i never set a backup password but it says that i did so i cant do my backups and I NEED THEM!

Not sure if this will help you specifically but it helped me in a similar situation. 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 these forums 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!

Except that is not true. I've never set encryption, much less a password - and yet there it is, asking me for a password.
it's clearly a bug. A fresh install of iTunes on a fresh W7 PC defaults to encryption, doesn't prompt you, and if you don't notice the checkbox is activated you're encrypted with (most likely) a blank password (time will tell what it got set to).

So please all Apple users - do a search and find all the other users that have this issue, then drop the smug refusal to accept that there's no other possible explanation (or that this OS is flawless. It's just code).

The mantra of an IT analyst is "the code works for the human, the human does not work for the code".

You are incorrect, Sir. I never checked the box for encrypted backup - there is NOTHING in my backup that would require encryption. Had I done so by accident, I would have had to enter the password, twice, and I would have used one of a sequence that I use for everything. It would be quite easy for me to figure out the password that I would have used. This is a BUG, plain and simple.

Now, as I sit here with a new iPhone, I have to decide - do I return my iPhone and move to a Droid. After all, I can never back up my device. I have tried EVERY POSSIBILITY, AND EVERY OTHER IMPOSSIBILITY (0000, 1234, etc., etc., etc.) and I'll lose everything when I move to another device, whether it be Apple or Droid.

This is really special. The hits from Apple just keep coming....

I found a really useful link that saved me: hhttps://www.tenorshare.com/itunes-backup/what-is-the-default-password-for-iphone-restore-from-backup.html

Basically Itunes takes a random password from one of your accounts.

iTunes may just take a random password off your computer and attached

itself to it. Blow are the common passwords used to unlock encrypted

iTunes backup password

• The 6/4 digit unlock code for your iPhone.
• The password of your iTunes Store account.
• The password of your iCloud account.
• 0000, sometimes the default password is in fact, 0000.
• The password once you used to encrypt your backup file
• Windows login password.
• Other password such as email password, MS Exchange account password

So if iTunes may ask for a password you never set. Firstly, try those possible password to unlock your backup files.

Sorry, you are wrong.

Please explain how every user that successfully guessed their password had a different one, some of them passwords that Apple's software could not possibly have known? Here are some from from this and other threads on the subject:

• First iTunes account password (40 different users)
• Old iTunes account password, but not the oldest one
• Password used for almost all accounts (3 different users)
• All digit Password created a long time ago
• Computer/laptop login password (4 users)
• Laptop password (2 users)
• Computer password (4 users)
• Email password (3 users)
• iTunes with no capital letters
• Password not used anywhere else
• All numeric used in the past
• Password for old gaming site
• PC password (5 users)
• “iphonelogin”
• work computer password
• Current app store password (2 users)
• Paypal account password
• iPad unlock passcode
• Strongest variation of the base password I have ever used
• Old password
• Old work password
• Macbook password (2 users)
• Restriction passcode
• Gmail password (2 users)
• Current Apple ID password (2 users)
• Apple MobileMe password
• Apple ID password, but all lower case (8 users)
• Apple ID password, first one ever used, but all lower case (2 users)
• iPhone passcode when corporate profile was installed
• Passcode for a website
• iPhone screen unlock passcode (9 users)
• iPhone unlock passcode at the time the first backup was made (3 users)
• First password for work computer
• Old password used over 2 years ago (2 users)
• Previous owner’s iTunes password
• Current laptop password
• Wireless network password
• Electric bill and Skype password
• icloud password, all lower case
• Windows login for very old laptop
• iMac password (3 users)
• First iPhone 4 digit passcode
• iTunes password from last year
• 4 year old password
• iTunes password (current) (3 users)
• Old PC password
• Password for “Good” application
• Password used for everything+1234
• 1234 (4 users)
• 12345 (2 users)
• 0000
• Password I use for everything else (2 users)
• One of my husband’s passwords
• Some old non-Apple product password
• Screen passcode of the first iPhone that was backed up (2 users)
• Old password with different case on first letter
• “password” (2 users)
• Windows Administrator password (2 users)
• Original Windows Administrator password
• Mackbook administrator password
• “iphone”+4 digit unlock code
• Voicemail password
• asd
• “herpderp”
• “darwin” (first name from credit card account)
• First name, all lower case
• Ms Exchange account password
• Facebook password
• Browser password
• Network admin password

There are 2 ways an iPhone backup can be encrypted:

• You checked Encrypt Backup at some time in the past, and entered a backup password - twice
• You have an MS Exchange corporate email account on your phone, and your administrator requires encrypted backups. Again you were prompted for a backup password twice

You have 2 options.

