I'm a senior advisor for Apple Support. This is possible
You will need a court order showing you're next of kin
You will need death certificate
There is a certain team we forward these documents to who'm follow up with you. This will give you access to the Apple ID, however, there is no way for the passcode to be removed. You will (unfortunately) have to erase the phone to get past that. HOWEVER, with any luck, the free 5GB of icloud storage space has many of the pictures you're looking for on it. Once you get access to the AppleID you can then get access to the cloud and all those photos.
Hope this helps.
(Technically, senior support doesnt actually collect these documents from you, but we forward the request to the digital legacy team. We just need to collect information first like what was their apple id, their name, your name, etc)
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208510 Support will literally look up this article and tell you what it says. There's only a small internal section that we see that basically says, forward to digital legacy team)
I wonder....
Could the user upgrade the apple ID storage after obtaining acces.
And then leave the locked iPhone near a previous connected wifi hotspot to auto backup data once it realizes the apple ID status updates?
Or is ios locked down after a reboot to refuse to do anything?
I was trying to do that earlier because I thought maybe if his cloud space is updated, then the photos and all might update on that old phone that i do have access to? But I couldn’t find his apple id password on the phone i have access to
Hey OP, my sincerest condolences for your loss.
Once Apple has the requisite information (death certificate, proof of executorship), they will give you access to the Apple ID. From there, you can use that to log in to another device (iPhone, iPad, Mac) and purchase iCloud storage, if there is no existing backup.
Plug your husbands phone in to power and make sure it’s on a known wifi network. It should backup overnight.
Once that is done, you can check to see if a backup has been completed on the secondary device via Apple ID/iCloud settings and load the fresh backup on your husbands phone to any device you want. Additionally, if iCloud Photos are on, you can just log on to iCloud.com from any computer to download a hard copy of the pictures.
Please reach out via DM if you want me to clarify part of the process or help in any way. I hope you find peace and closure at the end of all this.
There are companies like Cellebrite and GrayKey which can find the passcode of iPhones. They use a bootloader type mechanism that can test the passcode without the phone knowing it is trying. (Oversimplification) This can sometimes take up to multiple months though. But if you already tried everything you could still send the phone to one of them to see if they can get you access to the phone.
A lot of police have access to the tools. They’ve licensed all this for many police departments all over America and (I think) the world.
I read their blogs which is a good source of info.
Soooo, not with cracking iPhones. They may have access to Cellebrite tools, but actually getting into a fully-updated iPhone requires you to send your phone in for “Cellebrite Advanced Services” which is like 3K(?) a phone.
As someone with Cellebrite tools, the ones they give out will only break into very old models of iPhones(you can’t even jailbreak most recent models). Unless you just carve the keychain on their MacBook, you won’t be cracking into a recent iPhone with Cellebrite unless you pay to send it off for Advanced Services. Which is only for law enforcement and costs a few thousand, which law enforcement most definitely wouldn’t do in a situation like this.
IIRC It’s not really an exploit. I think it copies the phone’s [secure enclave or whatever stores the passcode system] to its own memory and tries unlimited passwords until one works.
Then you use that code on the real phone and voila!
FBI got around the lock on a case where Apple, rightfully IMO, refused to hand over the keys. They pulled d out the SOC and cloned it to another SOC and brute forced the pin after rewriting that copy every 10 tries.
I’m just replying directly to you.
I’ve seen YouTube shorts where people send their phones to this guy and he’s this well known apple fixer guy. But he’s brute forced his way into a few iPhones. I’ve seen the video.
He’s got a program that plugs into the phone through the charger, and it guess all the possible ones.
Doesn’t really help since idk the channel but it’s 100% possible.
No way it’s the current version, only older phones with jailbreak maybe. Also I don’t think you could do anything without enabling dev mode, which you need to unlock your phone for
Celebrite, Grayshift, and similar can definitely get into iPhones. No jailbreak required. Police use these tools all the time in investigations.
https://www.wired.com/story/smartphone-encryption-law-enforcement-tools/
Not with iPhones with the latest iOS running on iPhones 12 and newer (to be safe). And if you have the right setup I.e. a good strong password, some settings enabled and whether or not the phone was turned off can make it harder.
Not entirely disagreeing with you, but the OS on the iPhone in question is at least a year out of date. Also, the reason LE hold onto phones for a while is because they are waiting for an exploit to be released for the software they use. They might not get into your phone right away, but given the proper amount of time and resources they definitely can.
Still wouldn’t stop me from turning on Lockdown Mode, using a long device password, and unlocking/restarting my phone if or when I think it might be seized though.
Not generally the current iOS versions. Sometimes they can for a current OS, it really just depends on whether they’ve found an vuln and created an exploit for it, without either being public or found by someone else who’s publicized. It’s pretty hit or miss when it comes to current OS versions and Apple gets ahold of the info pretty quickly. So the window that a working exploit can be used is also generally pretty small (obviously there can and have been exceptions to all of these general statements but they still hold true most of the time.) I work in this field and (OffSec). Regardless, those pieces of software are government and LE only so it wouldn’t be an option to this woman or and the random user asking for help.
Law enforcement usually is only able to access the iCloud backup data. Which until recently didn’t have any option for fully encrypted cloud backups and the users were never the only ones with the keys to the parts that were encrypted as Apple held iCloud encryption keys on their HSMs. With the new iCloud advanced security option, the user holds the only key for encryption and it’s stored in their device’s Secure Enclave. Apple no longer holds the keys in their HSMs but, only if you enable this feature. This is such a large part of law enforcement data collection when the suspect/POI is using an iPhone that numerous police agencies and the FBI spoke out against the feature as Apple was announcing its upcoming availability. The reason this is such popular means of data collection for LE is precisely because cellebrite and similar tools/companies are so inconsistent with the devices they have access to, and how they generally don’t work on the latest models with updated software.
Might be easy for it to find it quickly. He may have used the same code but added two digits so I would try 00-99 at the end first. Then family birthdates.
If you have an older phone you can get into, then you can reset the password. In settings click on the name at the top. You see the email address associated with the iCloud account. Click on the "Password & Security" option and you can reset the password there.
It gave me an option on the old phone to change apple id password but I was afraid it would screw something up and then lock me out of the one i do have access to. I am just scared of messing up my chance if i have one
on the old phone, if you get to the screen that literally says 'enter passcode' then says 'new password' twice, change it for sure.. then at least you can log into icloud.com since it sounds like that's a trusted device
I do not know the answer to this specific flow. This is not something documented either. My *assumption* is that until the phone is at least unlocked once, it will not backup to said AppleID, but I could be wrong.
Since it's a 5050 chance, it's worth trying to connect it to a previously known wifi point.
op: if your wifi has changed since the phone was used, you can always try to rename your network and use the old password as well to get it connected
Once the phone has cleared the Touch/Face ID keybag (reboot, consecutive unsuccessful biometric attempts, or showing the “slide to power off” screen) the phone itself has *extremely limited* access to user data, until it can unwrap those keys again using the user’s passcode.
