Understanding iPhone’s Activation Lock
As most of you know, I am not an iPhone person. Never have been however I often get questions about the iPhone Activation Lock – it seems many people often get locked out of their devices!
What is the iPhone Activation Lock?
OSXTips who shares tips about iPhone Activation Lock bypass methods say it is an advanced system for the protection of your devices from unauthorized access. Keeps your phone locked so no one can access your private info such as your photos, email, messages etc.
If for some reason you didn’t enable this when you set up your phone, and your phone is lost or stolen, you can go to Find My iPhone and remotely lock your phone. Without your Apple ID and password, the phone can only be erased and your info remains safe.
Keeping your private info private is a good thing, however, the system isn’t perfect.
Every time you enter the incorrect passcode the phone gets disabled for an increased period of time. 5 incorrect tries and the phone is disabled for 1 minute before you can try again. 9 incorrect tries and you have to wait 1 hour before trying again. 10 incorrect entries and your phone is permanently disabled.
Entering the passcode incorrectly several times can actually happen accidentally – the most common cause that I hear is “my child locked my phone!”
What can you do if your iPhone is Disabled?
If your phone is disabled, you will need to connect it to your computer in order to try to gain access to it. You will need to open iTunes and enter your phone’s passcode there – which hopefully you remember this time. If you don’t, then the only option is to erase your phone and start again. Obviously, you will lose any data on the phone that wasn’t backed up to the cloud.
In some cases, it is possible to unlock an iPhone. There are some paid services that companies offer in bypassing the lock and you could “jailbreak” a phone, but tread carefully here as there are legalities involved in these methods.
Of course, don’t forget to check out Apple’s official guide.
