If you enter the incorrect passcode too many times, you'll terminate up with a locked iPhone - just this problem needn't exist last. In this article we explain how to ready a disabled iPhone using iTunes, the Finder or iCloud.

iPhone is Disabled mistake letters

Here's a common - simply worrying - notification that yous may take seen on your iPhone:

How to fix 'iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes' errors

iPhone is disabled. Try again in 1 minute

That's not too bad. Just it might be worse:

iPhone is disabled. Endeavour again in sixty minutes

Abrasive! It could also be 5 or 15 minutes. The warnings that include a waiting menstruation are less worrying only can ramp up to the worst error bulletin of all if you're not careful:

iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes

If you've seen the above message, or the ominous screen below, you take a bigger problem. Just nosotros're here to help you prepare information technology!

How to fix 'iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes' errors: Connect to Mac

These fault messages range from mildly inconvenient to totally incapacitating, merely whichever one you get, y'all absolutely shouldn't ignore them.

Why is my iPhone disabled?

These error messages nearly always mean you've got the passcode wrong too many times (or someone else has - did yous let the kids play with your smartphone?) and the iPhone has locked downwardly to protect itself from a possible hacking attempt.

The iPhone has powerful built-in security measures, and one of these is designed to forbid animate being-force attempts to bypass the passcode.

If a telephone thief could simply continue guessing passcodes - and particularly if they could hook it up to a piece of software that rattles through guesses far quicker than a human - and so somewhen they would break in. If y'all use a iv-digit code, recall, there are 'only' 10,000 combinations, which Fortune's tool estimates could be cracked by a man in iv hours and 6 minutes, and by a calculator in 6 minutes and 34 seconds.

To stop this approach, iOS deliberately makes it harder for someone to input lots of incorrect passcodes. Get it wrong a few times (up to 5) and yous can acquit on every bit normal; brand six or vii incorrect attempts and it'll merely slow you downwards a bit, simply the more times you go information technology incorrect, the harder things get. Once you get to 10, that's information technology - no more guesses for y'all.

Here's how the error messages (and time delays) necktie into the number of wrong guesses:

  • 6 incorrect guesses: iPhone is disabled. Try again in 1 minute
  • 7 incorrect guesses: iPhone is disabled. Attempt again in v minutes
  • viii wrong guesses: iPhone is disabled. Try again in 15 minutes
  • nine wrong guesses: iPhone is disabled. Endeavour again in sixty minutes
  • 10 incorrect guesses: iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes

For more general related advice, run into How to bypass a forgotten passcode.

How tin I finish my phone beingness disabled?

The way to avoid seeing these messages in future is to either be more careful almost inputting your passcode, choose a complex passcode with more characters (because this is less probable to be entered accidentally), or stop using a passcode at all (for security reasons we very much advise against this concluding option).

You might find your iPhone has attempted to unlock itself from inside your pocket - in that instance you would be wise to opt for the screen to turn off automatically after 30 seconds to minimise the likelihood that the screen will jump to life once more.

What you can't do is plow off this safe measure. You can't fifty-fifty plough off or modify the time delays equally these are automatically activated on your iPhone.

Permit united states to note in passing, however, that at that place is a related and more drastic security mensurate that is optional: one that will wipe the device completely if someone gets the passcode incorrect 10 times in a row. This is useful if your iPhone contains data you cannot allow to fall into the incorrect hands.

Go into Settings, so Touch ID & Passcode (or Face ID & Passcode), and then enter your passcode. If yous coil down to the bottom you'll see a toggle labelled 'Erase Data'. Don't use this pick lightly; it could prove highly inconvenient if you're forgetful.

How to set 'iPhone is disabled. Endeavor again in 10 minutes'

If you're lucky, your iPhone or iPad will only have been exposed to nine or fewer incorrect guesses. In that example all you need to do is wait. (You'll notice that the 'endeavour once again in Ten minutes' counts downwards so yous tin can see how long in that location is left to wait.)

You can't do much while you're waiting, and nosotros're not enlightened of any cheats to speed upward the inaugural, but you can still make emergency calls - tap the push at the bottom labelled Emergency.

Once the waiting period is up, the screen of your iPhone will change back to the usual background and yous'll be able to endeavor again. But it'southward very important that you input your passcode advisedly when yous side by side get a chance. If yous get it incorrect again yous'll be escalated to the next waiting flow.

How to fix 'iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes' errors: Disabled

Every bit presently every bit you get to the 60-infinitesimal wait, yous're on your last life. Get it wrong one more time and you'll be locked out until you plug the iPhone into iTunes, and the data on the device will realistically exist unrecoverable.

If y'all're getting anywhere near the 10-judge limit, tread very carefully. Is the correct passcode written down anywhere, or is at that place anyone else who knows information technology?

Information technology may be worth writing down every guess you make from at present on (and any that you're sure you've made previously), but this is simply to assistance jog the retention - rather cleverly, iOS counts multiple entries of the aforementioned wrong passcode equally one wrong judge, so you don't need to worry well-nigh wasting any guesses repeating yourself.