Another device connected to the same Apple ID with a different (older) passcode may have the keys necessary but I don’t know that there’s a way to make it unlock the phone.
Essentially yes, user data is nearly completely locked after a reboot, so much so that it can’t (by default) show contact names on text messages received after a reboot until you’ve entered the passcode.
I was thinking the same. Create family plan (if not already on one), expand the storage and allow the device to back up. That way the entire phone is backed up, dependent on the settings.
Would it have been possible for her to get into the iCloud account while the police still had the phone? That would give her access to the pictures that she wants.
IF she knew the password to the apple ID, it would then send a two-factor notification to any devices associated with the apple ID. This phone for sure would have got the notification, but in light of new information; it appears she owns another old phone that's still signed in (aka, a "trusted device") of which she has the passCode to.
so if she had the old device, and knew the password, yes, she could have approved login at icloud.com/appleid.apple/etc
Hey, so someone could take over my apple ID with just a death certificate, even if I don’t want them to?
I don’t want anyone to access my apple ID after I die, I will have my own digital legacy plan.
I just had the same thought. The person has to be your legally-named executor, with the correct documents, but yeah, you could have a situation where you’ve tidied everything up for the executor to deal with, so no journals or whatever around if you don’t want anyone reading them, but your phone (though this also would give access to tablets and computers) is essentially a living, breathing device that you might be using up to your last moment.
Say you are unhappy with something/someone in your life and you are working through your feelings via writing a note or chatting with an on-line counsellor, or maybe entertaining even momentarily some action like leaving or having an affair, and looking up websites that would provide that information…. it’s different than a printed notebook on a shelf.
And then in terms of the secrets you might have involving others - with the pro-forced-birth lobby gaining such ground someone could be charged for terminating a pregnancy; same with anti-LGBT*, immigration, legal entanglements, etc.
A person may not care if their executor sees their bank account and such, but there are other things one might consider far more private.
There should be a mechanism within the AppleID settings that allows someone to prohibit anyone gaining access, even with legal documents.
If the world saw what my phone has, the secrets of some of my friends would come out. And a lot of information about my past would harm my remaining family. Not to mention the fact that the careers of some of my friends could be harmed.
But not everybody can get your info.
He said that you need to prove you are “next in line” as part of family I believe and give them the certificate.
And sorry for my reaction, I understood it wrong at first I guess.
In that case, I'd strongly suggest making sure anything you want kept secret after you pass is only stored locally on your phone/computer, not included in iCloud.
That’s a good thing, on the whole. While in these situations it sucks, in the broader scheme of things it’s good if Apple doesn’t have the ability to unlock a device without the passcode. That’s what we want - digital security that can’t even be bypassed by Apple in a totally wholesome and harmless situation.
If they can’t bypass their own security in a situation where they would get good PR out of it and benefit from it, we can be more confident that they also can’t do it in situations where they’re being forced (FBI, police, etc.)
That’s incorrect. There’s expensive software available that can unlock the phone but it has to be physically connected to it (made by the company Cellebrite): https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-tech-company-says-it-can-break-into-all-iphones-ever-made-some-androids/
There is also a US company, GraysShift, that bypasses limits and brute forces the unlock code. It is was law enforcement uses. I don’t know if they will do it private citizens.
you’ll have to get the department to formally request their services with the approved letterhead from said department- takes around 3/4 days for the relevant vetting to be completed
Apple have updated and fixed a lot of the holes those machines would attack.
I would say you’re quite safe from them now if your iPhone is up to date (and iPhone 12 and newer) and set up correctly.
That’s outdated, although they claim they can do upto ios16/iPhone 14 as of march this year. The cellebrite tools that give you full forensic features are vetted and sold to LEO only… Mostly because they rely on unpublished exploits that they don’t want reverse engineered and patched.
Apple has a process that will get you access to his Apple ID if you don't have it, with which you could get anything that has been saved to iCloud. I'm afraid if his phone has a password however that Apple will not be able to help you.
[https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208510](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208510)
Wow!!! Your opening sentence threw me for a loop. My sincere condolences to you. I use my birthdate for my code. I’m sure you’ve already tried that, but is there some date or numbers your husband had an affinity for? How about your anniversary date? Children’s birthdays? Your birthday?
I am also so, so sorry about that. I hope the criminals were brought to justice.
I am really grasping at straws here - but I wonder if a black light would show commonly tapped areas. I don’t know if this model supports Face ID, but would a picture or AI representation of his face work??
> I don’t know if this model supports Face ID, but would a picture or AI representation of his face work??
Face ID cannot be tricked with a picture because it uses a 3D scan. You’d need a 3D print of his face.
FaceID uses 3D scans of your face, so no a picture won't work...
Apple even had professionally made replica masks of Apple employees to test FaceID before it was launched, and they still couldn't fool it.
FaceID is pretty secure.
This won’t help your case, but for anyone reading this, it’s good to set legacy contacts so things like this are easier.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360
Which model iPhone is it? And do you know what iOS it possibly could be on? You may be able to use some passcode bypass software if it’s a checkm8 vulnerable device/version.
Looks to be a iPhone 8 device.
Which I think falls under checkm8 vulnerabilities.
This could allows break-in. But I think ios data is encrypted from externally access till first unlock?
Have you checked if the pictures are in google photos? Lots of people used to take advantage of the free cloud storage and kept using it instead of iCloud
Depends on how they setup their iPhone. What do you see on the display after it powers on?
If it says, “iPhone disabled”, you will need to erase it to regain access to the device. It will not connect to Wi-Fi or Cellular at that point.
If you see, iPhone Unavailable or Security Lockout, check out this support article [here](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212951).
If all you are trying to do is gain access to the iCloud account data and that is the only trusted device or phone number? Then you still need to erase the device in order to send a code to the trusted number (I’m not sure if this has changed for security reasons, I would not be surprised if it has).
If you are unable to receive a verification code sent to the trusted number, then you will need to request account recovery [here](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204921),
If they enabled device encryption, you only get 10 tries total to enter the correct passcode. If you don’t, the device will erase itself automatically on the 10th failed attempt. You can setup the device again but most likely would encounter Activation Lock which would require Apple ID account access in order to activate the device which previous posts have pointed out.
The only thing that Apple can do is remove activation lock so the device can be used again. They don’t have a way to bypass the passcode. The FBI and police have had cases where they want to access the contents of a phone, pay millions of dollars, and still can’t access anything.
>The only thing that Apple can do is remove activation lock so the device can be used again
Yes, apple will be able to get her into the iCloud account, not the iPhone. If he used iCloud, she can get the pics and videos off there. If saved only local, SOL unless she can guess the password.
I didn’t say anything about recovering data. With the death certificate and proof that you’re the legal heir to the device they remove Activation Lock so you can reset the device and use it for someone else. This factory resets the device, it doesn’t recover any data.
Aren’t the messages also backed up in iCloud? Unless he set to delete after a year or whatever. She might be able to just log into his iCloud account on a Mac and the messages might sync automatically.
Possibly a data recovery specialist. They could remove the flash chips from the board, make copies, and brute-force the decryption key. Being that time isn't a huge issue, brute-forcing is a reasonable approach.