• Back up using iCloud, which does not require a password
• Guess your password. You get unlimited guesses. If you are like most people you reused a password, so start guess with familiar ones. Uncheck Encrypt Backup if you can, as you will be prompted immediately.

So 484 people forgot that they set a backup password? That doesn't sound unlikely. Even if that's only 1% of the people who forgot they set a backup password that would 48,000 out of the 1.2 billion who did not forget their backup password.

Oh, and when they have a problem people find threads. Like this one from 6 years ago, when there were only 125 million iPhones:

This was a real issue that affected about 5 million users.

So please all Apple users - do a search and find all the other users that have this issue, then drop the smug refusal to accept that there's no other possible explanation (or that this OS is flawless. It's just code).

You should take your own advice. Read through this existing thread.

Lost Password to iPhone Backup

Many, many others have said the same things, only to realize they did set a password.

Old backups are not deleted unless you actively go and delete them, but you can't restore any but the most recent or the last one of a previous version. The reason is that backups are incremental; when you make a "new" backup only changed content is added or replaced in the backup. This prevents backups from quickly filling your drive, as a backup can be multiple GB.

Microsoft Exchange is the email system most companies use, and if your phone has ever had a company email account then backup encryption can be required by the company IT administrator. And once enabled it can only be disabled if the email account is deleted, the security profile that it installed is deleted, and you enter the password in iTunes when you uncheck Encrypt Backup.

A while ago I compiled a list of passwords that users discovered by trying all the passwords they could think of. This comes from an older thread on this subject:

• First iTunes account password (40 different users)
• Old iTunes account password, but not the oldest one
• Password used for almost all accounts (3 different users)
• All digit Password created a long time ago
• Computer/laptop login password (4 users)
• Laptop password (2 users)
• Computer password (4 users)
• Email password (3 users)
• iTunes with no capital letters
• Password not used anywhere else
• All numeric used in the past
• Password for old gaming site
• PC password (5 users)
• “iphonelogin”
• work computer password
• Current app store password (2 users)
• Paypal account password
• iPad unlock passcode
• Strongest variation of the base password I have ever used
• Old password
• Old work password
• Macbook password (2 users)
• Restriction passcode
• Gmail password (2 users)
• Current Apple ID password (2 users)
• Apple MobileMe password
• Apple ID password, but all lower case (8 users)
• Apple ID password, first one ever used, but all lower case (2 users)
• iPhone passcode when corporate profile was installed
• Passcode for a website
• iPhone screen unlock passcode (9 users)
• iPhone unlock passcode at the time the first backup was made (3 users)
• First password for work computer
• Old password used over 2 years ago (2 users)
• Previous owner’s iTunes password
• Current laptop password
• Wireless network password
• Electric bill and Skype password
• icloud password, all lower case
• Windows login for very old laptop
• iMac password (3 users)
• First iPhone 4 digit passcode
• iTunes password from last year
• 4 year old password
• iTunes password (current) (3 users)
• Old PC password
• Password for “Good” application
• Password used for everything+1234
• 1234 (4 users)
• 12345 (2 users)
• 0000
• Password I use for everything else (2 users)
• One of my husband’s passwords
• Some old non-Apple product password
• Screen passcode of the first iPhone that was backed up (2 users)
• Old password with different case on first letter
• “password” (2 users)
• Windows Administrator password (2 users)
• Original Windows Administrator password
• Macbook administrator password
• “iphone”+4 digit unlock code
• Voicemail password
• asd
• “herpderp”
• “darwin” (first name from credit card account)
• First name, all lower case
• MS Exchange account password
• Facebook password
• Browser password
• Network admin password

From 61 page thread p 14 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3091672?start=195&tstart=0

podrivac wrote:

There is no box to check on the phone. It's iTunes on the computer that asks me if I want to set an encrypted backup, and there's no option there to save the password to keychain. Not in any version that I've seen.

Here is the screen that is displayed in iTunes the first time you click "encrypt backup" and start a backup.

I've said it before, and I will say it again. The ONLY way a backup password can be set is if a human being sets it. I don't care whether you believe me or not, but that's the truth of it. If you think Android devices will solve all of your problems, then go for it. I don't care either way.

BTW, you can back up your device to iCLoud without a password. While it is encrypted, iCloud generates the password from your Apple ID and some internal data.

Also, if you have iOS 11 it is possible to remove the password: About encrypted backups in iTunes - Apple Support and click "get help with a forgotten password." Sadly, most cybersecurity experts are unhappy that Apple provided this workaround, as it essentially means that anyone who has your phone and your computer can now recover all of the contents of your phone (read "anyone" as the FBI, NSA, CIA, Border Patrol, Customs & Immigration, etc)

howlinyote2 wrote:

Thanks. Are you saying that if someone had previously made a backup of this iPhone, and encrypted it, that when I made a backup the decision to encrypt was already made and already had a password associated with it from the phone's point of view? Is that the reason I was not prompted to create a password because the phone already had a previously selected password associated with backups?

