Embarrasing iphone password forget!

For reasons I don’t quite understand, I have forgotten my iphone password!  I’m putting this down to stress!

The main problem is that I have seemingly guessed enough times (incorrectly) to lock me out for 15 minutes – I understand the next guess could be terminal in that I will lose all of my data, contact, photos etc – is this correct?

Let’s assume that I haven’t backed the phone up – I really don’t know if I have or have not – photos are certainly on the cloud but I’m not sure if the whole phone backs up when syncing to icloud?

Its also a work phone so the potential for ruining my day is high…

Anything I can do, perhaps in terms of backing it up before I guess again?

If you have the ability to log into iCloud you can see if your phone is backed up or not. If your photos are backing up then fairly high chance your phone is backing up as well.

In terms of recovering your phone, Apple have got your back here, although process is kind of contingent on you having a phone backup to restore to the device

https://support.apple.com/en-us/105090#:~:text=use%20Passcode%20Reset%3A-,From%20your%20device’s%20Lock%20Screen%2C%20try%20to%20enter%20your%20passcode,Tap%20Try%20Passcode%20Reset.

Thanks, I can get into icloud but see no specific mention of the phone.  photos all backed up

Do you not have a password book?

Next time write it down on a post it note and stick it in a drawer. Learned that the hard way myself after losing access to a ten year old gmail account.

Its also a work phone so the potential for ruining my day is high…

Do they have a backup recovery contact set up on the device?

Do you not have a password book?

I would worry more about lack of a face or a finger to unlock the phone!

If you have the ability to log into iCloud you can see if your phone is backed up or not.

iCloud web interface will tell you (with some digging) whether you have backups, I don’t think it will tell you what they are though!

For that you need to use the Settings app on an iOS or OSX device (or iCloud app on PC):

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/icloud/mm122d3ef202/1.0/icloud/1.0

I would worry more about lack of a face or a finger to unlock the phone!

there are multiple situations where you have to enter the PIN and it won’t accept biometric ID!

Can’t use face because the phone had been switched off, needs password apparently at start up.  Always use face normally, hence not being able to remember the password.  I reiterate the stress bit clouding my memory – this is not helping with the stress much!

In icloud, should there be a specifc mention of the phone back up – I see photos and calendar etc but no mention of the iphone.

can you do without it for the rest of the day ?  You’ll probably remember it tomorrow … !

In icloud, should there be a specifc mention of the phone back up

Not as such. If you click on “Your iCloud Storage” it will tell you how many devices you have backing up (but not what they are or when the backup was made) and how much space it’s taking. If you only have one Apple device linked to iCloud then this will be it (hopefully 🙂 )

IME iPhones will periodically ask you for your passcode whether they’ve been switched off or not. At least once every couple of weeks I’ll be asked for it.

Can’t use face because the phone had been switched off, needs password apparently at start up.

Some clever IT bod set this up on mrs_oab’s work iPad as security. They also set up the account on an ‘enquries@’ email address of her base work site, not her own ‘mrs_oab@’ email address. At the same time they also blocked all new apps including the security 2fA app needed to access the training at the beginning of term…she turned the iPad back on after summer holidays to find out she was locked out of everything and no easy reset.

And it’s was not just her. Anyone with a council device had this on the first day of term – and the IT department also decided that was the day they would also go on training and not be available….

TLDR: check with IT department if they have it or can help?

Yeah, if it’s something like Airwatch your IT department is using to enforce policies on the device they should be able to push a temporary policy that doesn’t enforce PIN access (although whether they’d be willing to is a different matter), or possibly provide a link to a self-service reset portal (but that sort of thing would usually require you to enter answers to security questions in advance)

1) Talk to IT. They may have some sort of recovery process in place.

2) Today we learned an important lesson about backups.

3) It’s a work phone, why would you care?

Surely everyone’s phone password is some combination of their birthdate?…………..just me then?

Surely everyone’s phone password is some combination of their birthdate?

No, some of us use the pets name with a 3 instead of e. We’re the clever ones.

It’s just down right odd that you forget stuff like this. I’ve stood in front of a cash machine occasionally and just had a total mind blank on my pin. If you try to remember it you are guaranteed to get it wrong. Just sends my brain into meltdown. Doesn’t happen very often, and it’s not something to worry about, I remember doing it at uni 30 years ago, and i still occasionally do it now. It’s bloody inconvenient however, especially on way to pub..