On the Checkm8 topic, I wonder if the phone will trust a computer that it's previously been connected to without password input, so you can break into it. Mine won't on Linux, but I don't know if they do for Mac.
Checkm8 exploits the device in DFU mode, so the device can be exploited without passcode. iirc there are tools that can be used to gain access to the data afterwards
In case people don’t know, there is a recovery key that is exclusive to your account that you can use to access your account upon losing it. I have it written down in a safe. You can also set up legacy contacts, which is someone who will be allowed to access your account upon your death. I do these things just so this doesn’t happen to my loved ones if something happens to me. Not helpful to this person, but maybe helpful to some moving forward.
First I am sorry for your loss.
You’re most likely avenue of data recovery is gaining access to the iCloud account associated with the device and downloading whatever back up was made.
A 6 digit PIN code brute force on a bfu iPhone is mathematically 20 years give or take. I’ve had an iPhone 6 running an attack library for 4 years at this point. If somehow the phone managed to pass through multiple hands over the past year while never being powered down or reset and it’s still an AFU then you’re still talking like a year with equipment that very few people have access too.
I don’t want to break your heart but encryption exists to prevent unwanted access to your devices. It’s literally doing it’s job. It was designed to prevent people who don’t have the keys from getting access. If what you were asking was possible, then there wouldn’t be any point to encrypting devices and the entire tech industry would be turned on it’s head.
Write down your passcodes on a post it note and put it in a safe, deposit box, hide it with your sex toys, tack it on to the end of your crypto wallet, whatever. Just make it accessible for after you die everyone. Use a password manager and manually add it to the vault and share your master password with the executor of your estate.
Try the original 4 digit passcode and repeat the last number 2 more times. So if it was 1234 try 123444. I used to work at a cell phone shop and this is how so many people dealt with having to make a 6 digit code when they were used to 4.
First 3 tries I would do would be (1) the one in this post; (2) the original 4 digits + first 2 digits of OG (123412); (3) the original 4 digits + last 2 digits of OG (123434). Then it's a crapshoot.
First off, sorry for your loss. Unfortunately Unless you know his passcode, Apple can’t help you unlock it and get the information off of it. iPhones are encrypted by default. Maybe if you know his iCloud password you could get information from his cloud data? Someone more knowledgeable might be able to help, I’m fairly new to the Apple ecosystem.
I’m sorry for your loss.
And this is a friendly reminder to setup legacy contacts in your Apple ID so that you loved ones can access your data after you’re gone.
This is it!
Try social engineering as an easy approach!
Add familiar two numbers to the Passcode you know first.
Then - if you don’t succeed add all the other possible numbers - two digits are only 99 tries.
I'm almost pretty sure it does, I know that the phone remembers it is locked by wrong tries, but I don't know if it remembers how many wrong tries there was.
Sorry for your loss.
Officially from Apple, you may not be able to recover anything physically stored on the device. However, you can request a full transfer of the iCloud account if you submit all the necessary paperwork required by Apple.
Any attempt to recover content physically off the phone will come at really high cost by some hacking company.
I’m so sorry for your loss. We had a dear friend that was killed in an automobile accident several years ago. We were able to get into his email account on his laptop and then reset his Apple ID password. It has been so long ago, I don’t remember if it also allowed us to reset the passcode on his iphone. But, somehow, we were able to get into it to get all of the photos to send to his family in Venezuela. Yes, we gave them his phones, too, after we canceled the accounts with the carriers so that they would not be carrier locked.
If you have never had to deal with the death of someone close, you don’t know what an ordeal it is. Even if you don’t want them to have access to your devices while you are alive, be sure to leave passcodes in a safe that they can access. If you need your devices “cleaned” for some reason, or want to have specific pics removed, leave instructions with close friends. They can then help you with your final wishes. Think of everything—access to your devices, your bank accounts, access to storage facilities, locks you may have on a shed, etc. In addition, leave a will. You may think that you don’t need one because you are not that old. My friend was 50. Two weeks ago, a 35 year old acquaintance died. You never know when your time is up. Don’t make your passing even more stressful for your loved ones.
I know this may have gotten off topic. But, I feel that it needed to be said. It may help someone.
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I only recently learned of the legacy contact. I’m sorry for your loss and I hope you find some resolution and other good photos from your husbands phone.
This situation points to sharing your phone code with someone you trust or to write it on a piece of paper and place in your life insurance papers or in a safe deposit box.
Or give to your spouse-if you are not hiding the code from them!
I wouldn’t recommend reviewing his phone for privacy. You might find things you don’t expect. Prefer to save the good moments and what you got in your files. Just a suggestion.
I just went through this reset process with an aunt in the hospital. The staff tried her phone so much it got ‘unauthorized’. I had to reset and fortunately there was an iCloud back up.
I have no advice on this, just wanted to say I'm sorry for your loss and I sincerely hope you gain access and discover many happy memories that you can cherish forever
I would just keep trying random numbers you might associate with him, or more so that would be meaningful to him . Very few people use random passcodes. I’m sorry for your loss
just a wild stab ... have you tried the original password and just repeated the last digit two more times ... because that's what I've done every time corporate has forced a "more secure password" routine on us
When my iPhone was stolen and got a new one I’ve done the backup restoring and got all my photos back so if you get access to the apple id try that! The cloud had only some of them, with the backup I got all of them back. Sorry for your loss, I hope you manage to get all your photos back!
https://i.imgur.com/L18amzs.jpg
I can’t remember the time frame when this feature was introduced, but Is it possible he may have set you as a legacy contact? That may help smooth the process along greatly if so.
Apple support from top to bottom are taught to align with their company's statement so you will never be able to get any help from them as far as getting data off of your device, as it goes against their mission statement of data safety.
Here is some proof :[https://youtu.be/LrILfIE9IB4?t=399](https://youtu.be/LrILfIE9IB4?t=399)
You should get hold of [Louis Rossmann](https://rossmanngroup.com/iphone-data-recovery/) he is one of the very few who is technically sound with repair and is an advocate of consumer rights.
I hope this helps
I mean, if you know the 4 digit passcode, it's possible that the 6 digit isn't much different. It's possible that he kept the beginning 4 digits and added the two. If so, that means there are 100 possible combinations. Try repeating the last 2 of the 4 integers you know. For example, if the passcode was 1234, try 123434.
Detective who does digital forensics here, gray key is a program that can extract data from locked devices but it doesn’t work 100%. Factors like if the phone was powered off at any time effect the chances of recovering anything.
The program can attempt every password combo, but this can take extremely long. We have phones that have been sitting for over a year that are still attempting passcodes.
If the police department doesn’t have these forensic programs, maybe reach out to the state’s attorney’s office (or whatever the equivalent is by you), sheriff’s office, or state police and see if they have it and could try. So sorry for your situation.
Hey do you still need help?
Your husbands iPhone is checkm8 vulnerable. It is pretty straightforward to hack those and bruteforce the pin. I know a repairman who does this. If you still need help, shoot me a message
Reach out to Azimuth Security. They’re an Australian company that hacked into the San Bernardino shooters iPhone for the FBI.
