Q: locked overnight. second new iPhone affected

you can inform them about your experience using the feedback channel

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

they may not be aware of any issue

Monte H wrote:

 

Two of my newer-generation iPhones locked overnight. "Passcode is required to enable Touch ID".

This is expected behavior. If the device is not used for 8 hours, your passcode will be required. This is an effort to deal with the fact that law enforcement can not compel you to give up your passcode, but they can compel you to use a fingerprint or other biometric authentication method to gain access to your device. With a little bit of luck, it will take them long enough to get a court order to do so that it will no longer work without the passcode.

Unexpected behavior: valid 7 character passcode, used many times, recorded elsewhere, double-checked is not accepted, with the "jiggle the input" response.

Standard passcodes are either 4 digits or 6 digits, not 7. The only way to have a 7 character passcode is if you turned on complex passcodes. Are you absolutely positive it was 7 characters?

How do I regain access to my phones? "Wipe them" is not an acceptable option.

 

What will Apple do to fix this flight-critical iOS update bug?

If you have locked your devices with too many passcode attempts, wiping them is your only option.

Not sure how I see this connected to an iOS update bug.

Do you not have other backups? I am guessing that the phrases "day's work", "Apple for Business" and "flight-cirical" mean the devices are used for commercial purposes. Relying solely on iCloud for data backup is not wise IMO.

I stand corrected. 6 chars.

iPhone SE - I have not exceeded the attempts, having learned from ID1/iPhone 6.

Yes, business purposes.

I have a mixture of Apple for Business, Google Apps for Work, and other vendors.

The surprise update-iOS-and-lock in May occurred when I was setting up vendors, and storm damage hit my house. I happened to bring the brand-new SE with me to a hotel, so I had a backup device.

> device is not used for 8 hours, your passcode will be required.

I believe it is reasonable to sleep for 8 hours and not expect to have data loss. The May incident coincided with a week in which Apple did 2 dot releases of iOS. The message that morning said passcode required after OS update.

If not bug(s), these experiences were at least unintended consequences, I hope.

Ruleset wrote:

 

> device is not used for 8 hours, your passcode will be required.

I believe it is reasonable to sleep for 8 hours and not expect to have data loss.

You're correct. It is reasonable to expect you'll remember your passcode after sleeping for 8 hours.

The bottom line is... those passcodes are stored locally. On the device. Not in any backup. 100% user responsibility.

Regardless of who/what/why this happened, your only option for removing a passcode is to wipe the device(s) and start over. Then you would use your backup (iTunes, iCloud or other 3rd party solution) to restore your data and carry on. Since you seemed to be using iCloud Photo Library, your still-on-the-device photos are not present in Apple's backups anyway. Your best option would have been to copy them from your device(s) to a PC or Mac for backup purposes.

Even if a bug fix was needed and released to address this very issue, you would have to wipe your devices to get the bug fix.