iTunes asking for iPhone backup password I have never set

Hi, i have the same problem. In January 2017 i back up my 5S to a HP laptop and successfully restore to a second hand 6plus without encryption. Last month i back up in my Macbook and now it ask for password. I tried to restore from HP laptop it ask for password which in January it didnt.

Any solutions?

I don't know if this will help, but I was also confused as to why my wife's phone backup was asking for an encryption password to restore a backup on my computer while I had never backed up a phone on my computer before, and had never turned on encryption. Here's the gist:

- When you turn on encrypted backups, it is tied to the phone, not the iTunes app. This means that if the phone had ever been backed up before on another computer, the password used to encrypt the backup on that computer is the password you need to use to restore the backup from your computer.

- If the phone has been wiped, it will not show that its backups had been encrypted because that information has been removed from the device settings when wiped.

- When iTunes sets up encrypted backup on the computer it is first backed up onto, there is a good chance that the password was stored in the Keychain. Open up Keychain Access on the original computer and search for "iPhone Backup". That's what finally allowed us to restore the backup of my wife's phone from my computer.

I was pulling my hair out reading all the responses to this and other posts, as well as the official documentation, because none of the suggestions matched up with what I was seeing in my issue. Now that I know these facts, it all makes a lot more sense. Even when I called tech support, they told me the password was tied to both iTunes and the iPhone, but that the passwords weren't stored in the keychain, "but sometimes they get saved there." Nonsense. The phone, when set up and configured, will use the same encryption password regardless of what computer it is backed up on, which makes the most sense when you think about security. You don't want some random person being able to back up your phone on their computer and restoring it with a password they set up themselves.

Anyway, I hope this helps you and anyone else who ends up in the same situation. Cheers.

From Apple support article:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205220

Nuff said.

I have indeed read the thread, I'll refer you to this from the same article:

From:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205220

Also from:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205220

See earlier in the thread: Re: Re: iTunes asking for iPhone backup password I have never set.

tt2

Peter Marsh wrote:

Getting back to the point I was trying to make: Automated background setting of passwords happens in iTunes and that is irrefutable.

No it isn't irrefutable - in fact it is the exact opposite. It is totally possible to backup iOS devices with iTunes without having an encrypted backup - I have done it multiple times in multiple user accounts with multiple Mac & iOS hardware versions.

You have provided no ways to reproduce the issue, my intention was to try help you provided you could give some version info, example settings, dialog text, screenshots etc.

If we can reproduce it, a case for help can be made to Apple - something might change, otherwise… [insert sound of crickets].

I agree that backups should not get passwords applied to them without user interaction, that seems extraordinary which is why it needs reproducing by others.

I gave up reading your post after the 5th paragraph because I don't care for your Apple life history, sorry if that seems harsh, this is a help forum and that help goes both ways, you don't help us by posting lots of off topic opinions about issues from the last decade (or last millennium).

I know this is an old thread but I finally found the fix for me! I definitely never set my back-ups as encrypted and hence never chose a password for a back-up. I had tried every password possible, every suggestion on this forum and nothing worked for me. However if you go to Settings, General, Reset, Reset All Settings - it actually removes the encryption (it does not remove any data etc). After it has reset plug it back it and the encrypted box will no longer be checked. My issue was a little different however, as I still had my old phone so I could simply back it up again once the encryption was removed. You cannot restore from an old backup but you can simply backup your phone now making sure the encryption box remains unchecked and you now no longer have an encrypted back up. I never post on forums like this but I had been trying to fix this for months so thought I would share in the hopes it could help anyone experiencing the same issue. Hope this works for you!

Have you also tried just hitting the ENTER key without typing anything at the password prompt?

It was just a shot in the dark that might have been worth a try. Sorry, but I don't have any other ideas other than to use your iCloud backup instead (if you made one).

Just to be absolutely sure, does iTunes say you backup is encrypted according to the "Encrypt your iTunes backups" section in:

About encrypted backups in iTunes - Apple Support

Could it possibly be asking for your Apple ID password?

I'm afraid Apple are probably correct. The setting does not enable itself. It only activates when your device is connected and you turn on the option & enter a the same password twice.

I'd suggest that you try any old version of the iCloud/ Apple ID password if you know them. It is possible you mistook the dialog & just entered the iCloud password. Other users have also entered their user account password, so try any you can think of. If you have a password manager check that. Does anyone else use your PC when the iPhone is connected?

All you can do is set this backup aside & start again with a fresh device. You cannot use an encrypted backup without the password otherwise that would be a massive security flaw.

This should tell you where to find the backup…

Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Copy that to another location for safekeeping incase you find out the password.

You will have to recover data from another source, your music and apps are not in the backup, they can be restored from iTunes or the App store but the data & your settings are within the backup.