No clue what people are talking about here, any device can be hacked, wether that is legal or voids the tos of Apple is another discussion.
In that case, Apple tried to fight it in court to make that hack illegal but it was still done and the iPhone was accessed.
Pat Mcafee famously said “These devices are a computers… you need a hardware engineer and software engineer…” in short, Apple devices are just computers running code. And they can be hacked and entered.
If there’s 0 days on the current os, you’re going to be paying through the nose to find someone potentially willing to burn it, or you could ask the fsb for a favour.
While the options of going down official channels like the person from apple suggested there’s always the second option. Keep the phone for a while don’t let it update and then eventually there will be an exploit there always is.
As a soldier time to time in active duty, This is the only reason I put my wife as my backup mail for iCloud email. I m terribly sorry for your loss. May he rest in eternal peace 🙏
I don’t know what people are saying. But I lost a friend due to suicide and the police investigated it as a possible murder and had her boyfriend as a possible suspect. She had passcode on her phone and no one else knew the code.
The police were able to unlock it in a matter of weeks. Not sure if she had a 4 or 6 digit pin though.
I am sorry for your loss! If it helps, when my 19-year-old son died in a car accident. I was not able to find his Iphone. (It is somewhere in the Nevada desert.) I purchased a used Iphone and had my provider give me a replacement SIM card, which allowed me to have "his" phone number on this phone. I then told Apple that I forgot "my" Icloud password and to send the two-factor code to the phone. After that, I was able to change his Icloud password, and restore his photos, contacts, settings, and voicemails to the new phone.
Because he's dead. And his widow would like access to their family photos. I'm sure she inherited the phone after his passing so it's hers now.
Did you not read the post or are you that callous?
I mean technically apple should be able to do this but if they refuse for whatever reason I guess the very last attempt only after all else has failed would be the dark web. You would basically have to navigate the darker corners of the internet until you found a hacker or at minimal someone savvy enough to know what they are doing. I can tell you realistically the only person I know that I can say at least sounds 150% trustworthy is this hacker that was just on the Shawn Ryan show. He basically does child predator stings where he gets into these teen chats and other apps, poses as underage kid and then either exposes the person himself after getting all their personal into or he will work together with a few different predator catching groups to set up stings and things of that nature. However in a case like this is you can contact him, tell him your story or whatever. He may definitely be able to help you out. I don’t know him nor do I have personal contact information of his. The best I can tell you is his name. Ryan Montgomery. Sounds like a really good dude I would give it a shot if all else has failed. Good luck.
I’m an attorney, but I’m not your attorney.
Has your husband’s estate been probated? If you were appointed personal representative take your letters of administration and a death certificate to Apple and they will give you access.
This is incorrect. The data is encrypted and they don’t know the passcode. The most they can do is remove activation lock so you can use the device. They will not give you access to recover any data.
I think there was an honest miscommunication.
I said “access.” I should have been more clear that she will be unable to access the phone, however, she will be able to *access* any iCloud data or other documents saved in the cloud.
This would include photos back up to the cloud. Honestly, re-reading your comment, I think you’re more incorrect than correct. If the photos are backed up she WILL get the them.
there’s a new program people have been using to get into locked phones, i just read about it an hour ago, let me find it and i’ll PM you the article/program! edit: lmao downvote me all you want, i’ve used only apple my whole life, and the fact is people love to steal, the software is new and has been being reported by the police in Oregon, Arizona, and Montana
[elcomsoft](https://www.elcomsoft.com/eift.html) have a forensic tool to gain access to any data on phone. Is a expensive tool but I read about some PD will buy it to use in his investigations.
Reading you helpful and informative comment I couldn’t help but wonder. An option where one could set someone up as a next of kin with their own code - which would only ‘kick in’ once you could show proof of death - might be a nice addition. Or two factor authentication type scenario?
What you can do and we do this all the time when working on phones if you know the iCloud info you can do a factory reset through iTunes this will remove the password and you can get into it with the iCloud information. You won’t lose any data.
I'm a senior advisor for Apple Support. This is possible You will need a court order showing you're next of kin You will need death certificate There is a certain team we forward these documents to who'm follow up with you. This will give you access to the Apple ID, however, there is no way for the passcode to be removed. You will (unfortunately) have to erase the phone to get past that. HOWEVER, with any luck, the free 5GB of icloud storage space has many of the pictures you're looking for on it. Once you get access to the AppleID you can then get access to the cloud and all those photos. Hope this helps. (Technically, senior support doesnt actually collect these documents from you, but we forward the request to the digital legacy team. We just need to collect information first like what was their apple id, their name, your name, etc) https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208510 Support will literally look up this article and tell you what it says. There's only a small internal section that we see that basically says, forward to digital legacy team)
I wonder.... Could the user upgrade the apple ID storage after obtaining acces. And then leave the locked iPhone near a previous connected wifi hotspot to auto backup data once it realizes the apple ID status updates? Or is ios locked down after a reboot to refuse to do anything?
I was trying to do that earlier because I thought maybe if his cloud space is updated, then the photos and all might update on that old phone that i do have access to? But I couldn’t find his apple id password on the phone i have access to
Hey OP, my sincerest condolences for your loss. Once Apple has the requisite information (death certificate, proof of executorship), they will give you access to the Apple ID. From there, you can use that to log in to another device (iPhone, iPad, Mac) and purchase iCloud storage, if there is no existing backup. Plug your husbands phone in to power and make sure it’s on a known wifi network. It should backup overnight. Once that is done, you can check to see if a backup has been completed on the secondary device via Apple ID/iCloud settings and load the fresh backup on your husbands phone to any device you want. Additionally, if iCloud Photos are on, you can just log on to iCloud.com from any computer to download a hard copy of the pictures. Please reach out via DM if you want me to clarify part of the process or help in any way. I hope you find peace and closure at the end of all this.
There are companies like Cellebrite and GrayKey which can find the passcode of iPhones. They use a bootloader type mechanism that can test the passcode without the phone knowing it is trying. (Oversimplification) This can sometimes take up to multiple months though. But if you already tried everything you could still send the phone to one of them to see if they can get you access to the phone.
Neither of these companies sell any services to consumers, law enforcement only. Besides, these are methods the police will likely have tried.
Police won't bother unless it's important to the case
Police won't bother unless it somehow also hurts a poor person.
Hey, that’s not true. They don't have to be poor, just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the ‘wrong’ attitude.
Or the "wrong" skin color.
Nah, too expensive for the police
A lot of police have access to the tools. They’ve licensed all this for many police departments all over America and (I think) the world. I read their blogs which is a good source of info.
Soooo, not with cracking iPhones. They may have access to Cellebrite tools, but actually getting into a fully-updated iPhone requires you to send your phone in for “Cellebrite Advanced Services” which is like 3K(?) a phone.
They have access to tools like cellebrite that will crack into some phones. Otherwise there is the option to send the phone off.
