My uncle, who lives in assisted living, accidentally locked his iPhone 15 Pro Max by entering the wrong passcode too many times. We tried getting help at a Verizon store, but they told us to go to an Apple Store. Unfortunately, he has difficulty walking, and all the local Apple Stores are in malls, which I can't take him to. Is there any way I can get this phone unlocked without having to bring him with me or calling Apple?
3 Answers
If possible, take him to a nearby mall that offers free wheelchairs. The staff at the Apple Store will definitely help with unlocking the phone once you're there.
You might need to connect the iPhone to a computer and restore it from there. Check out this link from Apple Support for detailed instructions: [If you forgot your iPhone passcode or your iPhone is disabled](https://support.apple.com/en-us/118430). This method will help if you have access to his computer.
Unfortunately, if the phone is locked, there’s no way to unlock it without erasing the device. That means you’d have to restore it via iCloud backup if he set that up. If he hasn't backed it up, all the content will be lost. To reset the phone, you'll need a computer and his Apple ID login information. If he doesn’t remember those, you can help him recover it at forgot.apple.com. It’s quite surprising that a Verizon employee couldn’t assist more, but this info is pretty common online.
I didn't realize it was so strict! Thanks for the heads-up on the Apple ID recovery.