How to unlock a disabled iPhone X, XS (Max), even if you forgot the passcode

To unlock an iPhone X you've forgotten the passcode to, even when it's disabled, you'll have to factory reset the device and restore data from your recent backup.

• iPhone X, XS, or XS Max will be locked if you forgot the passcode and inserted wrong passcode entry too many times. The only choice you have is to reset the device to factory settings.
• A solution to bypass the passcode that works for most users is factory resetting iPhone X with iTunes and restore content and settings from backup.
• If iPhone X is disabled, try using iCloud Find My to restore the device to factory settings.
• There's also a good idea to employ iPhone Unlocker. The software will unlock disabled iPhone X and might be helpful.

Factory reset can be your last, best hope for reviving disabled iPhone X you forgot password to.

Lock Screen is nice and enhance your phone security, ensuring that all data on the device are not to be seen by anyone. Unless you've forgotten your passcode, your iPhone X is never disabled and it unlocks as soon as you enter the right code on the keypad lock screen.

If you can't remember iPhone X passcode and have managed to enter the incorrect one too many times, you will end up a disabled or unavailable screen with the certain time interval. You need to wait for 1 minute, anywhere from 5 minutes to 60 minutes before the screen unlocks. In case it appears to be locked forever, there's nothing else to do but factory reset the device, erasing the passcode - iPhone X won't accept passcode even though you're 100% sure it's right. Also see: How to fix an iPhone that says unavailable

Follow the instructions listed below, and after the process, you're able to access iPhone X without using the password. These solutions will be helpful if own a disabled iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max running iOS 13, iOS 14 or higher version.

How to unlock a disabled iPhone X via iTunes or Finder

Whether it's a passcode screen bug not recognizing the passcode or you get a disabled screen for the human error, resetting iPhone X to its factory defaults and restore iOS is the last resort to get the iPhone back to working order. After the process, you could restore data to iPhone X from the most recent backup so everything looks pretty much the same as before. So chalk this up to learning why a backup is important.

To go through the procedure using iTunes or Finder, you'll need access to a computer, and button combos in order to get iPhone X to recovery mode.

1. Turn off iPhone X (XS or XS Max.) Press and hold both Side button and either Volume button to trigger power off slider to appear. Drag the slider to shut it down.

2. Then press and keep holding on the Side button, and meanwhile, connect your device to the computer. This should bring up the recovery mode screen. Release Side button.

First force iPhone X to recovery mode.

3. Open iTunes. If you got Catalina on a Mac, launch Finder.

4. On the pop-up message, click Restore. Note that downloading a fresh copy of iOS will take some time, so be patient with it and you may need to repeat the steps again if your phone goes back to screen to the point that it says "iPhone is disabled connect to iTunes." after 15 minutes.

iTunes or Finder gives you Restore option to clear all data on iPhone X.

After managing to reset iPhone X to factory settings, follow the Set-up Assistant to set up your device from scratch and when prompted, restore data and apps from the backup you made previously and then log back into your Apple ID account.

Read More: How to Unlock Disabled iPhone without iTunes

How to unlock disabled iPhone X via a tool

It turns out that you're unable to access your iPhone X even you connect it to iTunes to erase it and restore it. If that happens, it's probably that the disabled message is still programmed on the phone.

Fortunately, there's an easy solution for this. Try to use iPhone Unlocker and follow the steps below to bypass the passcode on computer. The software is excellent and does a brilliant job of factory resetting disabled iPhone X that you don't remember password to. It includes the ability to download the iOS firmware, which is often used to recover an malfunctional iOS device to full functionality. The process is super easy to operate. The download link is here:

Step 1: Launch tool for iPhone disabled bypass

After installation of the utility, open it. Choose Wipe Passcode and click Start button.

Step 2: Confirm the device information of iPhone X

Attach your iPhone X to the computer through a USB cable. When it's connected successfully, check the device information in each field. If that doesn't match your iPhone X, it's easy to change.

Step 3: Download firmware package

Then, click the Start button. The application is now downloading firmware package that's most suitable for the iPhone X. When it finishes downloading, continue to the last step.

Step 4: Confirm unlocking iPhone X

Next, type "0000" in the box as required and press Unlock button. The software is now resetting your phone to the factory conditions, in a state where it was first purchased. Don't unplug your phone. When the process comes to an end, set up and restore your iPhone X from the backup.

How to erase and restore disabled iPhone X using iCloud Find My iPhone

This method works in the event you've enabled Find My iPhone feature on your iPhone X. If you did, simply go to iCloud web page to erase the unavailable iPhone X and restore it to factory settings in no time.

1. On your computer or any phone, visit https://www.icloud.com/find.

2. Sign into your iCloud account that is linked to your iPhone X.

3. Click All Devices at the top, and from the list, choose your iPhone X disabled.

4. On the card that appears, choose Erase iPhone and you're done.

iCloud erases all data and settings completely and gets iPhone X to return to factory conditions status. Make sure to restore your iPhone from a backup to recover your files. Now you can access your device without iPhone's passcode.

Is it possible for unlocking a disabled iPhone X without losing data?

You don't. No backup means no recovery, in particular after your iPhone X has been reset.

Once the iPhone X becomes disabled, the apps and data is no longer accessible and your only option to unlock or remove the lock screen is doing a factory reset. In other words, there's no way to unlock a disabled iPhone without losing data. You can only recover your data (photos, videos, imessages, ontacts, messages, notes, reminders, etc.) unless anything is saved onto iCloud or computer.

Read More: How to recover contacts on iPhone without backup