How Do You Unlock an iPhone 12 If You Forgot the Passcode

Do you want to unlock your iPhone 12 when you forgot your passcode?

You randomly forgot your iPhone 12 passcode for muscle memory isn't working. Sometimes, we forgot important things like the screen unlocking password, feeling like our brain has been wiped. Even some people have to get a new iPhone for emergency use. And there are some other occasions for forgetting the passcode on iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. What do you do then?

In this article, we’ll offer you three ways to resolve the problem that how to unlock your iPhone 12 when you forgot the passcode.

When we mention the iPhone 12 in this article, we refer to all iPhone 12 models including iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

On many Various Occasions, You Forgot Your iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max passcode.

1.  Find your old iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 models that had not been used for a long time and forgot the password, but you need to reuse them.
2. Can’t remember the passcode suddenly on iPhone 12 in use and you can’t access your handset.
3. Got a second-hand iPhone 12 or transferred iPhone 12.
4. Your friends or family members forgot their iPhone 12 passcode and you are helping others by offering advice. Especially for elderly people, younger people are kind-hearted to help them out of the locked-out iPhone 12 for forgetting their passcodes.

How Do You Unlock an iPhone 12 If You Forgot the Passcode?

Don't forget to use FaceID First.

If you have set up Face ID on your iPhone 12, you can use the feature to unlock your device. Simply press the home button or wake up your iPhone and look at the screen to use Face ID.

Part 1: Unlock locked iPhone 12 with Finder or iTunes - Apple support recommended way.

Things to prepare:

1. Mac or PC computer with iTunes or Finder (macOS Catalina or later, starting with macOS Catalina syncing with the Finder is similar to syncing with iTunes).
2. USB cable.

Step 1. Launch Finder or iTunes on your computer.

Step 2. Put your iPhone 12 in recovery mode.

Turn off your iPhone 12.

Simultaneously press and hold the side button and either volume button on your iPhone 12 until the sliders appear, then drag the Power Off slider.

Wait for a while, and let your iPhone 12 turn off completely. During the process, keep your iPhone 12 disconnected from your computer.

iPhone 12 Recovery Mode button actions:

On your iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, or iPhone 12 Pro Max:

Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Immediately after, press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the side button while immediately connecting your iPhone to the computer. Don’t let go of the button. Let go until you see the Recovery Mode screen, showing you support.apple.com/iphone/restore.

Step 3. Click "Restore iPhone" or "Restore",  then follow the onscreen instructions.

If you see the button "Restore" on Finder or iTunes, choose the option and later, confirm Restore.

Then the computer will restore your iPhone 12 with the forgotten passcode to factory settings. Wait for the process to be finished. It’s worth mentioning that when your iPhone 12 exits the recovery mode when you are downloading the latest iOS packages before restoring, just put it in recovery mode again.

Thankfully, you can restore your data on iPhone 12 later.

Refer here: How to Restore iPhone 12 without iTunes.

Part 2: Unlock the iPhone 12 with forgotten passcode using third-party software – Proved and picked by softwaredive.com.

We provide our audience with great solutions and reliable apps after real testing and longtime user experiences, including Apple’s software and third-party software. SD iPhone Passcode Unlocker is a robust and safe app that is picked by our site and favored by our readers. It lets you unlock your forgotten iPhone 12 passcode and reset your devices. Don’t worry, lots of people forgot their iPhone 12 passcode like you, and the lightweight, smart and easy-to-use software helps to unlock the passcode on iOS devices.

To get started, free download the software and install it on your PC or Mac.

Step 1 to 2: Run the app on your computer, getting to the first screen and the second screen.

You can see from the screen "Unlock Screen Passcode", which is just the section you should choose to unlock your iPhone 12 when you forgot the password.

Click "Unlock Screen Passcode" and get to the second page "Unlock iPhone Screen Passcode".

Things you need to know on this page about using the app to reset iPhone 12 with forgotten passcode.

• Using this app to unlock your iPhone 12 will erase all data on it.
• Your iOS will be updated to the latest iOS version.
• If your Find My iPhone is on or off, you can use the app to unlock your iPhone 12; you’ll need to set up your device with your Apple ID and password after unlocking it.

