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How to Recover a Forgotten iPhone Screen Time Passcode

By: Kelly Heffner Wilkerson
March 07, 2024 at 04:30 PM

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Update March 7, 2024: The ways to change or remove an iPhone/iPad Screen Time passcode have changed significantly over the past few years, so I'm updating this post to reflect the ways to recover a Screen Time passcode that are current as of iOS 17. I'm leaving the original post below for anyone running older versions of iOS but those steps won't apply for iPads or iPhones running iOS 13 or newer.

Apple provides two mechanisms to change or remove a Screen Time passcode if you don't remember the PIN you set. The iOS Screen Time passcode is no longer recoverable from an encrypted iPhone/iPad backup.

Method 1 to Recover/Delete/Change a Forgotten Screen Time Passcode

This method to change or delete your Screen Time Passcode should be done on the device that has the Screen Time restrictions passcode locking it.

Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode.
Select Change Screen Time Passcode or Turn Off Screen Time Passcode, whichever you prefer.
Tap Forgot Passcode? in the center of the screen.
Enter the Apple ID and password for the account you provided when you set up Screen Time on this device.

Method 2 to Recover/Delete/Change a Forgotten Screen Time Passcode

This method can only be used if the Screen Time passcode is set up for a family account and you have access to a parent device in the iCloud family group.

On an iPhone, iPad, or Mac signed in to a parent's Apple ID, open Settings > Screen Time.
On iOS, scroll down and tap to select the family member who needs the Screen Time passcode reset. On macOS, select the family member from the dropdown menu at the top of the window.
Select Change Screen Time Passcode.
Authenticate with Face ID or your PIN on iPhone/iPad, or your macOS password or Touch ID on a Mac.

Old post from January 16, 2020:

My sister-in-law asks some of the best iPhone questions. Yesterday she asked me:

Do you know how to reset a restrictions passcode? I seem to have forgotten it.

We then waded through tons of web pages with totally outdated information about how to find out the restrictions passcode. They probably worked several years ago, but not in iOS 10, iOS 11, or iOS 12. Half of the descriptions were also pretty darn hard to read, even for me, and I work on iPhone data for my job!

So here is my contribution to the world of forgotten iPhone Restrictions / Screen Time passcode tutorials.

Update October 9, 2018: As of iOS 12, the Restrictions passcode setting has changed to the iOS 12 Screen Time passcode and the storage of the passcode has changed. Decipher Backup Browser has been updated to also show the Screen Time passcode from an encrypted iPhone/iPad backup.

Update January 16, 2020: As of iOS 13, the Screen Time is no longer stored in the backup keychain, so Decipher Backup Browser cannot show a Screen Time passcode set in iOS 13. Decipher Backup Browser can read the passcode if it was set before upgrading to iOS 13.

How to recover your iPhone or iPad Screen Time passcode (iOS 12)

In iOS 12, the Restrictions passcode was used to set up the new iOS 12 Screen Time passcode. Download Decipher Backup Browser and make a backup of the iPhone/iPad if you don't have a backup already. The passcode is only stored in if your backup is made with encryption turned on, so as part of recovering your Screen Time passcode, you'll need to make sure your backup is encrypted.

How to recover a forgotten iPhone or iPad Screen Time passcode:

Click on the backup of your iPhone/iPad in the left column of Decipher Backup Browser.
Select "Screen Time Passcode" from the center column.
Your iPhone Screen Time passcode will show in the right column.

(I've got the same combination on my luggage!)

If you do not see Screen Time passcode as an option, please make sure your backup was made with iTunes backup encryption turned on. Here are instructions from Apple for how to turn on encrypted iTunes backups.

How to recover your iPhone Restrictions passcode (iOS 11 and lower)

Since about iOS 8, the restrictions PIN itself is no longer stored in an iPhone backup. However, the verification for the restrictions passcode is stored instead, much like how a website wouldn't store your passcode for your account, but instead stores information to verify it.

The good news if you forgot your iPhone restrictions passcode is that it's really easy to have a computer guess and check it for you. The passcode is only four digits, which is a small search space for a computer, and the steps to verify the passcode against the info stored in an iTunes backup are fast. (This is why iOS built a delay in allowing you to guess the restrictions passcode on the iPhone itself.)

We've built a little iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch restrictions passcode recovery tool, and put it into the free trial version of Decipher Backup Browser. You don't need to purchase a license code to use the restrictions passcode guesser.

Download Decipher Backup Browser and make a backup of the iPhone with the restrictions passcode if you don't have a backup already.

How to recover a forgotten iPhone restrictions passcode:

Click on the backup of your iPhone in the left column of Decipher Backup Browser.
Select "Restrictions Passcode Cracker" from the center column.
After a few seconds, your iPhone restrictions passcode will show in the right column.

