As every iPhone user knows, this portable smartphone from Apple is much more than a phone – it is a multi-functional device capable of storing contact information, financial data, family schedules, shopping lists and more. Because many people use the iPhone to organize their lives, password protection is often enabled to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the device. If you have activated password protection on your iPhone and you've lost the password, the only way to unlock the device is to perform a system restore. This procedure restores the iPhone to its factory settings and erases the forgotten password.
Step 1
Connect the iPhone to your computer using the USB cord supplied with the phone. Use only the computer on which you can access your iTunes library; otherwise, you will lose all of your data saved on your iPhone.
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Step 2
Open iTunes on your computer and wait until the app recognizes your iPhone. It will appear under "Devices" in the iTunes menu on the left side of your screen.
Step 3
Click on the iPhone's name after it appears in the Devices menu. This will open the settings options on your phone.
Step 4
Click the "Summary" tab.
Step 5
Click on the "Restore" button when prompted by iTunes. A window will pop up asking you to confirm that you want to proceed with a system restore on your phone after the backup is complete. Once confirmed, the reset process will begin.
Step 6
Wait until a window appears confirming that the iPhone has been restored. Then, watch your iPhone for the "Connect to iTunes" screen. This screen shows an image of a USB cord with an arrow pointed towards the iTunes icon. When a message appears on your iPhone confirming that the device has been activated, the restore process is complete.
Step 7
Select the option to "Restore from Backup" on the pop-up menu that appears.
Step 8
Choose the date of the backup that you performed prior to initiating the system restore sequence from the drop-down menu. Click "OK." ITunes will sync with your iPhone and restore the data saved during the selected backup.