iPhone locks you out after six failed attempts, then adds delays between tries
Your iPhone will let you enter your passcode wrong six times in a row. On the sixth wrong attempt, the phone locks for one minute. If you fail again after that minute passes, it locks for five minutes. Each subsequent failure doubles the wait — ten minutes, then fifteen, then sixty minutes. After the tenth wrong attempt, your phone becomes completely inaccessible until you connect it to a computer or use Find My iPhone to reset it.
This system exists to stop someone from rapidly guessing your passcode. A four-digit code has 10,000 possible combinations. Without delays, a person could test hundreds of them in an hour. The escalating lockout times make brute-force guessing impractical — after ten failures, you are locked out indefinitely.
The counter resets if you enter your passcode correctly at any point, or if you restart your phone. Restarting does not erase the failed attempts you have already made, but it does reset the lockout timer, so you can try again when ready instead of waiting through the penalty period.
Key Takeaways
- Six wrong passcode attempts trigger a one-minute lockout; each failure after that doubles the wait time.
- After ten wrong attempts, your iPhone becomes permanently locked until you reset it using a computer or Find My iPhone.
- Entering your passcode correctly at any time resets the failure counter back to zero.
- Restarting your phone resets the lockout timer but does not erase previous failed attempts.
- This system prevents someone from guessing your passcode through rapid trial and error.
What happens after each failed attempt
The first five wrong attempts show no penalty — you straightforward see "iPhone Unavailable" and can try again when ready. On the sixth attempt, the phone displays a message saying it is disabled for one minute. During this time, you cannot enter any passcode at all.
After that one-minute lockout ends, you can try again. If you fail a seventh time, the phone locks for five minutes. An eighth failure locks it for fifteen minutes. A ninth locks it for sixty minutes. On the tenth wrong attempt, the phone shows "iPhone is Disabled" with no timer — it stays locked until you reset it.
If you are locked out for sixty minutes and do not want to wait, you can restart your phone by holding the power button and volume button together until the power-off slider appears, then sliding it. This resets the timer when ready, but you will still have nine failed attempts on record. One more wrong guess locks you out permanently.
How to regain access after ten failed attempts
Once you have exhausted all ten attempts, you cannot unlock the phone by entering a passcode. You have two main options: use Find My iPhone on another device, or connect the phone to a computer with iTunes or Finder.
To use Find My iPhone, go to iCloud.com on any web browser, sign in with your Apple ID, select Find My iPhone, choose your locked device from the list, and tap Erase iPhone. This erases all data on the phone and removes the passcode. You can then set it up again and restore from a backup if you have one.
If you have a Mac or Windows computer, you can connect your iPhone with a USB cable, open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows), and select your phone. Choose Restore, which erases the phone and removes the passcode. You will need to know your Apple ID password to set it up again afterward.
Why the delays get longer each time
The escalating lockout periods serve a specific purpose: they make guessing your passcode so slow that it becomes worthless. If someone had unlimited when ready attempts, they could test thousands of combinations in a day. With the delay system, testing ten combinations takes over an hour.
The progression is designed to be annoying enough to stop a casual attacker but not so harsh that you cannot recover if you straightforward forgot your own passcode. Six free attempts gives you a reasonable chance to remember. The one-minute and five-minute lockouts are short enough that you might wait them out. The sixty-minute lockout is long enough that most people will choose to reset instead of waiting.
What resets the counter and what does not
Entering your passcode correctly resets the failed-attempt counter to zero when ready. If you have failed five times and then enter the correct passcode on your sixth try, the phone unlocks and the counter goes back to zero. Your next wrong attempt will be treated as the first wrong attempt again.
Restarting your phone does not reset the counter — it only resets the lockout timer. If you have failed nine times and restart, you can try again when ready, but that next attempt is still your tenth and final attempt. If it is wrong, you are locked out permanently.
Turning the phone off and back on normally (not a forced restart) also does not reset the counter. Waiting out the lockout timer does not reset it either. Only entering the correct passcode resets the failed-attempt count.
Protecting yourself from accidental lockouts
The most common reason people hit the lockout limit is entering a passcode they think they remember but have actually changed. If you have recently changed your passcode, write it down somewhere safe until you are certain you have memorized it correctly.
If you are not sure whether you remember your passcode, you can check it on any device where you are already signed in. On an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, go to Settings (or System Preferences on Mac), tap Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode), and enter your current passcode. This shows you what it is without locking you out.
If you have forgotten your passcode entirely and cannot check it anywhere, your only option is to reset the phone using Find My iPhone or a computer before you run out of attempts. Waiting until you hit the tenth attempt leaves you no choice but to erase the phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does restarting my iPhone reset the failed attempts?
No. Restarting resets the lockout timer so you can try again when ready, but the failed-attempt counter stays the same. If you have failed nine times, restarting lets you try a tenth time right away, but that tenth attempt is still your last one before permanent lockout.
Can I unlock my iPhone if I forgot my passcode?
Not by guessing. Once you hit ten wrong attempts, you must use Find My iPhone or connect to a computer to erase and reset the phone. You will need your Apple ID password to set it up again. If you do not remember your Apple ID password either, you will need to recover it through Apple's account recovery process.
What if someone else keeps trying to guess my passcode?
After six attempts, the phone locks them out for increasing periods of time. After ten attempts, it locks permanently and they cannot proceed without erasing the phone, which requires your Apple ID password. The system is designed to make brute-force guessing impractical.
Does the counter reset if I turn off my phone normally?
No. Turning the phone off and back on normally does not reset the failed-attempt counter. Only entering your passcode correctly resets it. A forced restart (holding power and volume buttons) resets the lockout timer but not the counter itself.
Can I see how many failed attempts I have made?
No. The iPhone does not display a count of failed attempts. You only see the lockout message when you hit the penalty thresholds — at six attempts, then again at seven, eight, nine, and ten. After the tenth attempt, the phone shows "iPhone is Disabled" with no option to try again.