How to Unlock iPhone X Without a Password (5 Methods)

Owning an iPhone X is rewarding until the lock screen blocks your own device. When the passcode slips your mind, you still have working paths back in — provided the iPhone belongs to you and you can sign in with the same Apple ID.

This guide walks through five methods we tested on a 2017 iPhone X (model A1865) and a 2018 iPhone XS hand-me-down: Siri tricks, Force Restart, Recovery Mode through Finder or iTunes, and two paid unlocker tools. Each method has a different cost in time, money, and data loss.

No spy tricks. Just the methods Apple sanctions and the paid tools that wrap them.

#What Lock Screen Security Does iPhone X Use?

The iPhone X launched in November 2017 as Apple’s first phone to drop the Home button entirely, according to Apple’s iPhone X press release announcing the device. Three security layers sit between you and the home screen.

• Six-digit passcode – The default since iOS 9, replacing the older four-digit code that was easier to brute-force.
• Face ID – A 30,000-dot dot projector maps your face, with Apple stating that the false-match rate is roughly 1 in 1,000,000.
• iCloud Activation Lock – Even after a full erase, the device asks for your Apple ID before it will set up.

Apple’s guide for a forgotten or disabled iPhone confirms that 10 wrong passcode entries lock you out, after which the phone must be erased through iTunes, Finder, or a wipe from iCloud Find My. That single rule shapes every method below. There is no magic backdoor for an iPhone whose owner forgot the passcode, only different ways to wipe and start fresh while keeping whatever you backed up to iCloud or a computer earlier.

#When Do You Need to Unlock iPhone X Without the Passcode?

Common scenarios. A forgotten code after a long vacation. Ten wrong attempts that triggered “iPhone is disabled, connect to iTunes.” A child’s iPhone that needs supervised access. We hit two of these on the iPhone X we tested for this guide.

• Forgotten passcode – The most common reason, and the one all five methods below address.
• Disabled after 10 wrong attempts – The Recovery Mode path is the only fix Apple itself recommends here.
• Malfunctioning Side button or Face ID hardware – You may need Recovery Mode to bypass.
• Software stuck at lock screen – Force Restart should be the first attempt before anything destructive.
• Used iPhone with prior owner’s lock – You’ll also need the previous owner’s iCloud credentials to remove Activation Lock after a wipe.
• Parental access to a child’s iPhone – Apple’s Family Sharing handles this without unlock workarounds.

If your situation maps to any of the above, the methods below will help you regain access to your own iPhone X. Don’t attempt these on someone else’s device without explicit permission, since bypassing a passcode you’re not authorized to remove can violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in the United States.

#Method 1: Using Siri Commands to Bypass Lock Screen

Apple’s Siri voice assistant provides one way to interact with certain iPhone features without unlocking the device. Here’s the general process:

1. Press and hold either volume button or the Side button to activate Siri.

2. Once Siri is listening, make commands like “Read my notifications” or “Send a text to Mom.”

3. Siri will complete these tasks through the phone’s external speaker without unlocking the screen.

While limited, this approach grants access to some iPhone capabilities without entering the passcode. And best of all, it doesn’t modify or erase any data.

#What You Can Do with Siri When iPhone Is Locked:

• Read/send texts

• Make phone calls

• Create calendar events

• Set alarms

• Check weather, stocks

• Play music

• Search the web

Test it on your locked screen first. Siri lockdown rules change with every iOS release.

So before fully relying on this method, test it to confirm Siri responds on your locked screen. If not, move onto other options covered next.

#Method 2: Force Restart Your iPhone

A force restart is the safest first move when the iPhone X is frozen at the lock screen instead of asking for a passcode. It does not delete data and finishes in under a minute. When we tested this on our iPhone X stuck after a botched iOS update, the device booted clean the second time and accepted the correct passcode.

Sequence for iPhone X and newer:

1. Press and quickly release Volume Up.
2. Immediately press and quickly release Volume Down.
3. Hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo.

For iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, hold the Side and Volume Down buttons together for at least 10 seconds. For iPhone 6s and earlier, the same combo replaces Volume Down with the Home button.

If you still see the lock screen with no input field after the restart, the issue is the passcode itself — move to Method 3 or one of the unlocker tools below.

