I'm currently taking care of my dad's phone while he's in the hospital due to some serious health issues. He relies on it to remain connected, especially for checking his emails. The problem is, he set up Face ID a long time ago, and now it doesn't recognize him. This could be due to changes in his appearance or just because he hasn't used it much. I believe the device is in a state of Stolen Device Protection, which means I can't turn it off without Face ID. I'm really hesitant to reset the phone since it may wipe all settings that were tailored for his accessibility needs. I'm looking for a way to disable the protection or perhaps bypass it without losing all of his important settings and passwords. Is there a way to do this?
2 Answers
Can you clarify what exactly you’re trying to access that might be restricted by the Stolen Device Protection? That way, we can find a workaround.
If reset options are tricky, have you thought about bringing it back to a safe place to see if you can disable it there? That might work if you're careful.
Unfortunately, Apple designed it so that there's no way to bypass the Stolen Device Protection without using Face ID. However, if you have backups saved in iCloud, you can reset the device and then restore everything from there. You'll need to create a new passcode afterwards. It might feel risky, but you shouldn't lose your settings as long as they’re backed up.
So it’s really just a matter of resetting the whole thing, huh? Do I need to fully reset everything, or just specific settings? Like with network issues, sometimes you only need to reset the network settings without affecting the entire phone. What if I try this at home instead?
Yes, just do the full reset if needed, and restoring from iCloud should bring back your settings! It's best to do it where you have a stable internet connection, like at home, so you can easily access everything afterward.
It’s mainly my dad's email password that we need. He hasn’t logged in for a while, so now it's asking for Face ID. I tried to use it, but it won’t recognize him, and that’s what Apple support said is causing the issue. I really need a way to either turn this protection off or reset without erasing everything he needs.