How to Backup a Locked iPhone with/without iTunes

How to backup locked iPhone with broken screen

My iPhone 8 is locked, and I got 10GB of pictures on it, I'm just wondering is it possible to backup a locked iPhone? Thanks.

- Question from discussion.apple.com

People can be challenged, especially with older iPhone models such as the 6, 6s, 7, or 8, where passcode forgetting can become a recurring problem. When repeatedly entering the wrong passcode results in an iPhone being locked, the only recourse is usually to restore the device to regain access.

While it is possible to wipe an iPhone without a passcode, this operation requires the complete deletion of all data stored on the device - something you'll no doubt want to avoid. In light of this, “Can I back up my iPhone if it's locked?”Surprisingly, a way to back up a locked iPhone exists if your iPhone was previously connected to a computer, both with and without iTunes.Read on to learn how to backup a locked iPhone!

How to backup a locked iPhone on iTunes

If you have previously synced your iPhone with iTunes and have not restarted the device since the last time you connected to iTunes, iTunes remembers the passcode. In this case, you can backup locked iPhone without passcode.

Steps to backup locked iPhone to iTunes

Step 1. Launch iTunes and connect your iPhone to the computer.

Step 2. Choose the Device icon.

Step 3.  Click Summary on the left side of the window > Select This Computer > Click Back Up Now to initiate the backup process.

When the backup process is completed, you can put your iPhone into Recovery Mode to unlock the iPhone and then restore the data on the locked iPhone from the iTunes backup you have made.

How to backup locked iPhone without iTunes

If iTunes can't recognize your iPhone, you can use AOMEI FoneBackup to help you backup locked iPhone. AOMEI FoneBackup is one professional iPhone backup tool for Windows PCs. iTunes only supports full backup, while AOMEI FoneBackup lets you select the data you want to back up, which will help save time and storage space.

AOMEI FoneBackup supports all iPhone models from iPhone 4 to the latest iPhone 16. Click the download button to get AOMEI FoneBackup and follow the steps below to back up your important data in minutes.

How to backup locked iPhone with AOMEI FoneBackup

Step 1. Launch AOMEI FoneBackup> Connect your iPhone with a USB cable.

✍ Note: This computer has to be trusted by your iPhone before.

Step 2. Click Phone Backup on the left window. Choose Selective Backup. You can click Get Started to continue.

If you want to backup all content and settings with one click, please choose Full Backup option in the Tools bar.

Step 3. Click an icon to enter Selection > Select the files you want to back up and click OK to continue.

Step 4. After the target files are chosen, you can click Backup Storage Path to change the backup path for the to-be-backed-up files > Click Start Backup to begin.

That’s all about how to back up locked iPhone using AOMEI FoneBackup. You can easily find your backup files by clicking the eye icon or the pin icon in Backup History.

★Tip:

 If you have backed up your iPhone to iCloud, you can use AOMEI FoneBackup’s iCloud Manager to restore iPhone from iCloud backup easily.

Bonus Tip: How to unlock iPhone with broken screen

There is a feature on the iPhone called VoiceOver that allows users to unlock the iPhone with special gestures. If a small part of your device's touch screen still works, then you can use that small part to unlock the device.

Step 1. Activate Siri: press and hold on the home button or say Hey Siri > Say "Turn on VoiceOver" to Siri,

• On iPhone with Touch ID: press the home button twice.
• On iPhone with Face ID:  wake up your iPhone, glance at it, and pull up from the bottom of the screen until you feel a vibration or hear two rising tones.

Step 2. Enter your password: Use the responsive portion of the device screen to swipe left or right to select a number > double tap to confirm the selected passcode number.

Step 3. When the iPhone is unlocked, you can use VoiceOver to Trust the computer. Then you can backup your iPhone to computer. When you want to turn off this mode, you can say "Turn off VoiceOver" to Siri.

Final Words

Can you backup a locked iPhone now after reading this article? We have introduced 2 ways of how to backup a locked iPhone 7/8/X/11/12/13/14. Hope these methods can help you to backup your iPhone without entering passcode.

You can see there are some limitations to backup locked iPhone with iTunes, so we suggest you pick AOMEI FoneBackup to perform this operation. Additionally, besides data backup, it is also able to transfer photos, videos, messages, etc. between iPhone and computer, between iPhone and another one. Download AOMEI FoneBackup and give it a try!