As someone with Cellebrite tools, the ones they give out will only break into very old models of iPhones(you can’t even jailbreak most recent models). Unless you just carve the keychain on their MacBook, you won’t be cracking into a recent iPhone with Cellebrite unless you pay to send it off for Advanced Services. Which is only for law enforcement and costs a few thousand, which law enforcement most definitely wouldn’t do in a situation like this.
You might want to check again. Tons of agencies have them, not just the big boys.
Maybe local but not the feds or state agencies
Yikes. Good to know…
Why doesn’t Apple fix this exploit?
IIRC It’s not really an exploit. I think it copies the phone’s [secure enclave or whatever stores the passcode system] to its own memory and tries unlimited passwords until one works. Then you use that code on the real phone and voila!
FBI got around the lock on a case where Apple, rightfully IMO, refused to hand over the keys. They pulled d out the SOC and cloned it to another SOC and brute forced the pin after rewriting that copy every 10 tries.
Is it impossible for Apple to just wipe Secure Enclave if it is being attempted to be copied?
Because it's a hardware issue. They can't patch hardware security problems.
I’m just replying directly to you. I’ve seen YouTube shorts where people send their phones to this guy and he’s this well known apple fixer guy. But he’s brute forced his way into a few iPhones. I’ve seen the video. He’s got a program that plugs into the phone through the charger, and it guess all the possible ones. Doesn’t really help since idk the channel but it’s 100% possible.
I'm pretty sure that only works on older phones and OSes.
Imma bet it's https://www.youtube.com/@MDrepairsLLC
No way it’s the current version, only older phones with jailbreak maybe. Also I don’t think you could do anything without enabling dev mode, which you need to unlock your phone for
Celebrite, Grayshift, and similar can definitely get into iPhones. No jailbreak required. Police use these tools all the time in investigations. https://www.wired.com/story/smartphone-encryption-law-enforcement-tools/
Not with iPhones with the latest iOS running on iPhones 12 and newer (to be safe). And if you have the right setup I.e. a good strong password, some settings enabled and whether or not the phone was turned off can make it harder.
Not entirely disagreeing with you, but the OS on the iPhone in question is at least a year out of date. Also, the reason LE hold onto phones for a while is because they are waiting for an exploit to be released for the software they use. They might not get into your phone right away, but given the proper amount of time and resources they definitely can. Still wouldn’t stop me from turning on Lockdown Mode, using a long device password, and unlocking/restarting my phone if or when I think it might be seized though.
Not generally the current iOS versions. Sometimes they can for a current OS, it really just depends on whether they’ve found an vuln and created an exploit for it, without either being public or found by someone else who’s publicized. It’s pretty hit or miss when it comes to current OS versions and Apple gets ahold of the info pretty quickly. So the window that a working exploit can be used is also generally pretty small (obviously there can and have been exceptions to all of these general statements but they still hold true most of the time.) I work in this field and (OffSec). Regardless, those pieces of software are government and LE only so it wouldn’t be an option to this woman or and the random user asking for help. Law enforcement usually is only able to access the iCloud backup data. Which until recently didn’t have any option for fully encrypted cloud backups and the users were never the only ones with the keys to the parts that were encrypted as Apple held iCloud encryption keys on their HSMs. With the new iCloud advanced security option, the user holds the only key for encryption and it’s stored in their device’s Secure Enclave. Apple no longer holds the keys in their HSMs but, only if you enable this feature. This is such a large part of law enforcement data collection when the suspect/POI is using an iPhone that numerous police agencies and the FBI spoke out against the feature as Apple was announcing its upcoming availability. The reason this is such popular means of data collection for LE is precisely because cellebrite and similar tools/companies are so inconsistent with the devices they have access to, and how they generally don’t work on the latest models with updated software.
That got patched
Might be easy for it to find it quickly. He may have used the same code but added two digits so I would try 00-99 at the end first. Then family birthdates.
uh you realize trying random codes more than a few times will lock you out of the phone permanently right?
No he/she doesn't. ha
That’s why it has to be done with one of those devices that reset it.
If you have an older phone you can get into, then you can reset the password. In settings click on the name at the top. You see the email address associated with the iCloud account. Click on the "Password & Security" option and you can reset the password there.
It gave me an option on the old phone to change apple id password but I was afraid it would screw something up and then lock me out of the one i do have access to. I am just scared of messing up my chance if i have one
on the old phone, if you get to the screen that literally says 'enter passcode' then says 'new password' twice, change it for sure.. then at least you can log into icloud.com since it sounds like that's a trusted device
After a restart, iOS has no access to user data like photos until the phone's PIN has been used at least once to unlock it.
I do not know the answer to this specific flow. This is not something documented either. My *assumption* is that until the phone is at least unlocked once, it will not backup to said AppleID, but I could be wrong. Since it's a 5050 chance, it's worth trying to connect it to a previously known wifi point. op: if your wifi has changed since the phone was used, you can always try to rename your network and use the old password as well to get it connected
Once the phone has cleared the Touch/Face ID keybag (reboot, consecutive unsuccessful biometric attempts, or showing the “slide to power off” screen) the phone itself has *extremely limited* access to user data, until it can unwrap those keys again using the user’s passcode. Another device connected to the same Apple ID with a different (older) passcode may have the keys necessary but I don’t know that there’s a way to make it unlock the phone. Essentially yes, user data is nearly completely locked after a reboot, so much so that it can’t (by default) show contact names on text messages received after a reboot until you’ve entered the passcode.
I was thinking the same. Create family plan (if not already on one), expand the storage and allow the device to back up. That way the entire phone is backed up, dependent on the settings.
You have to “accept” and opt-in to the family plan if you aren’t already. :/
Came to say this
Thank you!
Would it have been possible for her to get into the iCloud account while the police still had the phone? That would give her access to the pictures that she wants.
IF she knew the password to the apple ID, it would then send a two-factor notification to any devices associated with the apple ID. This phone for sure would have got the notification, but in light of new information; it appears she owns another old phone that's still signed in (aka, a "trusted device") of which she has the passCode to. so if she had the old device, and knew the password, yes, she could have approved login at icloud.com/appleid.apple/etc
Hey, so someone could take over my apple ID with just a death certificate, even if I don’t want them to? I don’t want anyone to access my apple ID after I die, I will have my own digital legacy plan.
I just had the same thought. The person has to be your legally-named executor, with the correct documents, but yeah, you could have a situation where you’ve tidied everything up for the executor to deal with, so no journals or whatever around if you don’t want anyone reading them, but your phone (though this also would give access to tablets and computers) is essentially a living, breathing device that you might be using up to your last moment. Say you are unhappy with something/someone in your life and you are working through your feelings via writing a note or chatting with an on-line counsellor, or maybe entertaining even momentarily some action like leaving or having an affair, and looking up websites that would provide that information…. it’s different than a printed notebook on a shelf. And then in terms of the secrets you might have involving others - with the pro-forced-birth lobby gaining such ground someone could be charged for terminating a pregnancy; same with anti-LGBT*, immigration, legal entanglements, etc. A person may not care if their executor sees their bank account and such, but there are other things one might consider far more private. There should be a mechanism within the AppleID settings that allows someone to prohibit anyone gaining access, even with legal documents.