If you exercise attain the 10th incorrect guess, you'll accept to motility on to the next section of this tutorial.

How to fix 'iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes'

If you lot see the 'Connect to iTunes' message - or, in iOS 14, 'Connect to a Mac/PC' - it'south possible to get into your iPhone but yous will lose all the information as part of the necessary recovery process.

Yous'll exist able to restore the data from your last fill-in, if that's any consolation. You did back up, correct?

Here'southward how to gear up a disabled iPhone.

What you need

A reckoner: If you lot haven't got access to a Mac or PC, y'all may demand to visit an Apple Retail Store or Mac reseller to use 1 of their machines.

A lightning to USB cable: You lot will also need a Lightning to USB cable. This could be a problem if your Mac just has USB-C and your iPhone cable uses the older USB-A... In that case you lot'll need an adapter or a USB-C to lightning cable such equally this one.

If you own an iPhone xi, conversely, it volition accept shipped with a USB-C to Lightning cable, which could be an issue if your Mac doesn't have USB-C...

Footstep 1: Enter Recovery Mode

The get-go step is to connect your iPhone to your computer and enter recovery mode. The method used will depends on the model of iPhone you have.

iPhone 8 and later

  1. Press and hold the Side button and one of the volume buttons and look for the ability off slider to appear.
  2. Drag the slide to plow off your iPhone.
  3. Agree the side push button on your iPhone as you plug your iPhone into the Mac using your cable. Keep holding the side button until the recovery screen appears.

iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPod bear on (7th gen)

  1. Press and agree the Side (or Height) push and wait for the power off slider to appear.
  2. Turn off your iPhone.
  3. Connect your iPhone to the calculator while pressing the Volume down button until you seen the recovery mode screen.

iPhone 6s and earlier

  1. Follow the steps in a higher place: Press and hold the Side (or Height) button until the power off slider appears.
  2. Drag the slider to plough off your iPhone.
  3. This time connect your device to your computer while pressing the Dwelling button.
  4. Keep pressing the Dwelling button until you see the recovery mode screen.

iPad (Confront ID)

  1. If your iPad has Face ID yous need to press and concur the Peak button and either book push until the power off slider appears.
  2. Turn off your iPad.
  3. Now connect your iPad to your Mac while pressing the Top button.
  4. Keep pressing this button until you see the recovery mode screen.

iPad with Home push

  1. This time you tin press and hold the Tiptop button until the power off slider appears.
  2. Turn off the iPad by dragging the slider across.
  3. Now connect your iPad to your Mac while pressing the Home button.
  4. Keep pressing Home until yous run into the recovery screen.

Footstep 2: Locate your iPhone/iPad via your Mac/PC

Depending on the software running on your Mac or PC the next stride will either involve the Finder (on a Mac running Catalina) or iTunes (on a PC, or a Mac running an older version of macOS).

macOS Catalina

  1. If yous're running Catalina, open a Finder window.
  2. You will see your iPhone or iPad on the left side of the Finder window under locations.
  3. Click on it.

macOS Mojave or older

If you're running Mojave or older on your Mac, you will demand to open iTunes. There are lots of different versions of iTunes you could be running, and the method varies:

iTunes 12

Click on the iPhone's icon in the upper-left corner of the iTunes window.

iTunes eleven

Click on the iPhone tab on the right side of the window.

iTunes 10

The iPhone will be in the sidebar on the left.

On a PC running iTunes for Windows

The procedure will match one of the versions of iTunes listed above (depending on which version yous're running).

Step three: Cull the selection to Restore

Now that you've selected your iPhone or iPad on the computer you need to click on Restore.

In one case you do this the necessary software volition download. This can take a few minutes. If it takes longer than fifteen minutes yous might need to reconnect your device following the steps in a higher place.

Once the download has finished you will see onscreen prompts to follow. Starting time yous will have to wait while the data on your device is erased.

Step 4: Set up your iPhone

Yous tin can at present set up your iPhone equally if information technology was new. You'll go the option while following these steps to restore from backup.

For much more particular on erasing an iPhone, run into How to reset an iPhone or iPad.

My iPhone is disabled and won't connect to iTunes!

Fixing the disabled iPhone isn't always as simple as outlined above. Some iPhone owners find that connecting the disabled iPhone to iTunes doesn't do much of anything.

If you lot've tried both the standard iTunes wipe and Recovery Mode, you may be able to wipe it using iCloud, which nosotros explain in the side by side section.

Restore your iPhone with iCloud

An alternative method of wiping the disabled iPhone and starting again is to utilize iCloud - this is only possible, however, if you've set up Observe My iPhone, and if the disabled iPhone has a information connexion.

How to fix 'iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes' or 'Try again in X minutes' error messages: iCloud

On your Mac (or another iPhone or iPad), become to icloud.com and click on Observe iPhone. You lot'll have to enter the password for your Apple business relationship.

After a brief wait, a map will announced showing the location of your devices. Click All Devices at the top, then select the iPhone you desire to erase. Click Erase iPhone.