Screenshot by Katie Conner/CBS Interactive The recovery mode screen will appear.įor older iPhones: Press and hold the home and top buttons at the same time until you see the recovery mode screen.ģ. A screen will appear that says 'There is a problem with the iPhone that requires it to be updated or restored.' Select Restore. You should see the recovery mode screen.įor the iPhone 7 ( $175 at Amazon): Press and hold the side button and volume down button at the same time. Read now: Back up to prepare for your new iPhone Go into recovery modeġ. Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes.įor the iPhone 8 ( $300 at eBay) and newer: Press and release the volume up button and then press the volume down button.

If you don't back up, you could lose all your photos and videos. If you're taking precautions, however, make sure you back up to iCloud or iTunes ASAP. If you're already locked out of your phone, this step may be too late - skip to the recovery mode section. Use this as your guide for restoring your iPhone back to the original settings. If that's slipped (no judgment), you're probably getting 'iPhone Not Backed Up' and 'iCloud Storage full' messages on a daily basis.

Hopefully you've kept up with your iPhone backup reminders. Either way, your only hope of using your iPhone again soon might be to restore it. Maybe a 3-year-old got ahold of your phone and locked you out for a gazillion minutes. Maybe you forgot your iPhone ( $899 at Amazon) passcode.

Forgot apple iphone backup password