Unlock It! iPhone is Disabled But I Know the Passcode

"Troubles always come randomly, and your iPhone is disabled for various reasons. My iPhone screen shows iPhone is disabled but I know the passcode. I can't enter the passcode to unlock it now. Does anyone know how can I unlock my iPhone?"

The truth is that sometimes for the reason of kids or others, the iPhone is constantly entered wrong passwords, and then it turns into the mood of disabled. And you may trap in the doubt that for what reasons my iPhone is disabled but I know the passcode. I know it is frustrating for us to miss the very messages or news which is important without the reminder of iPhone. So here is some advice on how to unlock your disabled iPhone when you know the passcode.

Part 1. Why your iPhone is disabled

At most of the time, the "iPhone is disabled" message will not show up unless you trigger the security mechanism of the iOS system setting in your phone. To be more exact, it is a safety precaution for your private information on your phone.

There will be a temporary shut down when you have repeatedly entered the wrong passcode for your iPhone or your fingerprint and face ID are not recognized by your phone. Accidental conditions like that are numerous, including your curious kids attempting to unlock and explore your device, you are trying to open your phone in your pocket with no awareness, or other family members and friends trying and failing to correctly remember your passcode. And things like that can be avoided.

But what if the even serious thing happens? The worst situation is that after an hour and 10 wrong passcode entries, the iPhone will be locked completely, and the "Connect to iTunes" alert shows up on the screen.

So what should we do when this situation happens? You need to keep calm, take a deep breath and choose a solution from the following methods.

Part 2. 5 ways to fix iPhone’s disability

Method 1. Try restarting to restore the disabled iPhone

First things first, when things like iPhone is disabled but you know the passcode happens, please try to restart your iPhone. If your iPhone doesn’t respond, try to force restart it. Here are the steps to force restart your iPhone:

Step 1: Press and hold the Volume Up button, then quickly release it.

Step 2: Press and hold the Volume Down button, then quickly release it.

Step 3: Press and hold the Side button.

Step 4: When the Apple logo appears, release the Side button.

For iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, or iPhone SE (1st generation) that don't support iOS 16, please follow this instruction:

• Force restart iPhone 7: Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons at the same time.
• Force restart iPhone 6s or iPhone SE (1st generation): Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons at the same time.

Method 2. Use iTunes to unlock the disabled iPhone

Using iTunes to solve the problem that iPhone is disabled but I know the passcode is one of the official methods provided by Apple, and it is suitable for early macOS as well as PC. You can enable your iPhone via iTunes by taking the 4 steps:

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to the computer with USB cable.
Step 2: Fortunately, if you happened to connect iTunes recently, iTunes will recognize your iPhone immediately. But if iTunes doesn’t open automatically, launch it and put your iPhone into recovery mode.

How to put your iPhone into recovery mode base on different types:

• iPhone 8 or later, including iPhone SE (2nd generation): first off, please press the Volume Up button and quickly release it. And press the Volume Down button quickly and release it. Then, keep pressing and holding the side button until you see the recovery mode screen.
• iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPod touch (7th generation): Press and hold the top (or side) button and the Volume Down button at the same time. Keep holding both buttons for about 10s until you see the recovery mode screen.
• iPhone 6s or earlier, including iPhone SE (1st generation) and iPod touch (6th generation) or earlier: Press and hold the Home button and the top (or side) button at the same time. Hold both buttons for like 10s or so until you see the recovery mode screen.)

Step 3: When iTunes detects your iPhone, please click Restore iPhone button.
Step 4: If you habitually back up your data to iCloud or iTunes, you can restore your iPhone to the most recent backup.

Method 3. Use iTunes/Finder to unlock disabled iPhone when I know passcode

An alternative solution of iTunes to iPhone is disabled connect to iTunes but I know the passcode situation is Finder on Mac because of their almost similar functions on backup and restore mobile devices. As you know, after Catalina, iTunes was not available on macOS, and instead Finder app is used. The operation steps of Finder to unlock disabled iPhone is almost the same with iTunes.

