After a failed attempt to unlock an iPhone, you should get the “iPhone is disabled. Try again in 1 minute” message. But, if you insert a wrong password multiple times, the phone will lock itself for an extended period of time. Now, one of the most effective ways of bypassing this is by using iTunes. But, what if you can’t use it? That’s why we decided to create a guide on how to unlock a disabled iPhone without iTunes!
Without any further ado, let’s get right into it!
The Normal Procedure
If you can access your iTunes in any way, this is how you can get out of the activation lock. But you’re sure that there is no way to use iTunes, skip right ahead to the next section of the article.
Unfortunately, if your iPhone is disabled, the only way to get through this is to perform a factory reset and restore a backup.
Here is what you need for that:
- A computer with iTunes installed (Should be fine with both Mac and Windows computers)
- A USB cable
- A backup that you previously made there with your phone (We obviously can’t make one now that you don’t have access to the phone)
- And “Find my iPhone” needs to be disabled. Otherwise, you’ll have to move on to the second method
Everything ready? Here is what you need to do now:
- Connect the iPhone to the computer by using the USB cable
- Open iTunes (If it didn’t open automatically)
- Click on the iPhone icon at the upper left part of the screen
- Click on “Restore Backup” or “Restore iPhone” – depending on your version of iTunes
- Follow the on-screen instructions
- Restore the backup when you’re asked to
- Done
Again, this is only for those who have access to iTunes. And we know that this is a guide for those who don’t. But, we just wanted to make sure that you are following the steps properly before moving on to other methods.
One thing that may prevent you from using this – even if you got access to iTunes, is the “Find my iPhone” service. If you run into that issue or if you generally don’t have access to iTunes, then keep on reading”
How to Unlock A Disabled iPhone Without iTunes by Using LockWiper
LockWiper is a 3rd party app that allows you to bypass the passcode – even without iTunes. However, just like all of our other methods, this program will erase your iPhone. So, if you hadn’t made a backup before, then you’re about to lose all of your data.
Are we okay with that? Then here is how to unlock your phone with LockWiper:
- Download and install LockWiper
- Open it
- Connect your phone to the PC with a USB cable
- While on LockWiper, select “Unlock Screen Passcode”
- Click “Start”
- Follow the on-screen instructions and wait for the process to finish
And that’s as simple as it gets. Again, as you can see in the image above, proceeding with this method means that you’ll be erasing everything from the device and relying on a backup is the only way to get everything back.
How to Unlock A Disabled iPhone Without iTunes by Using “Find my iPhone”
If you can’t use iTunes or if “Find my iPhone” is enabled, then using iCloud’s Find my iPhone to erase the phone instead could be your best bet.
Do understand that this will delete everything. It’ll be as if your phone is booting up for the first time again. So, if you don’t have a backup, then you’re about to lose all pictures, apps, and pretty much everything that’s on the phone.
And with that out of the way, here’s how to unlock a disabled iPhone without iTunes:
- Use a computer to visit icloud.com/find
- Insert your login credentials
- Select your device (The one that’s currently locked)
- Click on “Erase iPhone”
- Insert your Apple ID when prompted to
- Confirm
- Wait for your phone to finish
- And that’s all
If you’ve got a backup on iCould, then you should be able to restore most of your stuff after logging back into your account. This time, try not to forget your passcode and always keep backups in case that something goes wrong.
Alternative Solutions
If none of the above methods worked for you, then your last bet is performing a factory reset by using recovery mode. In case you’re not familiar with it, recovery mode is a sort of stand-alone OS which is installed in all smartphones for performing maintenance-related tasks.
In our case, we can use it to erase your iPhone without having to unlock it. So, in order to do that:
- Plug your phone into the computer with a USB cable
- Launch iTunes
- Restart your phone by pressing and releasing the volume up button, then the volume down button, then hold down the side button until the phone enters recovery mode (The exact key combination differs from iPhone to iPhone – more on that later)
- After the phone reboots to recovery mode, iTunes should ask you if you want to restore or update the device – select “Restore”
- Wait for the restoration process to finish – it may take a while
- After the phone reboots, everything should be normal again
The exact combination of buttons that you need to press will differ from iPhone to iPhone. According to our sources, here is what you need to do for:
- iPhone 6s and earlier: Hold down the sleep + home buttons down until the phone enters recovery mode
- iPhone 7/7 Plus: Sleep + volume down buttons until the phone goes into recovery mode
- iPhone 8/8 Plus and iPhone X or newer: Pless and release the volume up button, then the volume down button, and then hold down the power side button until the phone enters recovery mode
Wrapping Up
That’s all we’ve got for now. What method worked best for you? Feel free to let us and everyone else know about it in the comments section down below!
LockWiper is quite possibly the only method that’s going to universally work for everyone. After all, it’s the only one that doesn’t depend on “Find my iPhone”, iTunes, or anything, really.
George Kasiouras
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-k-8246a1169/
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