#Method 3: Unlock with Recovery Mode in iTunes or Finder

Recovery Mode is the official Apple path for a forgotten passcode. According to Apple’s “If you forgot your iPhone passcode” support article, this is the only Apple-sanctioned method, and it erases everything on the device. macOS Catalina and newer use Finder; older macOS and Windows use iTunes.

You’ll need a computer (Mac or Windows PC), a Lightning-to-USB cable, and a stable internet connection. Apple recommends not interrupting the download. If it stalls past 15 minutes, the iPhone exits Recovery Mode and you start over. We learned the hard way to use Ethernet rather than hotel WiFi here, since a single dropped chunk during the firmware download can cost you another 15 minutes of waiting.

1. Install or update iTunes on Windows. On macOS Catalina+, just open Finder.
2. Connect the iPhone X to the computer with the cable.
3. Force the iPhone into Recovery Mode: Volume Up → Volume Down → hold the Side button until the “Connect to Computer” screen appears.
4. The computer alerts you with “There is a problem with the iPhone that requires it to be updated or restored.” Click Restore, not Update.
5. The download usually finishes in 5 to 15 minutes on a 100 Mbps connection. When it ends, the iPhone restarts with no passcode and no data.
6. Set the phone up as a new device, or restore from your last iCloud or local backup if you have one.

Trade-off: total data loss for anything not already backed up. Our test iPhone X kept everything thanks to a fresh iCloud backup.

#Method 4: Remove Passcode with iToolab UnlockGo

Paid unlocker tools such as iToolab UnlockGo wrap Apple’s official Recovery Mode restore in a friendlier UI and add Screen Time passcode, MDM, and Apple ID removal flows that the bundled Apple tools won’t expose. The data outcome is identical to Method 3, a clean factory device, but the workflow is one click instead of six manual steps.

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We installed UnlockGo on a Windows 11 laptop and ran it against the same disabled iPhone X used in Method 3. The tool downloaded a 5.6 GB iOS 16 firmware bundle in 6 minutes over a 200 Mbps link and finished the unlock in another 4 minutes, for a total of roughly 10 minutes.

1. Download, install, and launch iToolab UnlockGo on your Mac or Windows PC.
2. Connect the locked iPhone X with a Lightning cable and choose Unlock Screen Passcode.
3. UnlockGo auto-detects the firmware version. Confirm and let it download.
4. Click Start Unlock. The tool puts the device in Recovery Mode and pushes the firmware.
5. When the iPhone restarts, set up a fresh passcode or sign back into iCloud.

Be honest about what you’re buying. UnlockGo can’t keep your data on a locked iPhone X. The secure enclave forbids it.

#Method 5: Unlock with Tenorshare 4uKey

Tenorshare 4uKey is the most-cited alternative to UnlockGo. The firm states that 4uKey works with iPhone 4 through iPhone 15 and iOS 17, so the iPhone X is well within its supported range.

In our testing 4uKey ran the same Recovery-Mode-plus-firmware flow as UnlockGo, finishing in under ten minutes on a 100 Mbps connection. The interface adds a Screen Time passcode reset option that Apple’s tools won’t expose.

1. Download and install 4uKey on your Mac or Windows PC.
2. Open the app and connect the iPhone X with a USB cable.
3. Let 4uKey download the firmware file for your specific iPhone model.
4. Click Remove Lock Screen. The phone restarts into a clean factory state.

Same wipe caveat as Method 4. A recent iCloud backup makes the loss minimal.

#Bottom Line

Start with Method 3 (Recovery Mode in Finder or iTunes). It’s Apple-sanctioned, free, and produces the cleanest possible device. Use Force Restart only if the screen is frozen instead of asking for a passcode.

Pay for iToolab UnlockGo or Tenorshare 4uKey when you also need to remove an Apple ID or a Screen Time passcode that the bundled Apple tools can’t touch. They run the same Recovery Mode restore underneath, but expose more endpoints in their UI. Skip Siri tricks entirely on any iPhone running iOS 12 or newer, since the lock-screen interaction surface has been steadily trimmed in every major iOS release.

For the passcode-specific entry point rather than the broader without-password flow, our unlock iPhone X passcode guide covers the three working methods in more depth.

For someone else’s iPhone, stop. Hand the device back and point the owner to Apple’s iCloud “Find My” erase flow , it removes the passcode without requiring you to bypass anything.

#Frequently Asked Questions