iPhone Unavailable or Security Lockout? How to get back in

“iPhone Unavailable” and “Security Lockout” are the messages iOS shows after too many wrong passcodes. Older versions called it “iPhone is disabled”. It protects your data if someone else picks up your phone, but it also catches out owners, often after a child plays with the phone or a pocket presses the screen. What you can do depends on one question: do you still know the passcode?

Why your iPhone says Unavailable

After several wrong attempts in a row, iOS makes you wait before the next try. The wait starts at about a minute and grows with each further mistake, up to an hour. After around ten wrong attempts, the timer disappears and the iPhone stays locked until it is erased. If Erase Data is turned on in Settings › Face ID & Passcode, the iPhone erases itself automatically after ten failed attempts.

• A child pressing numbers, or the phone unlocking in a pocket or bag.
• A recently changed passcode typed the old way out of habit.
• A passcode rarely typed because Face ID usually unlocks the phone.
• Someone else trying to get into the phone.

If you did not cause the wrong attempts yourself, and the phone was out of your sight, treat it as a warning. After you get back in, change your passcode and check Settings › [your name] for any devices or sign-ins you do not recognize. Stolen Device Protection, in Settings › Face ID & Passcode, adds extra protection when your iPhone is away from familiar places.

How to fix iPhone Unavailable

Take your time with the next attempt. Every wrong try adds to the wait, so type slowly and check which passcode length the screen expects: four dots, six dots, or a keyboard for a custom code.

Forgot the passcode? What erasing needs

• iOS 15.2 or later for the erase option on the lock screen. On iOS 17 and later it is called Forgot Passcode; earlier versions show Erase iPhone.
• A cellular or Wi-Fi connection on the locked iPhone, since it has to contact Apple.
• Your Apple Account password, to sign out and to pass Activation Lock after the reset. If you have forgotten it too, see how to reset your Apple Account password from another device first.

The computer method works when the lock screen option is missing, for example on older iOS or when the phone has no connection. It needs a Mac with Finder or a Windows PC with the Apple Devices app or iTunes, and the right button presses to enter recovery mode for your model. The full steps are in how to reset an iPhone without the passcode.

While it is locked: calls and emergencies

An Unavailable iPhone can still make emergency calls. Tap Emergency on the lock screen to call 911, and Medical ID is still visible to first responders if you set it up. Incoming calls may still ring, and notifications can still appear depending on your settings, but you cannot open apps until the timer runs out or the phone is erased.

Face ID stopped working and you forgot the passcode

iOS asks for the passcode after a restart, after 48 hours without unlocking, and after several failed Face ID attempts, even if Face ID works fine the rest of the time. That is when many people discover they no longer remember it. There is no way around this: Face ID cannot replace the passcode in those moments. If the passcode is gone, the only option is erasing the phone, which is why a current backup matters so much.

How long does the erase take?

Erasing from the lock screen takes a few minutes. Setting up again and restoring from iCloud takes longer: the main settings come back in minutes, then apps and photos download in the background over the next hours, depending on your internet speed and how much you have. Keep the iPhone on Wi-Fi and charging overnight after restoring. Restoring from a computer backup is often faster for large amounts of data.

iPad Unavailable

iPads show the same iPad Unavailable and Security Lockout messages and follow the same steps: wait out the timer if you know the passcode, use Forgot Passcode to erase if you do not, or use a computer in recovery mode. The button presses for recovery mode differ between iPads with and without a Home button.

What you lose, and what comes back

Erasing removes everything stored only on the iPhone. What comes back depends on your backups:

• Comes back from iCloud: iCloud Photos, contacts, calendars, notes, iCloud Drive files, and Messages if Messages in iCloud was on.
• Comes back from a backup: apps and their data, settings, Home Screen layout and anything else in your last iCloud or computer backup.
• Lost: anything created after the last backup that was not synced to iCloud, such as photos taken with iCloud Photos turned off.

After erasing, set up the iPhone, sign in with your Apple Account, and choose Restore from iCloud Backup or from your computer. See how to restore an iPhone from a backup.

Bought a used iPhone that says Unavailable?

Contact the seller. They need to erase it and remove it from their Apple Account, which they can do from icloud.com/find. Without the original owner’s passcode or Apple Account, nobody can make the phone usable, and it may be lost or stolen. Ask for a refund if the seller cannot help, and see how to check if a phone is stolen before buying next time.

Do data recovery services help?

Not for a locked iPhone. Its storage is encrypted with a key tied to the passcode, so no shop or software can read the data without it. Services that promise to recover photos from a locked iPhone either erase it, like the free methods, or recover only what was already in iCloud, which you can reach yourself at icloud.com. Save your money, and put it toward more iCloud storage so the next backup is complete.

Before erasing, sign in at icloud.com on a computer to see what is already safe. If your photos and contacts are there, erasing the iPhone loses very little.

Can Apple help?

Apple cannot unlock an iPhone without its passcode; that is the point of the protection. An Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider can help you erase and set it up again. If you cannot remember your Apple Account password either and account recovery fails, Apple may be able to remove Activation Lock with proof of purchase, such as the original receipt showing the serial number.

How to avoid it happening again

• Choose a passcode you will remember, and type it now and then even if you use Face ID.
• Keep iCloud Backup on so an erase never means lost data. See how to back up your iPhone.
• When a child uses your iPhone, turn on Guided Access to keep them inside one app.
• Leave Erase Data off if young children often get hold of your phone.
• Write your Apple Account password somewhere safe at home.