I'm reaching out for help because my partner passed away unexpectedly, and he had numerous cherished photos of us and our newborn on his iPhone. Unfortunately, I don't know the passcode to access the phone. I do have access to his MacBook, but it seems the photos are only synced up to May 2025. My concern is that the phone's storage may be full, and I'm wondering if I can upgrade his iCloud storage using the MacBook. If I do this, will the photos automatically sync from the iPhone if it's turned on and connected to WiFi, even if it remains locked? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
3 Answers
I’m really sorry for your loss. If you connect his phone to the MacBook, it might prompt you for the passcode. However, if the phone has been previously trusted, it should automatically connect. You can then use Image Capture to download the photos directly to the computer or an external drive. You might want to give this a try!
Just a heads up, if the phone gets restarted, it won't connect to WiFi until you enter the passcode. So whatever you do, just avoid restarting it!
Oh no, the phone actually died and it's been off for a while now. I’m so worried about that.
Apple can sometimes assist with these kinds of situations, although it involves a lot of paperwork like sending in death certificates. You can check out their official support page for more info: [Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102431). I’m so sorry for your loss.
Thank you for your kind words! I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll definitely give it a shot and let you know how it goes.