Forgot Your iPhone Backup Password? How to Reset It Without Wiping the Phone

The Short Answer

Apple's support article says you can't restore an encrypted backup without its password. On iOS 11 or later, the one fix it offers is a reset that removes the password so you can set a new one. That reset doesn't delete your photos, messages or call history. Do things in this order:

1. Try the likely candidates, and on a Mac check Keychain.
2. If nothing works, copy or archive the old backup so a new backup can't replace it.
3. On the iPhone, choose Reset All Settings. This clears the backup password.
4. Make a new encrypted backup with a new password, and write the password down.

Keep encryption on. After the reset you tick "Encrypt local backup" again, because Apple includes call history only in encrypted backups. For most people the goal is the call log as it stands on the phone today, and a new encrypted backup gives you that. The old backup matters only if it holds something the phone no longer has.

Which Password Is It?

It is the backup passwordset in iTunes, the Apple Devices app or Finder (or a backup app such as iMazing) when "Encrypt local backup" was ticked. It is not your Apple Account password, and it is not the passcode you type to unlock the phone.

An older backup may use whatever password was in effect when it was made, so if the password was ever reset and replaced, you could be hunting for two.

Why iTunes or the Apple Devices App Asks for a Password You Never Set

There are three common reasons, and none of them means something is wrong with your phone.

• Encryption was already on. At some point a backup of this phone was made with the box ticked, maybe years ago, maybe on a different computer or in a backup app. The setting travels with the iPhone, not the PC. Apple says the system encrypts the device's backups from then on, and iMazing's guide says the password is handed to the iPhone itself and used when it is backed up on other computers. So a new computer asks for the same password.
• Someone else set up the phone. If a family member or someone else set up the phone or backed it up for you, they may have set the password. If you can ask them, do. If they remember it, it may open older backups too.
• A work or school profile requires it. Apple's deployment documentation describes a "Force encrypted backups" restriction for managed devices. Apple's page says it applies to backups made with Finder or Apple Configurator, and it doesn't say whether it also covers iTunes or the Apple Devices app on Windows. If the phone belongs to an employer or school, ask whoever manages it before you reset anything.

Where to Look Before You Reset

Spend ten minutes here first. If the password turns up, the old backups open and you can skip the reset.

• Your password manager, notes app or paperwork. Search for "backup," "iTunes," "iPhone" and "encrypt."
• Passwords from around the time the backup was made. iMazing's guide to this problem suggests trying your Apple Account password, the phone's passcode, your Mac or PC login password, your main email password, simple codes like 0000 or 1234, and any password you have used before. Treat these as guesses to try, not defaults. There is no default backup password.
• Keychain Access, if you have a Mac that has backed up this phone. The iMazing and Decipher guides describe an item named "iOS Backup" (iMazing also mentions "iPhone Backup"). Open Keychain Access (search for it in Spotlight), search for "backup," double-click the item and choose Show Password. This tip comes from those vendors, not from Apple, and we haven't tested it ourselves. It only works if the Mac was told to remember the password when it was entered, and if you only ever backed up on Windows, Keychain won't have it. The one exception: if you used iMazing on Windows and ticked Remember Password, iMazing says it saved the password in Windows Credentials, under Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager.

Type slowly and check Caps Lock. Apple doesn't say how many wrong tries you get, so work from a short list of real candidates rather than typing at random.

About Password-Cracking Tools and Services

Search for this problem and you will find plenty of paid "unlock" tools. Apple's Platform Security guide says the backup password is run through 10 million rounds of a key-derivation function called PBKDF2, so every guess is slow by design. It acknowledges that a brute-force attack spread across many computers could theoretically be attempted, and says a sufficiently strong password mitigates that.

We can't verify what any particular tool achieves, so we don't name or recommend one. Two cautions apply to all of them:

• Never upload a backup to a website or a stranger's service. It holds your messages and call log. Apple also lists saved passwords, Health data and website history among what an encrypted backup can contain. If those messages are part of a custody matter, they are not something to hand to a third party.
• Don't pay for a tool before you try the reset. The reset is free and gets you a working new backup. A cracking tool can only help with the old one.

Exhibit A doesn't guess passwords. It unlocks a backup with the password you type, on your own computer, and neither the password nor the backup is uploaded.

Step by Step: Reset the Password and Make a New Encrypted Backup

The reset happens on the iPhone, so these steps are the same whether your computer runs Windows or macOS. If your attorney has asked you to leave the phone exactly as it is, talk to them before resetting anything.

1. Protect the old backup first

This step is easy to skip. Apple says that if you want to keep a backup, you should archive it so later backups don't replace it, and that turning encryption on replaces your earlier backups with encrypted ones right away. A backup you can't open is easy to overwrite by accident, so save it first.

