If you are a new iPhone user, it’s important to know what happens after 10 failed passcode attempts. Apple iPhone takes security as a top priority and assigns an important aspect of passcode security. Your iPhone passcode helps to protect your data from unauthorized access, but what happens if you forget it or someone else tries to guess it?

Things Happen After 10 Failed Passcode Attempts.  Two scenarios.

Scenario 1: Security Lockout.

If you guess the passcode and enter the failed passcode 10 times, your iPhone will be a lockout.

Because of different iOS or iPadOS software versions, you should see the screen with these messages, “iPhone(iPad) is disabled connect to iTunes” “iPhone(iPad) Unavailable” and “Security Lockout” after the tenth wrong passcode try. Compared to the former tries, the iPhone shows no timer on it.

Check the specific messages in this article: iPhone Unavailable/Disabled Try again Messages and How to Bypass It.

No matter what messages are showing on the device security lockout screen, Apple insisted on the rule to let people have 10 times to try before the complete lockout.

The iPhone lockout after 10 incorrect passcode entries is the ultimate security measure that prevents access to all data and settings on the device. Even if you attempt to access your iPhone/iPad, you will not be able to view any content until you either restore your device or reset it to its factory settings.

When you get to the ultimate lockout screen, with no try again timer message, your data safety is risky.

Scenario 2: Erase your iPhone or iPad automatically if you have the Erase option enabled.

If you turn on the switch to erase data after 10 failed passcode attempts before the lockout, it should execute the Erase command.

Go to Settings, then do one of the following:

On an iPhone/iPad with Face ID: Tap Face ID & Passcode.

On an iPhone/iPad with a Home button: Tap Touch ID & Passcode.

Scroll to the bottom and turn on Erase Data.

If you do enable the Erase option here, your iPhone should start to erase itself for data protection.

Your data safety after 10-time passcodes lockout.

Backups determine whether you can retrieve your data.

If you have no backups, data on 10 failed passcodes lockout iPhone should be gone.

If you have any backups, after resetting the iPhone, you can retrieve your device data by restoring backups.

Many people felt hopeless when they knew the fact that the data are almost gone when they forgot their passcodes.

It’s not a big problem for those who have the habit of regular backups. Regular backups can save you from a lot of trouble in case of data loss due to any reason, such as hardware failure, software malfunction, cyber-attacks, natural disasters, or human errors. It’s no exception even for the 10-time failed passcodes.

Suppose you inadvertently enter 10 failed passcodes, your backup ensures you have a copy of your information, helping you restore critical data.

There is also a different scenario. If you enable the Erase switch on Settings, your iPhone will start to Erase itself to factory settings after 10 failed passcode attempts.

What to Do when your iPhone is in Security Lockout after 10 failed passcodes.

For scenario 2, you don’t have to do anything, just wait.

Many people may have gotten trapped in scenario 1. Here we provide you with 4 solutions.

Unlock the locked iPhone after 10 failed passcodes with third-party software.

The SD iPhone Unlocker software is designed to unlock the passcode screen. It can do a factory reset with recovery mode on your security lockout iPhone, or iPad.

Free download and install it on your PC or Mac.

Launch the app on your computer. Go to “Wipe Passcode”.

On the next page, read the data loss attention and click Start.

Connect your iPhone to the computer with the USB cable and put the disabled iPhone in recovery mode.

The process sounds simple, but we advise you to read our guides to put your iPhone in recovery mode. Recovery Mode is a significant mode for the computer to detect it.

Turn off your iPhone.

Unplug your iPhone from the computer if it’s connected.

Turn off your iPhone using the method for your iPhone model:

• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X and later, including iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation): Press and hold both the side button and the Volume down button until the power off slider appears.
• iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6: Press and hold the side button until the power off slider appears.
• iPhone SE (1st generation), iPhone 5s, and earlier: Press and hold the top button until the power off slider appears.

Drag the slider to turn off your iPhone, then wait a minute to make sure that it turns off completely.

Put your iPhone in recovery mode

Get ready by finding the button on your iPhone that you’ll need to hold in the next step:

• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X and later, including iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation) use the side button. The side button on a newer iPhone
• iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus use the Volume down button.The volume down button on an older iPhone
• iPhone SE (1st generation), and iPhone 6s and earlier use the Home button.

Press and hold the correct button for your iPhone while immediately connecting your iPhone to the computer. Don’t let go of the button.

Keep holding the button until you see the recovery mode screen on your iPhone, then let go.

If you see the passcode screen, you need to turn off your iPhone and start again.

When the device successfully enters recovery mode, the app should go to the next screen. Confirm the device information and download the firmware.

During the download process, keep your device connected to your computer. If it exits the recovery mode and gets to the lock screen, just put it in recovery mode again.

When the firmware download and extraction are complete, it should let you hit the start button to unlock it. Type the “0000” and hit Unlock. Wait for a few minutes.

The software reminds you that the action should erase all content and settings on the iPhone. And your device should be updated to the latest iOS version.

When the unlocking process is finished, the program shows you the screen “Wiped Passcode Successfully”. Once you see the Hello screen, you can unplug it from your computer. It’s up to you to set it as a new iPhone or restore it from the backups.

Now you can start the iPhone setup.

Video Tutorial:

Unlock the Security Lockout after 10 failed passcodes with Finder or iTunes.

Through many tests, we find Finder is more likely to succeed than iTunes to reset the complete lockout iPhone. If you both have two options, choose Finder.

First, turn off your iPhone. Then put it in recovery mode while connecting to the computer. If the Finder or iTunes prompts, click Restore.

Make sure that the iPhone is in Recovery mode before the downloading software process is complete. If it exits the recovery mode after 15 minutes, let the download finish first. When the download finishes, enter your device in recovery mode again.

Erase the final Security lockout device on Find My app/iCloud.com.

If you have no computer to restore the 10 passcodes lockout iPhone, you can erase it on any smartphone or tablet via the Find My app or the iCloud.com webpage.

The method works well when you have multiple iOS devices signed in with the same Apple ID. If your devices are signed in with the same Apple ID, you can erase the locked-out one from the other normal devices.

If your devices are on iOS 13 or later, Apple has the built-in Find My app as the pre-installed Apple software. It’s the software option of the iCloud erase method.

On the iOS device that signed in with the same Apple ID as the locked device, do the following steps.

Either open the Find My app on it or open the webpage iCloud.com/find.

If you’re using the Find My app, you should have signed into the account. Tap the app icon, then tap the 10 failed passcodes locked iPhone under the Devices. Scroll down and tap Erase This Device.

If you’re using the iCloud/find webpage method, you should sign in to the iCloud account. Later, pass the two-factor authentication. When you’re there, locate your unavailable device on the map. Tap Erase iPhone(iPad), and confirm with your Apple ID password.

Wait for a few moments, no matter which way you choose, your iPhone should get erased soon.

When you see the hello screen, set it up.

If you can’t use the Find My app or iCloud.com, there may be the following reasons.

• Your iPhone is offline.
• Your Find My device feature is not enabled.

We hope you can fix your locked iPhone or iPad after the 10 failed passcode attempts after reading the above guides.

If you are sad about losing data, take it seriously to back up your data regularly. I should mention that If you have multiple devices syncing the content, you are lucky to save your data on another device.

If you don’t care about the data on the device, you can set up the Erase option after 10 failed passcode attempts on Settings following the above Scenario 2.

Imagine that you got your iPhone erased effortlessly and automatically after it was disabled after 10 failed passcodes.

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