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to the computer with USB cable.
Step 2: Set your iPhone into recovery mode.
Step 3: When Finder detects your device, select your device from the Location tab on the left panel, and you can see a pop-up window showing 3 buttons. Click "Recover" to restore your iPhone.
Step 4: It takes about 15 minutes to 1 hour. When you're done, set up your iPhone as a new iPhone or restore your iPhone from an iCloud backup, if you have one.

Method 4. Use iCloud to unlock disabled iPhone when I know passcode

If you can't sync or can't connect with iTunes, use iCloud. But it is helpful only when you remember your Apple ID and there will be an erase of data during the enable process. So consider whether your problem is suitable to be solved by iCloud and do as the following steps:

Step 1: Open the iCloud.com in your browser and enter your Apple ID and password to log in. Then click Find iPhone in the main menu.
Step 2: Click on All Devices and choose your iPhone. You should then see a pop-up window on the top right. Select Erase iPhone in the window, and confirm your choice.
Step 3: iPhone is erased. At the same time, it will also disable its lockdown. If your iPhone backup is stored in iCloud, you can restore your iPhone's settings, photos, apps, etc.

Method 5. TunesKit iPhone Unlocker helps fix iPhone is disabled but I know the passcode issue

Having tried the above-mentioned methods, if you find your iPhone is still disabled, you suppose to try professional iPhone unlock tools like TunesKit iPhone Unlocker

Above all, TunesKit iPhone Unlocker has high success rate. Other than that it can also unlock iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch passcode, reset Apple ID if you forgot Apple ID password, bypass screen time on iPhone and iPad effectively, and factory reset iPhone/iPad without password or Apple ID. In addition, it supports the latest iOS/iPadOS 17, iPhone 15, 14, 13, etc. Therefore, It is an almighty iPhone password unlocker and can help to get rid of screen lock from various scenarios.

Moreover, the operation steps of TunesKit iPhone Unlocker are surprisingly easy.

Key Features of TunesKit iPhone Unlocker

• Unlock a disable iPhone within several minutes
• Enable to factory reset iDevices without passwords
• Easily unlock iPhone/iPad/iPod touch
• Help to remove Face ID and fingerprint recognition
• Support the latest iOS/iPadOS 17, iPhone 15, 14, 13, etc.

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The following are detailed steps about how to unlock a your disabled iPhone even if you don't know the correct passcode by using TunesKit iPhone Unlocker.

Step 1Connect your iPhone to a computer

You should download TunesKit iPhone Unlocker and install it on your computer. Then, launch TunesKit iPhone Unlocker and connect iPhone to computer. Click “Unlock iOS Screen” button and start the enable process.

Step 2Put your iPhone into DFU or Recovery mode

Here, you should put your iPhone into DFU or Recovery mode for the next step. You can finish this step by following the instruction below.

Step 3Confirm Device Information and Download Firmware Package

If TunesKit recognized your iOS model successfully, you're now able to confirm your iOS device info such as model version, iOS version, etc. If the information showing on the screen doesn’t match your iPhone’s information, just correct it manually. Then, select the firmware version and click the "Download" button.

Step 4Start to Remove Locked Screen on iPhone

Wait a while until the firmware package is downloaded successfully. Now click the "Unlock" button to unlock iPhone touch passcode. A few minutes later, your iPhone will be successfully enabled.

Summary

After knowing the mechanism of iPhone’s disable, we can efficiently avoid the temporary disable of iPhone and try to prevent the worst situation (disabled forever) occurs. The most important thing is, even if the condition like iPhone is disabled but I know the passcode happens again, you don’t need to be in a panic, because there are bunches of solutions and professional tools like TunesKit iPhone Unlocker which is easy to use and swiftly help you to enable your iPhone. If you are interested in it, just click the button below and try the free version of it.