Written by
Eudora Liu
Summary: If you forget your iPhone's passcode, you may be very panic and keep trying all the possibilities to unlock your iPhone. But if you enter the wrong passcode five times, you will see the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen. This post from iBoysoft is suitable for your situation and offers you four methods to bypass such a screen.
Due to multiple reasons, you may forget your iPhone's passcode, and you will see the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen after you enter the wrong passcode multiple times. It will protect the data on your iPhone from theft or loss.
After you enter the wrong passcode five times, you're locked up for 1 minute; 5 minutes after you fail six times. The more times you enter the wrong passcode, the longer you will be locked up. After you fail ten times, your iPhone will be locked up permanently.
After you know the reason why you see the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen, let's get started to bypass this screen to access your iPhone.
Have you ever seen such a screen on your iPhone? If you do, follow the below methods to know how to fix it. Much appreciate it if you would like to share this post after reading it.
How to fix the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen?
Before you take the following methods, you can wait for the countdown to end and enter the passcode again. If you don't want to waste your time waiting, take the below solutions to bypass it.
| Methods | Applicable scenarios | Difficulty level |
| Erase your iPhone | iPhone running iOS 15.2 or later has been locked. | Easy |
| Use Find My | You have other Apple devices with Find My and your iPhone's location is on. | Easy |
| Use iCloud | Do not have other Apple devices and your iPhone's location is on. | Medium |
| Use iTunes | Use Mac running macOS Catalina earlier. | Difficult |
Erase your iPhone
After you enter the wrong passcode multiple times, you will not only see the iPhone Unavailable lock screen but the Erase iPhone option. Before using this method, please keep your iPhone with a strong internet connection.
- Keep entering the passcode until you see the Erase iPhone option in the right bottom corner.
- Click on it and you will see the message that reads Erase All Contents & Settings.
- Click Erase iPhone again and go ahead.
- Enter the Apple ID passcode and the erasing process will begin.
In this way, you will lose all the data stored on your iPhone. You can restore it from iCloud or iTunes if you have any backup in them.
Note: This method is only available on the iPhone running iOS 15.2 or later, or else, you won't find the Erase option.
Use Find My
Find My is a built-in app on all Apple devices that can help you to locate your devices. Besides, you can erase your iPhone remotely as well. Make sure your iPhone is online and keep the location on.
- Open Find My on your iPad or Mac. (Go to Finder > Applications > Find My or Launchpad > Find My on Mac.)
- Choose Device and find your iPhone in the list.
- Click your iPhone and scroll down to find the Erase This iPhone option. (Click the Info icon and scroll down the pop-up window to find the Erase This iPhone option on your Mac.)
- Click Continue and then enter your Apple ID and password to start.
Wait for the process to finish and then all the data and settings on your iPhone will be erased, including the password and the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen. After that, reset your iPhone, and then you can restore your data from iCloud.
Use iCloud
If you do not have any other Apple devices to use Find My, you can sign in to iCloud.com to erase your iPhone and bypass the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen.
- Go to iCloud.com and sign in with your Apple ID and password.
- Click the Find Device option from the iCloud menu.
- Choose your iPhone and click the Erase iPhone option.
- Click Erase again and confirm with your Apple ID and password.
You can click Restore from iCloud back after the erase process. Choose the latest backup and then click Restore. Keep a strong internet connection during the process to protect from failing to restore.
Use iTunes
If you have a Mac running macOS Catalina earlier, and you have synced your data in iTunes, you can use it to erase your iPhone and bypass the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen.
- Boot your iPhone into Recovery Mode.
If your iPhone has the Home button, hold on to the Home button and the Top or Side button simultaneously until you see the Recovery screen.
If your iPhone is a Face ID model, press the Volume button and release quickly, press the Volume Down button and release quickly, and then hold on to the Top or Side button until you see the recovery mode screen. - Connect your Mac and click Trust both on your iPhone and Mac.
- Find your iPhone in iTunes and click Restore iPhone.
After that, restart your iPhone and disconnect it from your Mac. If you have any backup in iTunes, click Restore and Update to restore your data.
iTunes has been separated into three single apps-Music, Podcasts, and TV. So if your Mac is running the latest macOS - macOS Sonoma (14), or macOS Catalina or later, this solution is unavailable.
Bouns tips & Sum up
Bouns tips
The passcode is the easiest way to protect the data on your iPhone from theft, but if you forget the passcode or enter the wrong passcode many times, you will see the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen on your iPhone. Then, all the data on your iPhone becomes inaccessible.
Thus, it's important for you to sync or back up your iPhone. iCloud is the built-in feature that can help you to upload your data to the cloud so that you can access them on all the devices which sign in to the same Apple ID. However, iCloud can only offer 5 GB of free storage for you, if you want more storage, you need to pay for it.
Sum up
If you enter the wrong passcode too many times, your iPhone will be locked up and you will see the iPhone Unavailable or Screen Lockout screen. If you still do not remember the correct passcode after 10 attempts, your iPhone will be locked up forever and you need to erase your iPhone to bypass the screen. You can click Erase on your iPhone directly, or use Find My and iCloud for help. Make sure a strong internet connection no matter which method you like to use.
If you forget your iPhone passcode or your iPhone has been locked without a passcode or Face ID, this post is for you, which introduces four solutions for you to unlock your iPhone.
Do you bypass the iPhone Unavailable lock screen successfully by using the above solutions? If yes, please share them with those who need them.