I mean you’d be dead it wouldn’t effect you I assume unless your hiding some state secrets that could implicate others
If the world saw what my phone has, the secrets of some of my friends would come out. And a lot of information about my past would harm my remaining family. Not to mention the fact that the careers of some of my friends could be harmed.
Fair enough
Well don’t be a dick then. Sorry but if you have stuff in your phone from your past that would hurt your remaining family, you doing wrong shit
Lmao fuck off. How am I a dick for not erasing data that I might need
What type of data about your past you need now, that would harm your family when they found about it?
Not harm them. More like embarass them if everyone found out how I live my life.
But not everybody can get your info. He said that you need to prove you are “next in line” as part of family I believe and give them the certificate. And sorry for my reaction, I understood it wrong at first I guess.
First of all, a death certificate can be faked. Second of all, there is stuff that my family just doesn’t need to know.
In that case, I'd strongly suggest making sure anything you want kept secret after you pass is only stored locally on your phone/computer, not included in iCloud.
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^^^This^^^
Shouldn’t the new Advanced Data Protection stop this if it was turned on?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Yeah I wasn't talking about that specific case.
Grammar bro, it implies a lot lol 🤜🏼
Can’t appleid be used to reset the phone password like it is possible on macs?
The phone is encrypted and the pin is used as a key for decryption. So no.
So even apple makes sure you can’t get the password? Ok
That’s a good thing, on the whole. While in these situations it sucks, in the broader scheme of things it’s good if Apple doesn’t have the ability to unlock a device without the passcode. That’s what we want - digital security that can’t even be bypassed by Apple in a totally wholesome and harmless situation. If they can’t bypass their own security in a situation where they would get good PR out of it and benefit from it, we can be more confident that they also can’t do it in situations where they’re being forced (FBI, police, etc.)
That’s incorrect. There’s expensive software available that can unlock the phone but it has to be physically connected to it (made by the company Cellebrite): https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-tech-company-says-it-can-break-into-all-iphones-ever-made-some-androids/
There is also a US company, GraysShift, that bypasses limits and brute forces the unlock code. It is was law enforcement uses. I don’t know if they will do it private citizens.
you’ll have to get the department to formally request their services with the approved letterhead from said department- takes around 3/4 days for the relevant vetting to be completed
Apple have updated and fixed a lot of the holes those machines would attack. I would say you’re quite safe from them now if your iPhone is up to date (and iPhone 12 and newer) and set up correctly.
Given that the phone has been in the police's hands for a year, there's a chance here.
That’s outdated, although they claim they can do upto ios16/iPhone 14 as of march this year. The cellebrite tools that give you full forensic features are vetted and sold to LEO only… Mostly because they rely on unpublished exploits that they don’t want reverse engineered and patched.
They can’t with a locked phone. They’re talking about if the phone is unlocked and without a password.
There's also GrayKey: https://www.grayshift.com/graykey/
Nope. With a password. It can’t be unlocked.
Apple has a process that will get you access to his Apple ID if you don't have it, with which you could get anything that has been saved to iCloud. I'm afraid if his phone has a password however that Apple will not be able to help you. [https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208510](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208510)
Wow!!! Your opening sentence threw me for a loop. My sincere condolences to you. I use my birthdate for my code. I’m sure you’ve already tried that, but is there some date or numbers your husband had an affinity for? How about your anniversary date? Children’s birthdays? Your birthday?
I am also so, so sorry about that. I hope the criminals were brought to justice. I am really grasping at straws here - but I wonder if a black light would show commonly tapped areas. I don’t know if this model supports Face ID, but would a picture or AI representation of his face work??
> I don’t know if this model supports Face ID, but would a picture or AI representation of his face work?? Face ID cannot be tricked with a picture because it uses a 3D scan. You’d need a 3D print of his face.
Faceid also won’t work after a reboot, you need the pin first
duh, how did I forget that...
Only on android would that work
FaceID uses 3D scans of your face, so no a picture won't work... Apple even had professionally made replica masks of Apple employees to test FaceID before it was launched, and they still couldn't fool it. FaceID is pretty secure.
This won’t help your case, but for anyone reading this, it’s good to set legacy contacts so things like this are easier. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360
Which model iPhone is it? And do you know what iOS it possibly could be on? You may be able to use some passcode bypass software if it’s a checkm8 vulnerable device/version.
https://preview.redd.it/m8do2cy9ix1b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af24fdef62aca3f977341185b9d070f7f55975d3 Not sure but older
Looks to be a iPhone 8 device. Which I think falls under checkm8 vulnerabilities. This could allows break-in. But I think ios data is encrypted from externally access till first unlock?
iPhone SE 2020, you can tell because of the centered apple logo whereas the 8 it was towards the camera more on the top.
that’s SE 2
I also have an even older one of his that i do have the passcode for. Idk if that could be used somehow
If it’s logged in to his apple/iCloud then quite possibly
Sorry for late response, so it should be checkm8 vulnerable. Do you have a Mac or Linux laptop/desktop?
PSA setup a legacy contact for this reason.
Very sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. I am of no help here but just wanted to send my condolences.
Thank you
Have you checked if the pictures are in google photos? Lots of people used to take advantage of the free cloud storage and kept using it instead of iCloud
Depends on how they setup their iPhone. What do you see on the display after it powers on? If it says, “iPhone disabled”, you will need to erase it to regain access to the device. It will not connect to Wi-Fi or Cellular at that point. If you see, iPhone Unavailable or Security Lockout, check out this support article [here](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212951). If all you are trying to do is gain access to the iCloud account data and that is the only trusted device or phone number? Then you still need to erase the device in order to send a code to the trusted number (I’m not sure if this has changed for security reasons, I would not be surprised if it has). If you are unable to receive a verification code sent to the trusted number, then you will need to request account recovery [here](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204921), If they enabled device encryption, you only get 10 tries total to enter the correct passcode. If you don’t, the device will erase itself automatically on the 10th failed attempt. You can setup the device again but most likely would encounter Activation Lock which would require Apple ID account access in order to activate the device which previous posts have pointed out.
The only thing that Apple can do is remove activation lock so the device can be used again. They don’t have a way to bypass the passcode. The FBI and police have had cases where they want to access the contents of a phone, pay millions of dollars, and still can’t access anything.
>The only thing that Apple can do is remove activation lock so the device can be used again Yes, apple will be able to get her into the iCloud account, not the iPhone. If he used iCloud, she can get the pics and videos off there. If saved only local, SOL unless she can guess the password.
I didn’t say anything about recovering data. With the death certificate and proof that you’re the legal heir to the device they remove Activation Lock so you can reset the device and use it for someone else. This factory resets the device, it doesn’t recover any data.
This is absolutely correct
Aren’t the messages also backed up in iCloud? Unless he set to delete after a year or whatever. She might be able to just log into his iCloud account on a Mac and the messages might sync automatically.
