily_UK

Hi ..

See this discussion > hi im unable to restore my backup on iphone coz itunes keeps asking for password and i have tired all possible opeions can someone pls pls pls help

Reply

Answer 2

Aug 4, 2014 5:31 AM in response to TheTerryFamily_UK

When you made the backup, did you encrypt the backup? See:iTunes: About iOS backups

Reply

Answer 3

Demo

Level 10

166,494 points

Aug 4, 2014 5:33 AM in response to TheTerryFamily_UK

Just so that you know exactly what is going on, your backup is encrypted and it is locked with a passcode. Unless you know the passcode, you will not be able to use the backup.

The discussion that Carolyn linked talks about it in detail.

TheTerryFamily_UK wrote:

Is there a way to unlock the backup and restore it to the iPad? Can the password be reset somehow?

What is the point of a backup that you cannot restore?

What is the point of a passcode, if it can be bypassed and reset? Remember that this is not a passcode that you set with a website or an internet service. This is a passcode that is only known (presumably) by the person that set it, so there would be no way to recover it.

Reply

Answer 4

Aug 4, 2014 4:12 PM in response to Demo

So, why is it not the passcode used to lock the iPad? And why is the prompt not a little more specific, "Use the unique passcode for unlocking encrypted backups" might have been more helpful. As it was I tried, in my desperation, to use not only a) the passcode with which I locked my iPad, but also b) my Apple ID password (also, I would have thought a reasonable option), c) my usual "master/default password" and d) the PREVIOUS password for the iPad... It was having none of it.

Curiously, having rebooted iTunes it now is performing a sync with the iPad (it did not even give me the option to do a restore) and this is even more confusing since the iTune screen shows the usage (25 GB free) along the bottom to be the same as my iPad BEFORE the wipe, but the pull down graphic (under the devices pull down menu) show 100% unused...

To be honest this takes me round in a circle, since my original problem was iTunes saying I had 25Gb free, but the pull down graphic displaying almost 100% full and the system saying it could not copy to the iPad as there was only 1.87GB free...

Reply

Answer 5

Aug 4, 2014 4:18 PM in response to TheTerryFamily_UK

It does want your iTunes password. If it doesn't work try re-entering it and if it is wrong again reset the itunes password.

Reply

Answer 6

Demo

Level 10

166,494 points

Aug 4, 2014 4:30 PM in response to TheTerryFamily_UK

Whats does the storage for "other" at the bottom of the iTunes window on the right indicate?

Reply

Answer 7

Aug 4, 2014 8:56 PM in response to thinkdifferent9

It would have been really helpful if the system had prompted me for this earlier, i.e. it had been more specific that it was the iTunes password that it was requesting, though I did try this several times.

Unfortunately I got your message AFTER I proceeded to do a fresh install, thug I used a backup from my iPhone as this had all the same apps.

Is there any way to recover now from an old "backup" - or does iTunes only store a single backup as in the LAST time you backed up, rather than proper back up (like Time Machine) which allows you to go back to a point in time?

Since I use time machine is there anyway I could retrieve an older back up from there?

Reply

Answer 8

Aug 4, 2014 8:58 PM in response to thinkdifferent9

My daughter had a similar problem and had to reset the ITunes password on her Macbook... She ended up resetting it to the same thing as it had been before (i.e. not actually changing it, just reentering it as a password change) and then everything worked.

This sounds like an issue with iTunes....

Reply