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

This happened to me and I freaked out because I never set up a password or received a password. What happened in my case was when I set up iTunes on my PC and backed up my phone, it automatically defaults to encrypted backups, with no distinct password setup. I was able to restore from the PC with no problems. I later created a backup on my MAC and was unable to restore from the MAC backup without a password. This ended up being my user login password for the PC. It appears that iTunes on Windows defaults to encrypted backups and uses your Windows user login password as the backup password, whether you're on a PC or a MAC, and it does all this automatically without making it clear that it's doing it. I hope this helps some of you.

Thanks very much for sharing your experience. I agree with you, I never set an encryption password. I had same problem and after reading your description, it gave me an idea what the password could be. The password turned out to be the very very first Apple ID password I had ever used (many years ago!). And it was your description that made me aware that I should try that password. It is a password which I have not used for a very long time so it is not possible that I had put it in myself. So I agree with you, there is an issue with iTunes backup! Thanks for providing me with the clue to work out what my password was!

I will reply when I want to. You are not the Lord of the Forum.

A password on a website can be reset because it is stored on the website. A backup password cannot be reset because the only place it is stored is on the phone, where it is used as the encryption key for the backup. It is not stored on Apple's servers or anywhere else in the world, because if it was stored anywhere else it could be compromised. That would be a sufficient answer for a cybersecurity engineer.

It actually is stored in the Keychain on the phone also, but only if the user checked the box to save it there. And if it is there you can find it by opening the Keychain app.

Once a backup is encrypted it is always encrypted. So the encrypted backup from any previous phone is still encrypted. And it will be encrypted even if a new backup is made to a different computer.

Some human made an encrypted backup on either the old phone, or a phone that was older than that one. That backup needs the passcode to restore it. The passcode is one that whoever made the encrypted backup knew, and Apple's software did not know. Everyone who figured out the password discovered it was one that they had used in the past. And, while software can screw up, it can't encrypt a file using a password it doesn't know.

So the bottom line is that you or someone else made an encrypted backup of an older phone using a password that you or they knew and that Apple's software did not know. Thus, even if Apple screwed up badly, it could not have used a password that you knew.

For those still looking for an answer, here's one more password to try.

If you use a password manager (mSecure, 1Password, etc), try the password you use for this. It worked for me after reading someone else who resolved things this way. I am positive I never used this password for anything else, yet that decrypted the backup -- as unlikely as this sounds. Certainly worth a try.

I think you didn't bother to read the thread you posted to. It doesn't matter that your computer is new. At some time in the past your phone was backed up to some computer with encryption enabled. It might have been 5 generations of computer before the new one. Once it has been backed up with encryption to any computer it has ever been connected to, the phone "knows" that all backups should be encrypted. So when you back up to a brand new computer the very first backup to that computer will be encrypted with the same passcode that you used last year, or 10 years ago.

The fact is that backups never encrypt themselves. A human being must check encrypt backup and enter the encryption password - twice. If it wasn't you it was someone else who backed up your phone, or, if it is a company phone or if it ever had a company email account on it then the account administrator must have done it.

iCloud requires authentication. In order to change your iCloud password, you need to be able to prove that you are who you say you are. The iTunes encrypted backup is stored locally. If the password could be re-set, it would be a HUGE security hole in the encryption, making the encryption completely worthless. You may not care about the security of your data, but most of us do.

to be honest that happened to me today and I kept trying every password I know including my computer password, then what I did , i restart my computer and open itunes again and when you hit restore, a password filled with **** will come automatically, I just hit enter or okay , it worked. so next time, I'm just going to pay attention not to encrypt the backup by mistake. always go to the phone summary and backup from there so you can see the setting not using right click and back up from the left iphone corner.

Apple can’t possibly help you. Apple does not know the password you chose. The only place it exists is the encryption key for the backup and in your phone.

If you read the thread you posted to you with Lal see how others have resolved this.

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.

podrivac wrote:

And you haven't yet bothered to mansplain the rationale for making this one time burner password for iTunes backups *impossible to reset*.

As opposed to my iCloud password which is easily reset online.

Because if it were possible to "reset" the password for an encrypted backup, the encryption would be completely pointless.

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".

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.

Unfortunately the old phone was exchanged at Apple for the new one. I think your explanation clears up the confusion for me and maybe for a lot of others. If one backed up their phone a year ago, then backed it up more recently and wasn't prompted for a password, the first thought is "I never entered a password when I backed up so why do I need to enter one to restore". I am helping the iPhone owner here so I can ask her to go through all her old password possibilities and maybe we'll get lucky.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I am not convinced it is not a bug because I know I did not enter a password when I backed up my phone. I did have encryption on, and it just never prompted me until I went to restore. I started going through your list of passwords, however, and I tried 1234 and voila! Phone is restored! You saved me! I suggest that anyone else having this issue use your list and start trying passwords!