Write A Comment

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indyconservative
September 9, 2020
Hooray! It worked....well, not at first. Long story short: I found my wife's old iPhone4 with iOS9, used iTunes to create a backup, then used Decipher Backup Browser to find out the Restrictions (aka Screen Time) password / PIN to use on her new iPhone that has iOS13. This is the long story: The thing is, one of the kids set a restrictions passcode on her iPhone4 years ago while they were messing with her phone and we didn't know it. She never had to use that feature until recently. But then she found out she didn't know the Restrictions passcode. And her new phone had iOS13 on it so I couldn't use the current version (14) of Decipher Backup Browser to recover the Restrictions passcode. But then I remembered we still had her old iPhone4 with iOS9 on it so I got the passcode from that phone and used it on her new phone and it worked!
- Kelly HW
  September 9, 2020
  Ah, so lucky that you had the older iPhone still to get the passcode from that older backup! Yay! Smart thinking!
  - indyconservative
    September 9, 2020
    Aw, thanks. To thank you for your software I sent $15 to you on PayPal. Enjoy the pizza!
filza
May 5, 2020
thank you for sharing this software. this helped me recover my screen time passcode and i was successfully able to turn of screen time. i had made 8 attempts and seemed like someone changed my passcode.
Darrenr71
November 11, 2019
Hi there, has there been an update regarding recovering/resetting a screen time passcode while on IOS 13?
- Kelly HW
  November 11, 2019
  As of iOS 13.2.2, the Screen Time passcode is still no longer stored in the backups. I've been verifying by restoring encrypted backups to a test device and seeing that the Screen Time passcode is no longer set as part of the restored data. So, currently we have no mechanism to recovering the passcode.
  However, if the passcode hasn't been changed since the device was upgraded to iOS 13, the passcode may still be stored in the backup. That has been my experience so far.
  - Nicolas Durand
    April 4, 2020
    Interesting... so does this mean that if I make an encrypted backup of an iOS 13 iPhone, and restore it onto the same iPhone, it will remove the screen time? Do I need to wipe it clean first?
    This sounds too easy...
    Kelly HW
    April 4, 2020
    In practice, this is what I have seen work for people, yes!
    1) Yes, you'll want to wipe the iPhone clean first (be careful not to set up the iPhone blank and accidentally make a new backup of the blank phone, which would overwrite the good backup.)
    2) I am not sure yet if having "Share Across Devices" enabled means the passcode will come right back after signing in to iCloud. (I haven't run in to this with the handful of people I've talked to who have done the backup and reset.) I would be very interested to know if yours is turned on right now, if the backup/wipe/restore still worked. But if it's not turned on, all the better for actual success chances ;)
    Nicolas Durand
    April 4, 2020
    It WORKED!
    here is what I did:
    1. Disabled Find My iPhone
    2. Followed instructions on https://support.apple.com/e... (encrypted backup and restore on Mac)
    3. Signed in on iPhone with a different account than before (not sure if necessary), then signed OUT of iPhone
    4. Restored from backup
    5. Screen time password is gone! Yay!
    Thank you again!
Satish Goli
November 11, 2019
Hi, i have followed the steps to recover my screen time password on decipher backup browser. But it is not showing my password. Its giving me a message that no password is found with this associated device. Can you help me out??
- Kelly HW
  November 11, 2019
  What version of iOS is the backup made with? In Decipher Backup Browser, select "Version, IMEI, and Serial Number" (towards the bottom of the center column) and make sure it is iOS 12 and not iOS 13?
Tara Williams
September 9, 2019
I have encrypted my back up and the Decipher browser is not showing the restriction passcode cracker. what do I do now?
- Kelly HW
  September 9, 2019
  Hi Tara,
  Are you being prompted for your backup password in Decipher Backup Browser?
  Do you see the "Screen Time Passcode" section?
Haleigh Albrecht
July 7, 2019
Do I have to buy the full version to get the restrictions passwcode? Or will the free trial work?
- Kelly HW
  July 7, 2019
  The free trial is sufficient for the Restrictions/Screen Time feature of Decipher Backup Browser :)
Mnm Foronemore
June 6, 2019
WOW!!!!!!!! I just want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!! THREE years with this problem and BLIP! FIXED! Thanks to you. Wow.... I WILL be buying your software. :)
- Kelly HW
  June 6, 2019
  Yay! Glad we were able to help!
John Striver
April 4, 2019
Thanks so much worked so well
avery J ward
January 1, 2019
for some reason its not showing the screen time passcode file? please help.
- Kelly HW
  January 1, 2019
  Hi Avery,
  The Screen Time passcode feature is only available if the backup of the device is made with encryption turned on. (The file in the backup required to display the screen time passcode is only backed up with encryption turned on.)
  https://support.apple.com/e...
  Can you double-check that backup encryption is turned on? You'll also know because Decipher Backup Browser will prompt you for the backup password. (Make sure it is set to something that you won't forget, since there's no password recovery mechanism in iOS for the backup password.)
Ducky
January 1, 2019