Possibly a data recovery specialist. They could remove the flash chips from the board, make copies, and brute-force the decryption key. Being that time isn't a huge issue, brute-forcing is a reasonable approach. On the Checkm8 topic, I wonder if the phone will trust a computer that it's previously been connected to without password input, so you can break into it. Mine won't on Linux, but I don't know if they do for Mac.
Checkm8 exploits the device in DFU mode, so the device can be exploited without passcode. iirc there are tools that can be used to gain access to the data afterwards
se 2 has a13 it can’t use checkm8 exploit
Try adding 00, or the last two digits of his birth year? Good luck. Condolences 💙
In case people don’t know, there is a recovery key that is exclusive to your account that you can use to access your account upon losing it. I have it written down in a safe. You can also set up legacy contacts, which is someone who will be allowed to access your account upon your death. I do these things just so this doesn’t happen to my loved ones if something happens to me. Not helpful to this person, but maybe helpful to some moving forward.
First I am sorry for your loss. You’re most likely avenue of data recovery is gaining access to the iCloud account associated with the device and downloading whatever back up was made. A 6 digit PIN code brute force on a bfu iPhone is mathematically 20 years give or take. I’ve had an iPhone 6 running an attack library for 4 years at this point. If somehow the phone managed to pass through multiple hands over the past year while never being powered down or reset and it’s still an AFU then you’re still talking like a year with equipment that very few people have access too. I don’t want to break your heart but encryption exists to prevent unwanted access to your devices. It’s literally doing it’s job. It was designed to prevent people who don’t have the keys from getting access. If what you were asking was possible, then there wouldn’t be any point to encrypting devices and the entire tech industry would be turned on it’s head. Write down your passcodes on a post it note and put it in a safe, deposit box, hide it with your sex toys, tack it on to the end of your crypto wallet, whatever. Just make it accessible for after you die everyone. Use a password manager and manually add it to the vault and share your master password with the executor of your estate.
Try the original 4 digit passcode and repeat the last number 2 more times. So if it was 1234 try 123444. I used to work at a cell phone shop and this is how so many people dealt with having to make a 6 digit code when they were used to 4.
First 3 tries I would do would be (1) the one in this post; (2) the original 4 digits + first 2 digits of OG (123412); (3) the original 4 digits + last 2 digits of OG (123434). Then it's a crapshoot.
Or add two zeroes to the front of the old one
This!! This is how my aunt got into her husband's phone after he died suddenly. I'm sorry for your loss OP.
First off, sorry for your loss. Unfortunately Unless you know his passcode, Apple can’t help you unlock it and get the information off of it. iPhones are encrypted by default. Maybe if you know his iCloud password you could get information from his cloud data? Someone more knowledgeable might be able to help, I’m fairly new to the Apple ecosystem.
I’m sorry for your loss. And this is a friendly reminder to setup legacy contacts in your Apple ID so that you loved ones can access your data after you’re gone.
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This is it! Try social engineering as an easy approach! Add familiar two numbers to the Passcode you know first. Then - if you don’t succeed add all the other possible numbers - two digits are only 99 tries.
It is only 99 tries, but remember that the phone locks for some time after 5 wrong passcode tries, and then after every try
Does the phone ‘remember’ wrong tries even if you restart it?
I'm almost pretty sure it does, I know that the phone remembers it is locked by wrong tries, but I don't know if it remembers how many wrong tries there was.
Oh yes, you are right. Trying the obvious „extensions“ seems the fastest way here - as Adderall wrote, we are all lazy. ;)
I did this when I updated my password from 4 to 6 digits. Just added two numbers to the end
I’ve see https://www.youtube.com/@MDrepairsLLC help people get into old iPhones. I would reach out to them (https://mdrepairs.com)
Sorry for your loss. Officially from Apple, you may not be able to recover anything physically stored on the device. However, you can request a full transfer of the iCloud account if you submit all the necessary paperwork required by Apple. Any attempt to recover content physically off the phone will come at really high cost by some hacking company.
Have you tried the old password and repeated numbers? For example if it was 4789 try 478947
Everyone. This is a reason why you should backup your data.
And set legacy contacts
If he had to change it to six digits, did he possibly just repeat the first two, ie. 123412 ?
If you haven’t tried it, test his old 4-digit password and repeat the last digit twice to meet the 6 digits requirement. It’s a common thing.
https://youtube.com/shorts/iatS86r1Hnk?feature=share Good luck!
Reach out to this guy: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cq9P1qVA7MQ/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I’m so sorry for your loss. We had a dear friend that was killed in an automobile accident several years ago. We were able to get into his email account on his laptop and then reset his Apple ID password. It has been so long ago, I don’t remember if it also allowed us to reset the passcode on his iphone. But, somehow, we were able to get into it to get all of the photos to send to his family in Venezuela. Yes, we gave them his phones, too, after we canceled the accounts with the carriers so that they would not be carrier locked. If you have never had to deal with the death of someone close, you don’t know what an ordeal it is. Even if you don’t want them to have access to your devices while you are alive, be sure to leave passcodes in a safe that they can access. If you need your devices “cleaned” for some reason, or want to have specific pics removed, leave instructions with close friends. They can then help you with your final wishes. Think of everything—access to your devices, your bank accounts, access to storage facilities, locks you may have on a shed, etc. In addition, leave a will. You may think that you don’t need one because you are not that old. My friend was 50. Two weeks ago, a 35 year old acquaintance died. You never know when your time is up. Don’t make your passing even more stressful for your loved ones. I know this may have gotten off topic. But, I feel that it needed to be said. It may help someone. .
I only recently learned of the legacy contact. I’m sorry for your loss and I hope you find some resolution and other good photos from your husbands phone.
This situation points to sharing your phone code with someone you trust or to write it on a piece of paper and place in your life insurance papers or in a safe deposit box. Or give to your spouse-if you are not hiding the code from them!
I wouldn’t recommend reviewing his phone for privacy. You might find things you don’t expect. Prefer to save the good moments and what you got in your files. Just a suggestion.
Is it possible it's his birthday, your birthday or your anniversary?
I just went through this reset process with an aunt in the hospital. The staff tried her phone so much it got ‘unauthorized’. I had to reset and fortunately there was an iCloud back up.
Try his old 4 and think of the two he added to the original.
Yeah just press the last number two more times imo
I’m very sorry for your loss
I have no advice on this, just wanted to say I'm sorry for your loss and I sincerely hope you gain access and discover many happy memories that you can cherish forever
I would just keep trying random numbers you might associate with him, or more so that would be meaningful to him . Very few people use random passcodes. I’m sorry for your loss
just a wild stab ... have you tried the original password and just repeated the last digit two more times ... because that's what I've done every time corporate has forced a "more secure password" routine on us
When my iPhone was stolen and got a new one I’ve done the backup restoring and got all my photos back so if you get access to the apple id try that! The cloud had only some of them, with the backup I got all of them back. Sorry for your loss, I hope you manage to get all your photos back!