Correct. If it wasn't you or a previous owner who selected encryption, it might have been your IT department if you have a MS Exchange email account on the phone.

If you still have the old phone you can remove the encryption as described here: About encrypted backups in iTunes - Apple Support where there is a link to Turn off backup encryption. You can also attempt to guess the password; you get unlimited guesses, and for most people it is a password they have used elsewhere. To speed up the process uncheck Encrypt Backup and you will be prompted immediately. If you look further up on this page you will see a list of passwords that others have guessed that worked.

amestar wrote:

I last did a restore from back up about 22 months ago and have done a couple of IOS upgrades since. If it's not a bug, why have I never seen this request before??

Upgrades do not require restoring a backup. So some time in the past 22 months one of three things happened:

1. You checked encrypt backup and forgot you had done so.
2. You added a business MS Exchange email account that required encrypted backups. You would have been prompted for a backup password, twice.
3. The backup you are trying to restore is corrupt. This can give a bogus error message about encryption.

Do you have an iCloud backup you can restore? You do realize that you can turn on iCloud Backup and your phone will automatically back up overnight every night if the phone is plugged in to power, connected to Wi-Fi and locked.

I suggest that you learn the reason for points.

I suggest that you also learn about password creation.

Please explain how every user that successfully guessed their password had a different one, some of them passwords that Apple's software could not possibly have known? Here are some from from this and other threads on the subject:

• First iTunes account password (40 different users)
• Old iTunes account password, but not the oldest one
• Password used for almost all accounts (3 different users)
• All digit Password created a long time ago
• Computer/laptop login password (4 users)
• Laptop password (2 users)
• Computer password (4 users)
• Email password (3 users)
• iTunes with no capital letters
• Password not used anywhere else
• All numeric used in the past
• Password for old gaming site
• PC password (5 users)
• “iphonelogin”
• work computer password
• Current app store password (2 users)
• Paypal account password
• iPad unlock passcode
• Strongest variation of the base password I have ever used
• Old password
• Old work password
• Macbook password (2 users)
• Restriction passcode
• Gmail password (2 users)
• Current Apple ID password (2 users)
• Apple MobileMe password
• Apple ID password, but all lower case (8 users)
• Apple ID password, first one ever used, but all lower case (2 users)
• iPhone passcode when corporate profile was installed
• Passcode for a website
• iPhone screen unlock passcode (9 users)
• iPhone unlock passcode at the time the first backup was made (3 users)
• First password for work computer
• Old password used over 2 years ago (2 users)
• Previous owner’s iTunes password
• Current laptop password
• Wireless network password
• Electric bill and Skype password
• icloud password, all lower case
• Windows login for very old laptop
• iMac password (3 users)
• First iPhone 4 digit passcode
• iTunes password from last year
• 4 year old password
• iTunes password (current) (3 users)
• Old PC password
• Password for “Good” application
• Password used for everything+1234
• 1234 (4 users)
• 12345 (2 users)
• 0000
• Password I use for everything else (2 users)
• One of my husband’s passwords
• Some old non-Apple product password
• Screen passcode of the first iPhone that was backed up (2 users)
• Old password with different case on first letter
• “password” (2 users)
• Windows Administrator password (2 users)
• Original Windows Administrator password
• Mackbook administrator password
• “iphone”+4 digit unlock code
• Voicemail password
• asd
• “herpderp”
• “darwin” (first name from credit card account)
• First name, all lower case
• Ms Exchange account password
• Facebook password
• Browser password
• Network admin password

PS - Thanks, Lawrence

Except it IS true. iTunes does not set passwords on its own. There's only 2 ways your backup has a password: Either you checked Encrypt Backup, or you have an MS Exchange corporate email account on your phone, and your Exchange administrator installed a security profile that requires backups to be encrypted. In either case, the first time you backed up you were prompted for a password - twice, to verify that you entered the correct one. The phone knows that there is an encrypted backup, so any time you connect the phone to iTunes the Encrypt Backup box will be checked, regardless of whether it was the original computer/iTunes installation or any other computer. Note that the phone does not know what the password is; only that it exists. The "password" is not an actual password; it is the encryption key for the backup. So there is no place it can be recovered from.

iTunes also does not accept a blank password, so throw out that hypothesis. In other threads, people have guessed the backup password. And it has always been one that they know, and that iTunes could not possibly know.