Hello... I just got an old iPod that used to belong to my nephew in his younger days... lock password no problem but they can't remember the restrictions passcode. So.. I came upon this. Unfortunately.. after I managed to back it up using encryption... I don't see any sort of restriction passcode cracker in the middle column... I'm on the free trial. I made the mistake of backing up first unencrypted, corrected that but still don't see what I need :(.
Side note-- this iPod is at least 7-9 years old- don't know if that matters.
Edit- I was able to restore it using this site as my iPod is iOS 4.2! Yep that old iPod Touch 2G lol. https://support.apple.com/e.... I'll be bookmarking this page though.. I am sure it will come in handy down the line :)
- Kelly HW
  January 1, 2019
  I'm glad you got it working :) The restrictions passcode was stored differently in iOS 4, so if you end up needing to get it from the old backup, let us know.
Daniel
December 12, 2018
Thank you so much! I've been trying to figure out this password for weeks and had made 40+ attempts. This took 20 mins to do an encrypted back up and then a few seconds to retrieve the passcode and it worked. This is the first thing I found that didn't require me to pay anything or follow a ridiculous amount of steps.
- Kelly HW
  December 12, 2018
  Hi Daniel,
  Glad you got the passcode, and Happy New Year!
RJ
December 12, 2018
Thanks so much! I finally was able to get that dang passcode recovered. I will recommend you to everyone!
- Kelly HW
  December 12, 2018
  Great news RJ! Thank you for letting us know!
Magda Rodriguez
November 11, 2018
Worked! Thanks!
- Kelly HW
  December 12, 2018
  Great news Magda! Thank you for letting us know!
Lucy
November 11, 2018
This hasn’t worked for me. I’m very upset, as I have wasted hours trying to recover my screentime passcode. It doesn’t come up with the screentime passcode or restrictions passcode cracker on my app. Please help!!!
- Kelly HW
  November 11, 2018
  Hi Lucy,
  Is your iTunes backup made with encryption turned on? https://support.apple.com/e... (section: Check to see if iTunes is already set up to encrypt your backups) The Screen Time passcode section won't appear in the backup unless encryption is turned on. For iOS 11 and lower devices, you'll see the Restrictions passcode section, and for iOS 12 encrypted backups, you'll see the Screen Time passcode section. If the encrypted backup doesn't help, what version of iOS is running on the iPhone/iPad?
  - Lucy
    November 11, 2018
    Thanks for your help Kelly. It worked! I am relieved.
Kristina Halvorson
October 10, 2018
Oh no. I just sang your praises on Twitter ... then went to enter my recovered Screentime passcode into my iPhone and IT'S NOT WORKING. Any ideas???
- Decipher Tools Software
  October 10, 2018
  Happy to help, Kristina. Just send us an email us via our support page and then we'll get back to you when we are in the office this morning here on the west coast. https://deciphertools.com/s...
Hua
October 10, 2018
Thank you very much!!!! I have tried many ways to recover my restriction passcode, but only yours ran in IOS12. I really appreciate it.
Peter O
October 10, 2018
When I can count on the version for IOS 12
- Kelly HW
  October 10, 2018
  The version for iOS 12 Screen Time passcode is out now! :)
  - Vy Nguyen
    October 10, 2018
    Hey Kelly,
    Does the Screen Time Passcode work with the free version?
    Thanks
    Kelly HW
    October 10, 2018
    Hi Vy,
    Yes, currently the Screen Time Passcode is available in the free version :)
Brady
October 10, 2018
how long til its updated?
- Kelly HW
  October 10, 2018
  Hi Brady,
  The update is nearly ready! I will post again here when it's uploaded and this blog post will be updated with new details.
  - Kelly HW
    October 10, 2018
    The update to Decipher Backup Browser to support the iOS 12 Screen Time passcode is out now! This post was also updated to include the new instructions.
Anthony Sakr
October 10, 2018
How do i add a new phone and also i cannot find this feature in the free trial?
- Kelly HW
  October 10, 2018
  We're working to get Decipher Backup Browser updated ASAP with the iOS 12 Screen Time passcode, vs the older Restrictions passcode for iOS 11 and older. If you'd like to be notified when the update is ready, send us an email through our support/contact page and we'll send you an email when it's ready :)
LPG Animations
September 9, 2018
PLEASE HELP! I cannot find the feature in the free trial!
- Kelly HW
  September 9, 2018
  We're working to get Decipher Backup Browser updated ASAP with the iOS 12 Screen Time passcode, vs the older Restrictions passcode for iOS 11 and older. We also followed up with you via email :)
Travis Fremming
September 9, 2018
Just paid for the full version I do not see anywhere to use this restrictions passcode feature
alison Thea
September 9, 2018
Thanks so much. it worked like magic
CL
June 6, 2018
Can this be used for an Ipad?
- Kelly HW
  June 6, 2018
  Yes!
Dale
May 5, 2018
Thank you very much! I Made a simple mistake when I entered the passcode and couldn't get past it. The code was cracked in less than a second!
- Kelly HW
  May 5, 2018
  Great news!
Wayne Hom
February 2, 2018
Thank you. This worked just fine for me. My aunt’s phone was a hand-me-down from her son. Somehow there was a Restriction code set, but he didn’t know how it got there. Following these steps allowed me to find the Restriction code and disable it. Now the phone is fully usable.
- Decipher Tools Software
  February 2, 2018
  Great news, Wayne. We are glad our post was helpful! ;-)
Zara Collins
January 1, 2018
That simple? Cool. Thanks for info.

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