To some iPhone owners, forgetting the screen passcode is the worst nightmare they can ever imagine. But this is actually a much milder case when there’s something worse: a disabled iPhone.
You can still recall the iPhone passcode and enter it to unlock your phone. But once your iPhone is disabled, the common solution is to connect it to iTunes and run a fix.
However, to our surprise, iTunes may not help us unlock this disabled iPhone as it won’t recognize the disabled mobile. Also, if your computer is not by your side, iTunes is helpless. Don’t worry, other than a computer and iTunes, we have multiple utilities to unlock your disabled iPhone and make it enabled again. Continue reading and get your iPhone undisabled.
Before you start, please note that a factory reset that erases all data will be involved while unlocking a disabled iPhone. And it’s inevitable due to Apple’s system. So, to avoid data loss, back up your disabled iPhone before unlocking it.
Method 1: Unlock A Disabled iPhone with iTunes and Computer
When your iPhone is completely disabled, you will see this sign on your iPhone screen: iPhone is disabled Connect to iTunes.
However, as we follow this sign and connect the disabled iPhone to iTunes, we will find that iTunes has no reaction at all. The reason for this is that an iPhone will not be recognized by a computer and iTunes through a USB accessory when it’s locked or disabled for more than one hour. This is due to safety concerns according to Apple Inc.
Boot Disabled iPhone To Recovery Mode To Connect to iTunes
It doesn’t matter if this is a trusted computer or not, you will have to unlock your iPhone to allow connection through any USB accessories. When iPhone is disabled, we can’t unlock it to enable the connection.
To bypass this restriction and enable the connection, we need to boot your disabled iPhone into Recovery mode. This is the system repair tool designed by Apple Inc to help owners of disabled and locked iPhones and iPad fix their devices at home.
Let’s check out the operation below to fix your disabled iPhone with Recovery mode.
Step 1:
To begin with, boot your disabled iPhone to Recovery mode. Power off the mobile.
- Locate the Volume Up button, press and release it immediately.
- Then, repeat this on the Volume Down button.
- Next, long press the Power button.
Release it when the Recovery Mode screen pops out. Connect your iPhone to a computer that’s installed with iTunes now.
Step 2:
When your disabled iPhone is in Recovery mode, iTunes will recognize your iPhone and launch automatically.
At it launches, a pop-up appears and says there’s a bug on your iPhone, to make it function again, you will have to Restore or Update it.
To get rid of the disabled screen, you need to restore your disabled iPhone to factory settings. So, move your cursor to Restore and hit the button.
Step 3:
Next, iTunes will download the firmware for the restoration. Wait for a while and click Restore n a new pop-up again when the download is done.
iTunes will start to unlock your disabled iPhone. As it finishes its work, restart your iPhone and set it up again.
Part 2: Unlock A Disabled iPhone without iTunes
Other than iTunes, we can apply to a third-party iPhone unlocker app to help us enable the iPhone. Among all the available iPhone unlockers, 4uKey may be the best option you can find online.
As the leading icon of iPhone unlockers, 4uKey is much more robust and efficient than most competitors. No matter what lock your iPhone is stuck in, 4uKey will remove the lock screen and even the disabled screen from your iPhone. You can easily get into the iPhone with an easy swipe.
When iTunes and a bunch of other iPhone unlockers will fail to detect your iPhone, 4uKey won’t. It will detect your iPhone and list the correct information like model, iOS version, etc. You can easily plug your iPhone into the PC and run an unlock with the least effort.
Besides, even if 4uKey fails to detect your iPhone in the first place, it will give you two perfect options to get your disabled iPhone recognized. The very detailed instructions will be listed on the interface and you can enable the connection without trouble!
Now, download this unlocker app for your disabled iPhone on your computer, and let’s start using it!
1-Click iPhone Unlocker
Remove Lock screen, Apple ID, and MDM restrictions in one tool
- Fix locked, disabled, unavailable iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch
- Remove Apple ID/iCloud account without password
- Bypass Mobile Device Management (MDM) with clicks
*Compatible with iOS 16 & iPadOS 16
Step 1:
For starters, download and install this iPhone unlocker app on your computer, Windows or Mac. Complete the setup and double click on the desktop icon to launch the app.
On the initial screen of 4uKey, locate the Unlock iOS Screen tab. Hit the bug blue Start button to begin the unlock for your disabled iPhone.
Step 2:
Next, connect your disabled iPhone to the computer using a valid USB accessory. Make sure the connection is stable.
After the plugin, check the 4uKey screen. You should see the name and model of your disabled iPhone there. Click Next to the next step.
If not, maybe your disabled iPhone is not detected. Try to redo the connection or boot your iPhone to Recovery mode or DFU mode with the on-screen instructions of 4uKey.
Choose the model of your iPhone and read the related tutorial. Put your iPhone to either mode and enable the connection.
Step 3:
The next procedure will be loading the unlocking firmware to your computer. 4uKey will set a default folder to save the firmware.
You can browse and select a folder where you can find it easily. So, after this unlock, you can trash it to save some space.
Hit Download.
Step 4:
4uKey will finish the download based on your network speed. When it’s done, it will prompt you to start the unlock right away. Simply click the Start Remove button to launch the unlock on your disabled iPhone.
Within minutes, your disabled iPhone will be enabled again. Restart the mobile and start to enjoy it like before.
Part 3: Unlock A Disabled iPhone without Computer
The first two methods on this post have one common significant condition: you need a computer. This can be hard if you’re outside the house and can’t get a computer nearby. In this case, you may try the Find My iPhone feature of Apple to fix your disabled iPhone without iTunes and a computer.
When you’ve signed into your Apple account on this disabled iPhone before, Find My iPhone is normally activated unless you’ve turned it off specifically on the iPhone Settings app.
To use Find My iPhone to fix your disabled iPhone, we have two ways depending on the device you have. Read on and choose one to undisable your iPhone.
Option 1: Unlock A Disabled iPhone via Another iDevice
If you have another Apple device like an iPad or iPhone, this method may help you. However, you need to make sure one thing: your disabled iPhone needs to share the same Apple account with the second one.
Only when the same Apple account is logged on both devices, can we use the Find My iPhone to unlock the disabled one.
How to:
On the iPhone or iPad, find the Find My app and launch it. On the app, go to Devices. Locate the disabled iPhone icon from the map. Hit Erase This Device from the bottom of the screen.
Option 2: Unlock A Disabled iPhone via Find My Web
Besides an application version, Find My iPhone also has this web entry and we can unlock a disabled iPhone on a browser.
Follow this:
On any browser, open Find My iPhone. Try to complete the login with the target Apple account and password.
During login, it will ask you to verify your identity. To pass it, you will have to enter a code into the website. When you don’t have another Apple device and the iPhone is disabled, you need to click the Didn’t get a code option on the login window.
Then, ask Apple to send the code again to
- a phone number: you can remove the Sim card from your current disabled iPhone and plug the Sim into another phone;
- email: sign in to the email that you used to create this Apple account.
Enter the digits and complete the verification.
Then, on the digital map on Find My iPhone, choose your disabled iPhone and hit Erase iPhone.
1-Click iPhone Unlocker
Remove Lock screen, Apple ID, and MDM restrictions in one tool
- Fix locked, disabled, unavailable iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch
- Remove Apple ID/iCloud account without password
- Bypass Mobile Device Management (MDM) with clicks
*Compatible with iOS 16 & iPadOS 16