You’ll remember it tomorrow,  as soon as you stop thinking about it.

This is Apple rather than internal IT, which we don’t have as we’re a very small business!  Its my balls up rather than anything else.  Even now, hours later I can’t recall the pw!!  Its one of two but I have one guess left…

Also, I use this phone for work but its also my life on it!  Its more personal, its my business, theey all merge together!

Bugger – in icloud it says within icloud storage, zero devices!!  Still takes up 4.5GB though?

I refer you back to point 2) above, then.

The time to worry about this stuff is before it screws up. Security is generally pretty secure, no-one really wants the alternative. You’re not going to hack the phone. You might have a recovery email address configured perhaps, and you might be backing up the phone to the cloud, but only you can answer those questions. The answer to “is there some magic trick…?” is no I’m afraid.

You know the password to the iCloud account, is it not the same?

Possibly the same – only one guess to find out.

You know the password to the iCloud account, is it not the same?

I assume the OP means they have forgotten the code to unlock the phone, not the account password.

If I had one shot left at it I’d forget about it until tomorrow morning and see if it pops into your head. More you try to remember it the more you’ll just confuse yourself.

A perfect example of why my passcode is all the 5s!!

The main problem is that I have seemingly guessed enough times (incorrectly) to lock me out for 15 minutes – I understand the next guess could be terminal

don’t hold me to this if it all goes Pete Tong but I believe that the 15 minute lockout is after 8 incorrect guesses, and you have 10 total i.e. 2 left. Assuming you haven’t had another go since!!

I have…I’m blocked for an hour now.  One option ruled out anyway, which is obvioulsy he option I thought was correct!

123456 ?

As you’ve found out you get a lot more than a just the few guesses you thought. Not a great deal can be done of you can’t recall it.

Well I went to three hours blocked!!

Reading back and following one of Zilog’s links (thanks!) led me to believing that I had indeed backed up the phone – who knew?

I admitted defeat on the pw and restored and I have reverted to yesterday in phone life terms but I can live with that!  Only change seems to be no photos stored on the phone anymore – all large images are icloud only.  I knew that this was an option but it seems to have made that decision for me.  Unless they just take hours and hours to migrate back across to the phone?

Thanks all

Edit: yes I have made a note of my passcode!!  Now a number for some reason rather than a password

The photos can take awhile to sync back as everything is being moved over. Glad you’re sorted.

Errr – have iPhones ever used passwords to unlock?

It’s always been passcode numbers (4 to begin with then 6) and I’ve had iPhones since the iPhone 3.

You can require it to use a password instead of PIN if you want but it’s not the default.

I just took it they meant numbers.

Happened to me once. Turned out 5446 was my number…

how did you forget your fingerprint?

Whist on the locking phones subject – there’s worrying reporting about folks phones getting snatched and the info being used to shift thousands from their accounts before try could block such activity.
It’s possible to set your iPhone to delete content after a number of incorrect passcode entries.

Lucky the OP hadn’t done that perhaps although perhaps the restore would have worked.
I guess it would also make find my phone cease to work, but who’s going to enter a potential den of thieves and claim “you’ve got my phone”. About as useful as AirTags for stolen stuff.
Just saying. Delete content might be useful to some.
To be avoided if your kids mess with your phone though.

how did you forget your fingerprint?

I stupidly made that joke earlier. The phone needs passcode/password after it’s been restarted.

Modern Android is the same. After a restart I have to unlock the phone with the PIN (pattern) before it’ll enable data services and allow biometrics entry.

Next time write it down on a post it note and stick it in a drawer. Learned that the hard way myself after losing access to a ten year old gmail account.

I have a notebook that I write down all appropriate info regarding passwords, supplemental security information, etc. I often let the OS set up a secure password, but there are some organisations, like the local government, that requires a password to conform to their specific requirements, which is a pita. Apple’s new password manager is a lot better to use than the old one, I’ve got to have a run through a delete a bunch of possibly compromised ones, but they’re all sites that I haven’t used in years, and don’t share with anything that’s current.

FWIW,  my passcode on my phone is 6 digits – I’ve considered an 8 digit or an alphanumeric one, but an 8 digit would probably be simplest but very difficult to hack, if not impossible.