How to unlock a disabled iPhone with or without a computer (2024)

An iPhone will display “iPhone is Disabled” after you enter the wrong passcodes many times. This situation looks very tricky because you can’t do anything with your iPhone at this time. For this situation, we provide seven effective methods to help you unlock a disabled iPhone in most tricky issues. You can choose to unlock a disabled iPhone with or without a computer.

Why is your iPhone/iPad disabled and unavailable?

The screen passcode for the iPhone protects its data security. Due to security settings, the iPhone will be locked if you enter the wrong passcode several times. At this point, the message “iPhone is Disabled” will pop up on the screen. Here are some reasons why you may have entered the wrong password many times:

• Forgot iPhone passcode (This is the most common one. You don’t remember the original password but try various wrong passwords many times).
• Mistaking other passwords such as Apple ID passwords as screen passcode.
• Pressing the wrong number on the screen without realising it several times.
• The mobile phone is randomly pressed by your child or pet cat.
• Other cases: the iPhone cannot be turned on normally. It may be that the system or hardware is damaged and triggers the protection mechanism.

If you encounter such situations and the iPhone becomes disabled, then you may need to find an iPhone unlocker tool or seek other solutions to unlock a disabled iPhone. Let’s read on to explore the methods.

Fix 1. Get into an iPhone that’s disabled using a computer

Here we provide four ways to unlock a disabled iPhone, including using a professional tool, using iTunes, Finder or iCloud. But all the methods in this part will reset your iPhone, which means the data on your phone will be erased. So, you need to make sure you have a backup of your iPhone. You can restore your iPhone from backup after unlocking it.

Method 1. All-in-one iPhone unlocker software

Preparations:A disabled iPhone, a Windows PC or a Mac, a USB cable.

EaseUS

Compared with just forgetting the passcode, the iPhone becoming disabled seems to be more troublesome, because at this time you can’t even enter a passcode to get into your iPhone. Here we recommend using a professional unlock tool — EaseUS MobiUnlock that can handle various iPhone-locked situations, including forgetting iPhone passcodes, a cracked iPhone screen or a disabled iPhone.

MobiUnlock is best to use when:

• You want to unlock your disabled iPhone faster and easily.
• You’ve made some basic attempts but failed and your phone is still unavailable.
• Your iPhone also encountered some additional problems, and you want to unlock your iPhone such as a disabled Apple ID and locked SIM card.
• After unlocking, you want to manage the passwords of your iOS devices.

To unlock your iPhone, it is necessary to back up your iPhone because it will reset your iPhone. Follow the steps to unlock a disabled iPhone with EaseUS MobiUnlock:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS MobiUnlock and tap “Unlock Screen Passcode” from the homepage. (Connect your disabled iPhone to your PC or Mac with a USB cable)

EaseUS

Step 2. Once the software detects your iPhone, click “Start” to begin the unlocking process.

EaseUS

Step 3. Confirm the system version and click “Next” to download iOS firmware for the iPhone.

EaseUS

Step 4. After that, tap the “Unlock Now” option and then a warning window will show up. To unlock your disabled iPhone, enter the necessary information in the box and click “Unlock” once more.

EaseUS

Step 5. Wait for the software to erase and unlock your disabled iPhone. When this process finishes, set up your iPhone.

EaseUS

📝Note: EaseUS MobiUnlock is comprehensive in unlocking functions, you can not only bypass the screen passcode but also remove Apple ID, remove iCloud account, turn off Screen Time and more.

Method 2. iTunes

Preparations: A disabled iPhone, a Windows PC or a Mac, a USB cable, the latest version of iTunes.

Using iTunes to unlock a disabled iPhone might be the most familiar method for most iOS users. Because when this happens, an interface will automatically appear on your iPhone interface displaying “iPhone is Disabled connect to iTunes”. Using iTunes to unlock your disabled iPhone is also effective, but it has more steps than using EaseUS MobiUnlock. And if your iPhone is disabled, you’ll need to put it into recovery mode before moving to iTunes.

📝Note: You need to download the latest version of iTunes on your Windows or Mac. Additionally, you can use Finder rather than iTunes if your Mac runs macOS Catalina or a later version, which will be introduced in the next method.

Here are the steps to unlock a disabled iPhone via iTunes.

Step 1. Put your iPhone in recovery mode first.