• Apple Devices app on Windows, or Finder on a Mac: plug in the iPhone, select it, open the General tab, click Manage Backups, right-click the backup and choose Archive. Do not choose Delete. Apple says deleted backups can't be recovered.
• Or copy the folder yourself. On Windows, press the Windows key and R, then paste %USERPROFILE%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup. If that doesn't open, try %AppData%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup. Copy the whole Backup folder to a USB drive or another location. Our guide to where iPhone backups are stored on Windows covers the folder paths and how to copy them safely.

2. Know what the reset changes

Apple lists what Reset All Settings removes or returns to defaults. The ones people notice are saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords, Bluetooth pairings, VPN configurations, Apple Pay cards, Apple Watch pairings, Home Screen layout and wallpaper, Face ID and Touch ID settings, and previously trusted computers. Expect to reconnect to Wi-Fi, re-add cards and pair a watch again, and you may need to tap Trust again when you plug the phone into the PC.

Apple also lists what is not deleted: photos, videos and music, apps and app data, messages and call history, contacts and calendar events, and documents.

3. Reset All Settings on the iPhone

On the phone, open Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings. Enter your passcode and confirm. Apple says this also removes your encrypted backup password.

Tap Reset All Settings, not Erase All Content and Settings. The second one wipes the phone.

If Stolen Device Protection is on and you are away from a familiar place such as home or work, Apple says the iPhone may ask for Face ID or Touch ID and make you wait an hour before it allows Reset All Settings. Doing this at home avoids the wait.

4. Make the new encrypted backup

Reconnect the phone. If it asks, tap Trust and enter your passcode. In the Apple Devices app, click the iPhone, open the General tab and tick "Encrypt local backup." It will ask you to set a new password. In iTunes it is on the Summary tab under Backups, and on a Mac it is the same box in Finder. Our step-by-step guide to backing up an iPhone on Windows has the full walkthrough and fixes for stalls.

Write the new password down in two places, such as a password manager and a paper copy. If you lose this one, you will be back here.

5. Back up and let it finish

Click Back Up Now and leave the phone connected until it finishes. An interrupted backup may be incomplete.

If the phone runs iOS 10 or earlier

Apple says the password can't be reset on those versions. Its suggestions are to ask whoever set up the device, use an iCloud backup, or use an older backup made on a computer. Exhibit A reads local backups, not iCloud backups.

What You Get Back, and What You Don't

The new backup captures the phone as it is today, including the call history the phone still holds, because it is encrypted.

The old backupstays locked. Apple is plain about this: creating a new password doesn't give you access to previous encrypted backups. It opens only if the old password turns up, from an old note, a Mac's Keychain or someone else's memory.

That is why the archived copy is worth keeping. The Recents list in the Phone app shows only roughly the last 100 calls, and Apple doesn't publish how long the call database behind it keeps older ones, so an old backup may be the only place a call from months ago still exists. For why encryption is the whole point, see does an iPhone backup include call history.

Opening the New Backup in Your Browser on Windows

Open getexhibita.com/app in Chrome or Edge, click Choose my backup folder, and select the Backupfolder from the paths above. If the browser won't let you pick a folder inside AppData, copy the Backup folder into your Downloads folder (not a Desktop that syncs to OneDrive or iCloud) after the new backup has finished and choose that copy. The copy you saved before the reset holds only the old backup. If the folder holds more than one backup (an archived one can show up here too), each is listed with its backup date. Import the newest one.

Because the backup is encrypted, a window asks for the backup password. You are typing it into a page running on your own computer. It is held only while the import runs and is never stored, logged or sent anywhere. A large backup can take a few minutes.

If you get "That password didn't unlock the backup," check Caps Lock and try again. Make sure you are typing the new password, the one you set for the backup you just made. From there, exporting your iPhone call history on Windows shows how to turn the call log into a PDF. The free tier includes the whole exhibit with a watermark on every page, and a Case Pass is $39 for 90 days if you need it without the watermark.

Don't Turn Encryption Off to Get Around It

You may see advice to untick "Encrypt local backup" and start over. It isn't a shortcut. Apple asks for the backup password to untick the box, and you don't have it. Even if you did, an unencrypted backup never contains call history, so the Calls section would be empty. The fix is a new password, not no password: reset, then tick the box again.

Before You File Anything

• Keep the phone. Any export is a copy, and you may be asked where it came from.
• Keep both backups and the new password. A copy of the Backup folder on a USB drive is cheap insurance.
• Ask your attorney what your court expects. What a court accepts depends on the court and the judge. Exhibit A produces court-formatted PDFs, but it isn't a law firm, and this is a workflow guide, not legal advice.

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