IPhone turns off the device’s screen in order to save power. In addition, it blocks it for security, entering sleep mode when we are not using it. It is possible to activate and unlock it quickly when we want to use it, and if we have configured it correctly, one of the first steps to carry out is to enter the unlock code . The same happens when we turn it on.
However, if you’ve ever been clumsy about forgetting your password and / or repeatedly typing the wrong unlock code, your iPhone may have ended up locking.
If so, don’t panic: the problem can be fixed , but you need to know how to unlock an iPhone that has been locked (or disabled).
Why has the iPhone been disabled / locked?
When we enter the wrong unlock code too many times, for security reasons the iPhone is locked in order to protect the system, since the device has a series of built-in security measures whose purpose is to prevent any attempt to bypass the code or password, which helps other users to have access to the data contained therein.
In this way, if we make the mistake a few times (less than 5 times), it is possible to have normal access to the device again soon. But if we make 6, 7 or more incorrect attempts, the chances will start to shrink.
In fact, when we enter an incorrect unlock code, and also do it several times, the iPhone is deactivated and we cannot enter a new code again for a while . But things can get complicated beyond ten unsuccessful attempts.
Here’s how the error messages accumulate, and the time-out periods associated with them:
- Incorrect sixth unlock code: “iPhone is disabled. Please try again in 1 minute. “
- Incorrect 7th unlock code: “iPhone is disabled. Please try again in 5 minutes. “
- Eighth wrong unlock code: “iPhone is disabled. Please try again in 15 minutes. “
- Ninth wrong unlock code: “iPhone is disabled. Please try again in 60 minutes. “
- Incorrect 10th unlock code: “iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes. “
How to fix an iPhone disabled for a few minutes
In case we’re lucky, we can still try again when the deactivation period ends. On many occasions, and as long as we have not exceeded ten attempts, the system tells us how long to wait until we try again. Indeed, it is a countdown , so it only remains to be patient.
The truth is that there is not much we can do while we wait, except remember what the correct unlock code is. What’s more, there is no question of speeding up the countdown. Thus, once the deactivation period ends, the iPhone screen will return to the normal lock screen , and we can try again.
Of course, we must remember that, when we reach 60 minutes of deactivation, if we make a mistake again, the iPhone will be completely blocked, so to solve it we will have to connect it to iTunes. Also, all data on the device will be unrecoverable .
Therefore, the solution is to write down all the codes entered, which have been wrong, and try to remember which may be the correct one before trying again.
Connecting iPhone to iTunes to unlock it
If we see the message Connect to iTunes , or Connect to Mac / PC (if you use iOS 14), we still have the option to access our iPhone, but we will lose all data during the device recovery process. Of course, if we have previously carried out a backup, we can restore it.
We just need to connect the iPhone to the Mac or the PC and activate the recovery mode . Everything will depend on the version of iPhone we have, although in most cases it is enough to press and hold the side button and one of the two volume buttons, wait until the “Power off” button appears, slide it to turn it off, and hold down the side button of the iPhone while we connect it with the cable. It is essential to continue pressing the side button until we see the recovery screen.
Then, we must open Finder and select the iPhone on the left side of the window (macOS Catalina), or open iTunes if we use a later version of macOS, and click on the Restore button.
Once this is done, we will have to download the necessary software. In most cases it will take a few minutes, so if it takes longer than 15 minutes it will be necessary to reconnect the device again.
As the download is complete, we will have to follow the instructions that appear on the screen. Once the data is deleted and restored, we can configure our iPhone as if it were new. And then we can restore a backup when we get to that section.