• For iPhone 8 or later: press and quickly release the volume up button as well as the down button. And then press and hold the Side button.
• For iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: press the side and volume down buttons simultaneously.
• For iPhone 6s and earlier and iPhone SE (1st generation): hold the Home and Top or Side buttons at the same time.

EaseUS

Step 2. Launch the latest version of iTunes on your Windows or Mac.

EaseUS

Step 3. Connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cableStep 4. See “Summary” in iTunes, and Choose “Restore backup” by following the instructions.

EaseUS

Step 5. After the restoration, your disabled iPhone will be erased and you can use your iPhone again.

Method 3. Finder

Preparations: A disabled iPhone, a Mac running on Catalina or later, a lightning cable.

Another choice for you is to use Finder to unlock a disabled iPhone if you have a Mac that runs on Catalina or later. Finder can be used as an alternative to iTunes gives you access to files and directories, shows Windows, and regulates how you use your Mac in general.

Follow the following steps to use Finder to unlock your iPhone:

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to a Mac with a USB cable.

Step 2. Open Finder on your Mac.

Step 3. Put your iPhone into recovery mode.

Step 4. Click “Restore iPhone” to set up your iPhone.

EaseUS

📝Note: To use Finder to unlock your disabled iPhone, you need to use a lightning cable to your Mac rather than a USB cable.

Method 4. iCloud Website

Preparations: a Windows PC or a Mac, an active Internet.

Using a computer, you can also choose to unlock your disabled iPhone without installing iTunes. That is to take advantage of iCloud, a cloud service that allows users to sync data. It provides options to erase your iPhone. This process will reset and unlock the iPhone.

Here are the steps to unlock a disabled iPhone via iCloud.

Step 1. On your computer, navigate to icloud.com in a web browser.

Step 2. Sign in to iCloud by entering your Apple ID and password.

Step 3. Go to “Find iPhone” and click on “All Devices” to see the iPhone you want to erase.

EaseUS

Step 4. Tap “Erase iPhone” option.

EaseUS

Step 5. Follow the instructions to erase your iPhone. This can unlock the disabled iPhone without iTunes.

📝Note: Actually, there are two ways to enter the iCloud website: use a computer or a mobile. So, you can also go to the iCloud website on your iPad.

Fix 2. Try to access a disabled iPhone without a computer or iTunes

Maybe you don’t have a computer, or don’t want to use a computer to unlock a disabled iPhone, then refer to the three methods we mentioned in this part. You can use Find My App or Siri to unlock your disabled iPhone.

Method 1. Find My App

Preparations: another workable iPhone/iPad, an active internet connection.

In addition to the above-mentioned method of using a computer to access the iCloud website, you can also use iCloud to unlock a disabled iPhone even without a computer. There is a built-in feature on iOS mobile devices–Find My App. This means you can also unlock an iPhone with an iPad. This method also works if you don’t want to use iTunes to unlock your iPhone. It enables you to control an iOS device from a distance. To use this method, you need to have another iPhone or iPad handy.

Here is how to unlock a disabled iPhone via Find My App.

Step 1. Open the Find My app or Find My iPhone app on another iPhone or iPad.

Step 2. Sign into your iCloud account in the app.

Step 3. Click the “Devices” option on the bottom to look through all your devices.

Step 4. Choose your disabled iPhone and scroll down to tap “Erase This Device”

EaseUS

Step 5.After erasing the iPhone, you can enter a new passcode to unlock your iPhone.

Method 2. Siri

Preparations: A disabled iPhone running from iOS 8.0 through to iOS 10.1, an active internet connection.

Here we introduce a method of using Siri to unlock your disabled iPhone. How amazing it is to use voice control to realise unlocking! All of Apple Inc.’s devices can use Siri as its virtual personal assistant. Siri makes recommendations for users, responds to inquiries, or manages devices using machine learning. When it comes to unlocking, it isn’t an official method endorsed by Apple and is typically seen as a form of loophole. To use this method to unlock your disabled iPhone, you need to make sure the iPhone runs from iOS 8.0 through to iOS 10.1.

Follow the steps below to use Siri to unlock your iPhone:

Step 1. Activate Siri and ask it “What is the time now?” to turn on your iPhone’s clock.

Step 2. Tap the clock and select the “+” option to add a new clock.

