How to reset forgotten Notes password on iPhone

My notes doesn’t unlock

muzzy272 wrote:

My notes doesn’t unlock

From almost 4 years ago and at the top of very page in this discussion.

Please, Apple, I want my old notes back. I forgot password and I can't unlock them

I can’t get into my notes and I forgot the password

You saved my life dude!!!!

See the solution below

I forgot my password

I forgot the password for my locked notes. How can I reset the password?

I just kept trying old passwords that I

could remember, and got real lucky.

Here's a solution I found to this problem: I had all of my locked notes on my phone and had forgotten the password in order to access them on my mac. The only way I was able to fix it was to reset my password for future notes and then, using my touch ID on my phone, cut and paste the notes into a new note with the new password. I hope that helped. That is what solved the problem for me.

I have the same problem with locked notes, but i set them so that I could open them with Touch ID. However after upgrading to iOS 11, I don’t get offered this option when I try to open a locked note.

I resent the implication that i have somehow been stupid. I genuinely believed it wasn’t desperate if I lost the password because there would always be the Touch ID option! So why doesn’t iOS give me this option any longer?

Hi Gail!

Many thanks for your swift response.

Last summer I locked a few notes. First of all, I went into Settings and switched on the Touch ID option and created a password.

I then added a lock to three notes and locked them. I was able to access them successfully many times using Touch ID until I updated iOS to version 11. I never bothered to use the password and so forgot it. :)

Since I upgraded to iOS 11, when I try to open these locked notes the pop-up does not show the Touch ID option and touching the Home key has no effect.

On January 16, you wrote “If you forgot your notes password you can unlock a note only when you enter the password that it’s locked with.” But surely you should be able to use Touch ID if you set it up in the first place.

Thanks

Hi Gail

I get that pop-up if I create a new locked note.

What I get with the old locked note is shown below.

I think the problem may be because I have re-recorded some fingerprints, as TouchID sometimes seems to forget them! But that shouldn’t be a securproblem, since you have to give your lock screen password to change them.

I think the screen below wants my old notes password, but I have also tried my lock screen one without success!

Thanks

Based on my experiment, I believe that because you changed the fingerprint, it now will only let you use the Lock Screen password that was on the device at the time you made the note. Do you remember what that lock screen password was?

If you can remember it, you can go to the Settings listed above and change it.

Cheers,

GB

Thanks, Gail.

I still have the same lock screen password I had when I set the original notes password, it’s just the latter I can’t remember.

When I go to settings I have a choice:

Reset password - I’ve tried this, but as it says the new one only applies to notes made after this reset.

Change password - this requires entry of Old password, which my experiments show is the most recent notes Password.

I think Apple have created a problem that could have been avoided - after all, I still have the same fingers and the same lock screen password. Never mind, I might guess the old notes password one day!

Anyway, many thanks for taking the time and trouble to look at this. I’m very grateful.

Brian