Step 3: Connect your iPhone 12 to the computer with a USB cable. Click Next.

Steps 4 to 5: Download and verify the firmware packages.

On the "Download the Firmware Package online" page, Click Download.

This app will detect your iPhone models and system versions and give the optimal packages for you to pick, confirm and download the firmware package.

Wait for a few moments during the downloading process. When the downloading process is complete, it’ll start the verifying process and show you a progress bar. Wait a few minutes.

Step 6. Confirm and unlock your iPhone 12.

As all the data on the iPhone 12 will be wiped for resetting with a forgotten passcode, you’ll be prompted to enter “000000” to confirm the unlocking.

Enter “000000” on the screen and click Unlock. You’ve done. Later your iPhone will restart and you should set it up.

Video Tutorial:

Part 3. An alternative option: unlock iPhone 12 if you forgot the passcode. -via iCloud.

Generally speaking, this way is always used to erase a lost iPhone 12 or a stolen iPhone 12. However, you can also wipe your iPhone 12 when you forgot the passcode.

Things to prepare(before forgetting the passcode on iPhone 12):

You know it’s impossible to change anything or access settings on your iPhone 12 when forgetting the passcode, so you need your iPhone to have these conditions before you’ve forgotten the password.

• Know your Apple ID and Password.
• You have the Find My iPhone enabled on your iPhone 12.
• Your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data. (If your iPhone 12 is offline, it will be wiped later when it’s online again after erasing with iCloud).
• You need to pass the two-factor authentication if you enable it on your iPhone 12.

For security reasons, people who often switch devices are forced to turn on the two-factor authentication on many iCloud accounts. When you erase your iPhone 12 on the iCloud, you’ll receive a pin code on your other devices signing in to the same iCloud account.

• Open iCloud.com on any of your browsers on your devices.
• Sign in with your Apple credentials. Trust the device. And enter the pin code for two-factor authentication.
• Click Find My iPhone.
• Locate your device from the top-middle button. Click All devices > Your iPhone 12.
• Click Erase iPhone.
• Confirm by entering your Apple ID password and proceed.
• Confirm again and proceed. Follow the onscreen directions to finish and Click Done.

Later, your iPhone 12 will erase itself if your devices have all the conditions mentioned above.

Part 4. When forgot iPhone 12 Passcode, Use Erase option on iOS 15.2 or later, including iOS 16.

Apple has offered users a new way to erase the forgotten passcode iPhone 12, using the option on the iPhone screen, the Erase iPhone option.

You'll need to just enter 7 or more failed time attempts on your iPhone to trigger the Erase iPhone option.

Then tap Erase iPhone, and tap Erase iPhone again, later, you should enter your Apple ID password to sign out of your iPhone and erase it for a factory reset.

The whole process is very easy. If you have no erase iPhone option. Check why and what to do. iPhone Unavailable No Erase Option What to Do.

People Frequently Ask:

Can I back up my iPhone 12 when I forgot the passcode?

It depends, if your iPhone 12 is not disabled, and you always sync it on your computer, or if you’ve synced with it before. You can back up it without asking for trust. It’s worth a shot to back up your iPhone first before erasing it to save all your precious data. For a disabled iPhone 12, it’s hard to back up it.

How to avoid forgetting the passcode on iPhone 12 in daily life?

There are several options to set a passcode, such as Custom Alphanumeric code, Custom Numeric code, 4-Digit Numeric Code, 6-Digit Numeric Code. Choose which pattern is easy for you. I prefer to use a 4-digit pin code.

Besides, you can write the passcode down on paper and put it away in a safe place. Especially if you have multiple iOS devices. Grouping the passcode of all your devices with an excel table is also another good choice. You can encrypt the documents then.

How many tries to enter the passcode?

10 times. Read more here: How Many Failed Passcode Attempts on iPhone/iPad.

We hope this article helped you learn How to unlock an iPhone 12 If you forgot the Passcode. You may also want to see our guide on How to Bypass Screen Time Passcode, Forgot iPad Passcode, or Factory Reset iPhone 12 without Passcode, My iPad is Disabled and Won’t Connect to iTunes, Can’t Sign Out of iCloud.

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