Reset cell phones without the password

[Frank Cox]

A few days ago one of my wife's relatives died. She evidently had four(!) cell phones, a mix of Iphone and Android, and all, apparently, fairly high end gadgets.

I've been told that they're password-protected and so far nobody has found anything written down that contains the passwords.

The objective is not to access any data but simply to somehow reset those phones so they can be re-registered used by someone else.

My google searching so far indicates that there's no way to reset them without the passwords. For good reasons from the point of view of thwarting someone who steals a phone.

However, in view of the fact that this lady has died, do any of you folks who know more about cell phones than I do know of a process that would allow these phones to be reset, or are they just (expensive) electronic junk now. She wasn't particularly well organized so finding the original bills of sale is likely a futile endeavour, all they have at this point is physical possession of the phones and a death certificate.

[Frank Angel]

I have given up asking Google anything more complicated than a simple, one idea question in a simple sentence. For anything more complicated with multiple components, I now as ChatGPT.com (who I asked if it were alright if I called it Chappie and it replied, Sure; and thanks for that, Frankie. You've given me the name of that robot named Chappie in the 1915 movie CHAPPIE produced by Bad Robot. I like that! -- so who says AI does)'t have a personality?). Now for anything more complicated I ask Chappie, and here's what it said about your question, Frank C.:

Me: Chappie, one of my colleauges on a tech website i use asked this question -- let me know if his theory is correct -- that without passwords, data on cellphone, both ifphones or androids can't be accessed?

ChatGPT.com Your colleague's theory is partly correct frankie, but there's an important distinction.

For modern iPhones and Android phones, the data is generally encrypted when the phone is locked, and the screen passcode/password is a major part of the protection. So if someone steals a properly configured, locked phone and doesn't know the passcode, they generally cannot simply connect it to a computer and read the photographs, messages, contacts, files, etc.

But saying "without the password, the data can't be accessed" is too absolute. The important distinction

There are several different situations:

• Phone is locked + strong passcode: This is the really good situation. Modern iPhones and Androids use hardware-backed encryption, and the passcode is involved in protecting the encryption keys. Breaking in is deliberately made extremely difficult.
• Phone is unlocked: Anyone holding it can potentially access whatever the user is permitted to access. Encryption doesn't help once the phone has been unlocked.
• Phone has been compromised by sophisticated forensic equipment: Specialized law-enforcement/forensic tools can sometimes exploit particular phones or software versions and extract some data. That's quite different from an ordinary person simply plugging the phone into a PC.
• Cloud data: This is another matter entirely. Some information may exist in iCloud, Google, app servers, backups, etc., and its protection depends on the particular service and settings. The phone's passcode doesn't necessarily protect every copy of your information everywhere.
• SIM card: A SIM can contain some limited information, but it isn't where the bulk of your modern phone's data—photos, texts, app data, etc.—is stored.

And there's a fascinating wrinkle: the type of passcode matters. A long alphanumeric password is substantially harder to attack than a short 4- or 6-digit PIN, because the phone deliberately limits the number of guesses and can impose escalating delays or other protections.

So if your colleague's claim was essentially:

"If you don't have the passcode to a modern locked iPhone or Android, you can't just get into the phone and read its stored data."

Yes, that's basically correct.

If he meant:

"It is mathematically/absolutely impossible to obtain any data from a phone without the password."

No—that's too strong.

In fact, the encryption on current smartphones is remarkably good. The interesting question is what exactly happens to the encryption keys when the phone is locked versus unlocked—that's where the real magic is.

[Marcel Birgelen]

By all means, those phones are electronic junk now, unless you find some working backdoor into those. Keep in mind that even the CIA isn't able to get into some of those phones, so that might be a good indicator of what you're stuck with.

[Marco Giustini]

I've read that if you go to an Apple Store with a death certificate they might be able to unlock Apple gear. I am not sure if it's true as I don't know how they can verify that the owner of the phone/computer actually matches the one mentioned on the certificate but it might be worth asking them.

Mind you, they can apparently RESET THE PHONE and remove the lock - nobody can access the data if it's password-protected.

[Stefan Scholz]

Afaik, resetting to factory default requires to be logged in with the current user credentials.
This removes all non factory settings, apps and data. "Strongly recommended to run a backup before doing so"...
So without the passcode present, these phones are electronic waste. Only the manufacturer can be of help here. Damn safety.

[Ryan Gallagher]

With Apple anyway, the best course of action is via support and with the death certificate. You might be able to get access to their iCloud credentials and be walked through doing a remote reset that way. Easier if the device had “Find My” features turned in. That is the tool most end users would use to remotely wipe or reset their phone if they were no longer in possession of it.

it won’t be easy or pleasant to get access to that, but I think they are legally required at least to next of kin types.

[Ed Gordon]

For android phones:

Alternative Method: Recovery Mode


If your device is unresponsive or you cannot access the settings:

• Hold the Volume Up + Home + Power buttons simultaneously.
• Once the recovery mode appears, use the volume keys to navigate to wipe data/factory reset.
• Confirm with the power button.

For IPhones:

If you forgot your passcode, you must reset your iPhone (the process erases your data) and Apple suggests trying Passcode Reset first. If you can’t, you can reset the device using recovery mode with a computer (Finder on Mac or Apple Devices on Windows) and choose Restore.