Step 3. A new interface will show up and ask you to choose a city, then you can type something you want.

Step 4. Double-tap whatever you have written and tap “Select All.”

EaseUS

Step 5. Tap on the “Share” option from those options: “cut, copy, define, and share.”

Step 6. When a new window pops up, tap on the “Message” icon to open it.

Step 7. In Message, type anything in the “To:”; and choose “Return” on your keyboard.

Step 8. Then, Tap “+” icon to “ Create New Contact.”

Step 9. Head to “add photo”, and tap “Choose Photo.”

Step 10. Then it jumps to the Photos app and you can press the Home button to navigate to the home screen.

EaseUS

📝Note: After all the procedures, your disabled iPhone will be unlocked without losing data. But note that this is an iOS loophole to unlock an iPhone running from iOS 8.0 through to iOS 10.1. Therefore, the success of unlocking cannot be guaranteed, and the process is very complicated.

Method 3. Apple Store

It’s time for the last method we provide in this article. You may be thinking “what should I do if I have tried all the above methods and still cannot unlock my disabled iPhone?” Finally, you can also go to your local Apple Store for professional advice. Apple Repair Center offers help with a wide range of iPhone difficulties, including decryption services, battery and screen repairs, hardware upkeep, and more.

EaseUS

📝Note：There is a charge associated with this method. Usually, you have to pay for certain services, and it can take a lot of time.

Can you unlock a disabled iPhone without erasing data?

Many users may be thinking, most of these methods to unlock a disabled iPhone require resetting the iPhone, so will this process erase all my data? Yes, generally you will have to factory reset an iPhone after it becomes totally disabled in order to unlock it, which will delete all of its settings and data. This situation is very dangerous because it may cause data loss. Therefore, in order not to lose data, you must make sure that you have made a backup of your iPhone and that it contains the data you need.

EaseUS

In this way, you can restore your iPhone from a backup after you reset the iPhone. It is very important to have a backup of your phone to protect your important files. Here we recommend a versatile backup and management tool — EaseUS MobiMover. It can quickly and safely back up your phone 6/7/8/X/11 and more in simple clicks without storage limitations. It supports backing up videos, photos, contacts, music, call history, and many more files on your iPhone. For more information, you can know how to bypass passcode lock screens on iPhones, and iPads running iOS 12 and take it as an example to unlock your iPhone.

Additional Information: Lock Time of iPhone

Depending on how many times you’ve entered an erroneous password, the lockout time varies for each instance. Different wait times before you can try again will be indicated by your iPhone. The waiting period increases in length as you enter more incorrect passcodes.

The iPhone becomes unavailable if the passcode is entered incorrectly repeatedly. This circ*mstance is quite frustrating. If so, don’t worry when you read this post since we show you seven efficient methods to unlock a disabled iPhone.

Conclusion & FAQs

A disabled iPhone is a headache. You may enter the wrong passcode several times in a row to make the iPhone unavailable. In this article, we provided six effective methods to help you unlock a disabled iPhone. You can choose to unlock a disabled iPhone with a computer and remember to prepare a USB cable or a good network. You can also unlock your iPhone directly on a phone without using a computer.

Among all the methods, EaseUS MobiUnlock is highly recommended. It can unlock iPhones for many scenarios, including addressing problems with the iPhone’s disabled status, unavailability, and security lockout. Most importantly, its security features and unlocking success rate make it stand out.

Here are some frequently asked questions by Apple users to assist you further:

1. How to restore my iPhone after a factory reset?

You can use iTunes or Finder to restore my iPhone from a backup. Let’s take iTunes for example. Open the iTunes app, click the button resembling an iPhone near the top left of the iTunes window, click Summary, then click Restore Backup. But note that you need to use the latest version of iTunes.

2. Can I unlock my disabled iPhone 12 via Siri?

Actually, Siri is just a loophole for iPhones running from iOS 8.0 through to iOS 10.1. So, if your iPhone 12 is running on one of these iOS systems, maybe you can try this method. But there is no guarantee that it will succeed.

3. Are there any disadvantages to using iTunes to unlock iPhone？

iTunes requires a computer and the latest version downloaded. It is also occasionally unstable, and the unlocking process can be glitchy. And unlocking with iTunes will erase all data on your phone, which may cause data loss.