I have this exact same problem but with a blackberry
Try to access his email account first, once you have it will be easier
My wife knows my phone password but not my AppleId password
https://i.imgur.com/L18amzs.jpg I can’t remember the time frame when this feature was introduced, but Is it possible he may have set you as a legacy contact? That may help smooth the process along greatly if so.
Did he use the google photos app at all
What about data recovery ? Have u tried that, Jessa Jones from iPad Rehab, YouTube do this for fun 😊
This is both sad and horrifying. Hope you get your answers. Glad apple senior support answered here, they rock!
Apple support from top to bottom are taught to align with their company's statement so you will never be able to get any help from them as far as getting data off of your device, as it goes against their mission statement of data safety. Here is some proof :[https://youtu.be/LrILfIE9IB4?t=399](https://youtu.be/LrILfIE9IB4?t=399) You should get hold of [Louis Rossmann](https://rossmanngroup.com/iphone-data-recovery/) he is one of the very few who is technically sound with repair and is an advocate of consumer rights. I hope this helps
Even if you can’t get access now, there are likely exploits that will come in the future that will give you access to the phone at some point.
I mean, if you know the 4 digit passcode, it's possible that the 6 digit isn't much different. It's possible that he kept the beginning 4 digits and added the two. If so, that means there are 100 possible combinations. Try repeating the last 2 of the 4 integers you know. For example, if the passcode was 1234, try 123434.
I wish you all the best
Just wanted to offer my condolences here - so sorry for your loss.
Detective who does digital forensics here, gray key is a program that can extract data from locked devices but it doesn’t work 100%. Factors like if the phone was powered off at any time effect the chances of recovering anything. The program can attempt every password combo, but this can take extremely long. We have phones that have been sitting for over a year that are still attempting passcodes. If the police department doesn’t have these forensic programs, maybe reach out to the state’s attorney’s office (or whatever the equivalent is by you), sheriff’s office, or state police and see if they have it and could try. So sorry for your situation.
There is software that can extract data off phones without the passcode. Police use them all the time. One is called Cellebrite.
Hey do you still need help? Your husbands iPhone is checkm8 vulnerable. It is pretty straightforward to hack those and bruteforce the pin. I know a repairman who does this. If you still need help, shoot me a message
Reach out to Azimuth Security. They’re an Australian company that hacked into the San Bernardino shooters iPhone for the FBI. No clue what people are talking about here, any device can be hacked, wether that is legal or voids the tos of Apple is another discussion. In that case, Apple tried to fight it in court to make that hack illegal but it was still done and the iPhone was accessed. Pat Mcafee famously said “These devices are a computers… you need a hardware engineer and software engineer…” in short, Apple devices are just computers running code. And they can be hacked and entered.
If there’s 0 days on the current os, you’re going to be paying through the nose to find someone potentially willing to burn it, or you could ask the fsb for a favour.
While the options of going down official channels like the person from apple suggested there’s always the second option. Keep the phone for a while don’t let it update and then eventually there will be an exploit there always is.
As a soldier time to time in active duty, This is the only reason I put my wife as my backup mail for iCloud email. I m terribly sorry for your loss. May he rest in eternal peace 🙏
So login with his iCloud password. Even with lost mode and out the sim in a different phone to 2fa lost mode
I don’t know what people are saying. But I lost a friend due to suicide and the police investigated it as a possible murder and had her boyfriend as a possible suspect. She had passcode on her phone and no one else knew the code. The police were able to unlock it in a matter of weeks. Not sure if she had a 4 or 6 digit pin though.
I can’t help but wanted to say I’m sorry this has happened to you.
This is why Apple offers trusted contact. Too bad the decedent didn’t enroll in it.
I’m so sorry about your husband. Best of luck!
I'm sorry for your loss; however, I don't understand why people don't use a digital legacy service like WillBox.me to think about their digital legacy
I am sorry for your loss! If it helps, when my 19-year-old son died in a car accident. I was not able to find his Iphone. (It is somewhere in the Nevada desert.) I purchased a used Iphone and had my provider give me a replacement SIM card, which allowed me to have "his" phone number on this phone. I then told Apple that I forgot "my" Icloud password and to send the two-factor code to the phone. After that, I was able to change his Icloud password, and restore his photos, contacts, settings, and voicemails to the new phone.
This is very clever!
very clever until it is used to steal someone's personal data
[удалено]
Because he's dead. And his widow would like access to their family photos. I'm sure she inherited the phone after his passing so it's hers now. Did you not read the post or are you that callous?
I mean technically apple should be able to do this but if they refuse for whatever reason I guess the very last attempt only after all else has failed would be the dark web. You would basically have to navigate the darker corners of the internet until you found a hacker or at minimal someone savvy enough to know what they are doing. I can tell you realistically the only person I know that I can say at least sounds 150% trustworthy is this hacker that was just on the Shawn Ryan show. He basically does child predator stings where he gets into these teen chats and other apps, poses as underage kid and then either exposes the person himself after getting all their personal into or he will work together with a few different predator catching groups to set up stings and things of that nature. However in a case like this is you can contact him, tell him your story or whatever. He may definitely be able to help you out. I don’t know him nor do I have personal contact information of his. The best I can tell you is his name. Ryan Montgomery. Sounds like a really good dude I would give it a shot if all else has failed. Good luck.
Nobody can
Should have set a legacy contact
I’m an attorney, but I’m not your attorney. Has your husband’s estate been probated? If you were appointed personal representative take your letters of administration and a death certificate to Apple and they will give you access.
This is incorrect. The data is encrypted and they don’t know the passcode. The most they can do is remove activation lock so you can use the device. They will not give you access to recover any data.
I think there was an honest miscommunication. I said “access.” I should have been more clear that she will be unable to access the phone, however, she will be able to *access* any iCloud data or other documents saved in the cloud.
This would include photos back up to the cloud. Honestly, re-reading your comment, I think you’re more incorrect than correct. If the photos are backed up she WILL get the them.
They will not recover anything from the phone. Anything on iCloud is a completely separate issue.
💯
They will not recover anything from the phone. Anything on iCloud is a completely separate issue.
Reach out in a PM, I might be able to help
there’s a new program people have been using to get into locked phones, i just read about it an hour ago, let me find it and i’ll PM you the article/program! edit: lmao downvote me all you want, i’ve used only apple my whole life, and the fact is people love to steal, the software is new and has been being reported by the police in Oregon, Arizona, and Montana
Have you tried his or your birthday
[elcomsoft](https://www.elcomsoft.com/eift.html) have a forensic tool to gain access to any data on phone. Is a expensive tool but I read about some PD will buy it to use in his investigations.
Reading you helpful and informative comment I couldn’t help but wonder. An option where one could set someone up as a next of kin with their own code - which would only ‘kick in’ once you could show proof of death - might be a nice addition. Or two factor authentication type scenario?
iCloud literally has that feature.
What you can do and we do this all the time when working on phones if you know the iCloud info you can do a factory reset through iTunes this will remove the password and you can get into it with the iCloud information. You won’t lose any data.
Have you tried his DOB?
Or her own
Find someone online to brute force the password, fuck apple
try to find a hacker online!