Methods to Reset an iPhone Without a Password

You can reset your iPhone without a password using two main methods: Find My iPhone and Recovery Mode. Both methods will erase all data on the device.
1. Using Find My iPhone

This method requires that the Find My iPhone feature is enabled on your device.

• Steps:
  • Log into iCloud.com using your Apple ID.
  • Select "Find iPhone" from the menu.
  • Choose your iPhone from the list of devices.
  • Click on "Erase iPhone" and confirm your choice.

2. Using Recovery Mode

If Find My iPhone is not enabled, you can reset your iPhone using a computer.

• Steps:
  • Connect your iPhone to a Mac or Windows PC using a USB cable.
  • Put your iPhone into recovery mode:
    • iPhone 8 and later: Press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the power off slider appears. Slide to power off, then hold the side button while connecting to the computer until the recovery mode screen appears.
    • iPhone 7 and 7 Plus: Press and hold the side button until the power off slider appears. Slide to power off, then hold the volume down button while connecting to the computer until the recovery mode screen appears.
    • iPhone 6s and earlier: Press and hold the Home button while connecting to the computer until the recovery mode screen appears.
  • On your computer, open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows).
  • Select your iPhone and choose "Restore."

Important Notes

• Both methods will erase all data on your iPhone.
• After resetting, you will need to set up your iPhone as new or restore it from a backup.
• If you do not have access to your Apple ID, you may need to contact Apple Support for assistance.

I do not have an Iphone, but I have done resets on many Android devices. Reset returns the device to what it was when it left the factory. It does not save any data,

[Frank Cox]

Android phones apparently have something called Factory Reset Protection where the device boots into setup and immediately asks for the google account credentials that it was using before.

I'm thinking that it's going to be a lot of running around that ends up being a futile endeavour. I can't deal with this myself since the phones are in Africa and I'm here. And I have no idea what kind of technical support Apple provides in Africa.

I told them last night that I figure they're outta luck and I think that's going to be my final answer for them.

[Ryan Gallagher]

Android phones apparently have something called Factory Reset Protection where the device boots into setup and immediately asks for the google account credentials that it was using before.

I'm thinking that it's going to be a lot of running around that ends up being a futile endeavour. I can't deal with this myself since the phones are in Africa and I'm here. And I have no idea what kind of technical support Apple provides in Africa.

I told them last night that I figure they're outta luck and I think that's going to be my final answer for them.

Extensive support calls with both apple and google by the next of kin with death certificate proof is probably the only "proper" route to recover access to those accounts and thus the phones connected to them.

[Marco Giustini]

Ed,

If "find my phone" is enabled and Frank has the device in his account (it might be in the "family" account) then it's possible. But if FindMy is enabled and he doesn't have access to neither that nor the pin/password, then the iPhone/Macbook/iPad is eWaste.

You will find many Apple products for sale online as "spares" because they are still locked to the original owner. You can wipe it via a computer but once you turn it back on, macOS/iOS will re-activate it via Apple Servers and if the device was previously locked, it will ask the previous user to unlock it before the OS can be activated.

On modern Apple devices, there is nothing you can do to fix that even if you have electronics skills (that said, phone theft is so common in London, maybe someone in China has figured out how to do so! )

[Ed Gordon]

Marco, thanks for the info. The Android devices I recovered pre-dated the introduction of FRP. If you have an Android phone with FRP, you can still do a recovery with 3rd party software. See link below.

https://itoolab.com/android-phone-unlocker/?home-banner

[Marco Giustini]

Android has always been more "tinker-friendly" as there are tools available to do basically anything you want to the system. Apple is much less accessible.

On the FRP unlocker, a quick search yielded this:

One honest warning: if you search this, you'll be buried in "FRP bypass tools" — Dr.Fone, iToolab, MagFone, random APKs and so on. Third-party "crack" tools often contain malware, and many can't reliably bypass FRP on newer Android versions and risk bricking the phone or voiding the warranty. For a reasonably modern phone they mostly don't work anyway, so I'd steer clear.

Mind you, I have zero experience with FRP, a quick search implies some models are being jailbroken for the lock to be removed. What I want to say is that you might get the phone back but it might not be able to connect to Apple/Google.

[Ed Gordon]

Mind you, I have zero experience with FRP, a quick search implies some models are being jailbroken for the lock to be removed. What I want to say is that you might get the phone back but it might not be able to connect to Apple/Google.

Very true! All this hassle could have been avoided if the user had planned ahead and left a path for recovery. I think Frank is doing the right thing to not get any more involved in this problem.

[Dustin Grush]

Very true! All this hassle could have been avoided if the user had planned ahead and left a path for recovery. I think Frank is doing the right thing to not get any more involved in this problem.

I'd wonder if this person even would want their account recovered seeing as how they didn't leave passwords behind. For myself, my passwords will (hopefully) die with me and anything password protected can be recycled.

[Harold Hallikainen]

My wife was given an Apple watch that belonged to a friend of hers that died. After MANY phone calls with Apple, she was allowed to reset it. On passwords, I use the Google password manager, and my wife knows the password to the password manager (and would have my phone for 2FA authentication... I guess 2FA authentication is a bit redundant.).