How to Fix "iPhone Is Disabled, Connect to iTunes" - 4 Ways

When your iPhone says "iPhone Is Disabled Connect to iTunes", it means your iPhone is permanently locked. You can’t do anything with your iPhone other than using the Emergency service.

Wondering why your iPhone is disabled and how to unlock it? You’ve come to the right place. Here you will find 4 ways to unlock a permanently disabled iPhone.

Why Is Your iPhone Disabled?

Your iPhone is disabled because of too many incorrect passcode attempts on your iPhone Lock Screen. The more wrong attempts, the longer you have to wait to unlock your iPhone.

Here are the alerts you might see:

• Incorrect passcode 6 times in a row: iPhone is disabled. Try again in 1 minute.
• Incorrect passcode 7 times in a row: iPhone is disabled. Try again in 5 minutes.
• Incorrect passcode 8 times in a row: iPhone is disabled. Try again in 15 minutes.
• Incorrect passcode 9 times in a row: iPhone is disabled. Try again in 60 minutes.
• Incorrect passcode 10 times in a row: iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes.

When your iPhone is disabled, all you need to do is wait. After waiting X minutes, enter the correct passcode and you will be able to use your iPhone. If, unfortunately, you forgot your iPhone passcode and your screen says iPhone Is Disabled Connect to iTunes, how should you unlock your iPhone?

Read on to learn how.

How to Fix “iPhone Is Disabled, Connect to iTunes” with Finder or iTunes

Once your iPhone is permanently locked, you won’t be able to unlock it until you connect it to Finder or iTunes on a Mac or PC.

The tools you need:

• A Mac or PC
• A USB Cable

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Turn off your iPhone.

2. Connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC via a USB cable.

3. Press and hold the corresponding key to put your iPhone into Recovery mode.

   • iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X and successors, iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation): Use the Side button.
   • Phone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: Use the Volume Down button.
   • Phone SE (1st generation), iPhone 6s, and earlier models: Use the Home button.

   

4. Open Finder or iTunes.

   • For Macs running macOS Catalina and later, use Finder.
   • For Macs running macOS Mojave and earlier, use iTunes.
   • For PCs running Windows 10 and later, use iTunes.

5. Click the iPhone icon, then click Restore or Restore iPhone option.

   

6. Your computer will start downloading the firmware and restoring your iPhone.

7. When the reset process is complete, unplug your iPhone and set it up.

How to Fix “iPhone Is Disabled, Connect to iTunes” with BuhoUnlocker

The second option to unlock a disabled iPhone is to use a third-party iPhone unlocker like BuhoUnlocker and EaseUS MobiUnlock.

Let's take BuhoUnlocker as an example to see how to unlock your iPhone.

1. Download and install BuhoUnlocker on your computer (PC or Mac).
2. Launch it and click Unlock Screen Passcode > Start.

   

3. Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable, then put it into recovery mode.

   

4. Download the latest firmware for your device, click Unlock, and wait for the unlocking process to complete.

   

5. When you see the hello screen on your iPhone, set up your iPhone.

How to Fix “iPhone Is Disabled, Connect to iTunes” with iCloud

The above methods require a computer. But if you don’t have one, how should you unlock your iPhone?

iCloud is ready to help. It allows you to unlock your iPhone without a computer. However, this will only work if the disabled iPhone has a data connection and its Find My iPhone feature is turned on.

1. On your iPad, another iPhone, or a friend’s iPhone, visit icloud.com.
2. Enter you Apple ID and password.
3. Tap Find iPhone, and from the All Devices list, select your disabled iPhone.

4. Tap Erase iPhone, and enter your iCloud password to sign out of Apple ID.

5. Tap Erase to delete all the contents on the disabled iPhone.
6. Set up your iPhone.

How to Fix “iPhone Is Disabled, Connect to iTunes” with Find My App

The Find My or Find My iPhone app can also help you unlock your disabled iPhone.

Here are the steps:

1. Open the Find My or Find My iPhone app on your iPad or other iPhone.
2. Switch to Devices and select your disabled iPhone.
3. Tap Erase iPhone.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions to delete everything on your disabled iPhone.
5. Set up your iPhone.

How to Avoid iPhone Being Disabled

We know how frustrating it is to be unable to use an iPhone because it is disabled. To prevent your iPhone being disabled from happening again, take the following steps:

• Set an easy-to-remember passcode, or write down your passcode.
• Set up alternative locking methods, such as Touch ID and Face ID.
• Avoid accidental touches in pockets.
• Avoid accidental touches by children.
• Turn on Erase iPhone feature, which will automatically wipe your iPhone data after 10 wrong passcode attempts. (Use this method with caution.)

Final Words

Hopefully, you have successfully unlocked your disabled iPhone by using one of the above methods. Note that all these methods erase all data on your iPhone. It is a good idea to back up your iPhone regularly to avoid to risk of losing important data.