How to Jailbreak a Disabled iPhone With a Forgotten Passcode

Techwalla may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.
Image Credit: Rawpixel Ltd/iStock/Getty Images

Apple designed the iPhone with a passcode feature to prevent unauthorized access to your important information. When you forget your iPhone passcode, the device becomes disabled and unusable. A disabled iPhone cannot open the iPhone springboard or be jailbroken for third-party applications. The iPhone passcode needs to be removed enable it. Once your iPhone is no longer disabled, you can jailbreak it with free software from the Internet.

Advertisement

Remove Passcode

Video of the Day

Step 1

Establish a connection between your iPhone and iTunes software using your USB cord. Launch iTunes on your computer. Your iPhone displays in the left-hand column under the "Devices" header.

Advertisement

Video of the Day

Step 2

Click the "Sync" button on the main iTunes screen for your iPhone. This syncs the information on your iPhone to your iTunes library and creates a backup of your information.

Step 3

Right-click your iPhone in the left-hand column. Select the option to "Restore From Backup."

Advertisement

Step 4

Choose the backup that you just created. Confirm you want to factory restore from a backup. Your iPhone restores your iPhone and removes the passcode settings from your iPhone. Your iPhone is no longer disabled due to a forgotten passcode.

Jailbreak iPhone

Step 1

Locate your firmware version on your iPhone. Open the "Settings" application on your iPhone. Tap the "General" line. Open the "About" menu. Scroll down to the version to locate your firmware version.

Advertisement

Step 2

Choose the jailbreak software you want to use. Not all jailbreak software work for every firmware version. Verify with the software website that it works for the firmware version your iPhone uses. Common jailbreak software include Greenpois0n, Redsn0w and Sn0wbreeze.

Advertisement

Step 3

Download the jailbreak software to your computer. Open the download file to begin the installation process.

Advertisement

Step 4

Turn your iPhone off. Plug it into your computer using your USB cord.

Step 5

Open the jailbreak software on your computer. Follow the on-screen prompts to put your iPhone into device firmware update (DFU) mode. Enter DFU mode by holding the "Home" button and the "Sleep/Wake" button at the same time for approximately ten seconds. Release the "Sleep/Wake" button. Continue to hold the "Home" button. Once in DFU mode, the jailbreak software takes over and jailbreaks your iPhone. Your iPhone restarts when the jailbreak is complete.

Advertisement

Advertisement

references & resources

Report an Issue

screenshot of the current page

Screenshot loading...