How to Activate iPhone/iPad If You Forgot Apple ID and Password?

If you ever forgot your Apple ID and password, you would fail to activate your iPhone or iPad after reset. However, you can still remove the Activation Lock with the proven methods mentioned in this post. Read it carefully to learn what to do when you forgot Apple ID and password to activate iPhone/iPad.

Author Avatar Joy Taylor Last Updated: Aug. 30, 2022

Apple ID and its password are important for iOS users since it allows Apple users to use many Apple features. For example, when you try to reset your iOS device, it will ask you to enter your Apple ID logins. If someone tries to turn off Find My feature or reactivate your device, they will be required to enter the Apple ID and password.

Important as Apple ID and password are, it would be stressed out if you fail to recall the correct Apple ID information. As many iOS users complained that they are stuck in the activation lock iPhone/iPad because they don’t know the login information, which brings about so much inconvenience and trouble. In recent years, as more and more users buy a secondhand phone, “how to activate iPhone without Apple ID” has become a hot topic.

Well, you are not the only one who is bothered by the same issue. If you have no idea what to do when you forgot Apple ID and password to activate iPhone, keep reading the post, where we collect 6 solutions for this problem. Without further ado, let us take a look at the methods to activate your device without Apple ID and password.

Can You Activate iPhone without Apple ID and Passwords?

Can I activate an iPhone without an Apple ID? Many people ask. And the answer to that question is absolutely YES!

Usually, your Apple ID username is your email address. But some people say: I forgot my Apple ID password and email activation lock. What should I do? If you cannot recall the information, there are still some methods that do not require you to enter an Apple ID password to activate your iPhone.

In the following sections, we’ll describe 6 proven methods that you can apply to your iOS device and activate it. While some of these methods use your Apple ID, others do not. Depending on how you would like to activate your iPhone, you will need to use one of the following methods.

Method 1. Try All Possible Passwords You Can Think Of

When you find that your iPhone is stuck on the activate screen, the first thing you need to do is to try and recall all of the possible Apple ID passwords that you can think of. Most likely, after a few attempts, you will be able to recall the correct password for your account.

Guess the Password

Guess the Password

Birthdate or an Anniversary

Users often use their birthdate or anniversary date in their passwords. Try recalling the important events of your life and their dates, and see if one of them is actually your Apple ID password.

Favorite Item’s Name

Your password could be the name of one of your favorite items. This could be your pet, your favorite food, your favorite location, or anything that you value in your life. Guess all the possibilities and you might just end up with the correct password.

The above should help you guess the password, but ultimately it is up to you to recall the correct password.

Method 2. Activate iPhone/iPad without Apple ID or Password

What do I do if I forgot my Apple ID for activation lock? If you are looking for an easy and efficient way to reactivate your iPhone or iPad without Apple ID and password, AnyUnlock – iPhone Password Unlocker will be your best choice. This amazing software can bypass iCloud Activation Lock and unlock your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch in a few clicks and it is especially workable when you’re stuck on the iCloud Activation Lock screen. The latest version of AnyUnlock – iCloud Activation Unlocker supports devices that run iOS 12.3 and above and you can either make it on your Windows computer or Mac computer.

AnyUnlock – iCloud Activation Unlock

AnyUnlock – iCloud Activation Unlock can help you bypass the iCloud Activation Lock without the Apple ID or password. It can also help you check if the iCloud activation lock is on or if the device is changed, quickly retrieving logged-in Apple ID and information if you forgot.

Free Download100% Clean & Safe

Free Download100% Clean & Safe

Free Download* 100% Clean & Safe

Here are the simple steps to activate iPhone when forgot Apple ID and password.

Step 1. Free download AnyUnlock on your computer > Install and launch it > Connect your iPhone and then choose Bypass iCloud Activation Lock.

Click on Start Now to Bypass iCloud Activation Lock

Click on Start Now to Bypass iCloud Activation Lock

Step 2. Read the Terms of Use and confirm before tapping on the Start Now button.

Click Start Now Button

Connect Your iOS Device to the Computer

Step 3. Proceed to this interface, you need to jailbreak your device by referring to the recommended jailbreak tutorial. Click on the Next button when the jailbreak process completes.

Jailbreak Your Device

Jailbreak Your Device

Step 4. After jailbreak, it will process to the next step. Confirm your device information with device model, iOS version, IMEI, etc., and click Bypass Now button.

Click Bypass Now Button

Click Bypass Now Button

Step 5. It then will bypass the activation lock automatically. Do not disconnect your device until it restarts. It may take some minutes to complete the whole process.

Bypassing iCloud Activation Lock

Bypassing iCloud Activation Lock

Step 6. When the bypassing process is completed, you will see the interface below. After that, feel free to log in to App Store and iTunes Store with your new Apple ID. Please do not log in to iCloud from settings.

iCloud Activation Lock Is Bypassed Successfully

iCloud Activation Lock Is Bypassed Successfully

After that, you will successfully unlock iCloud activation lock without Apple ID. And this method is also suitable for you if you forgot Apple ID and password to activate iPad. If you are a Mac computer owner, you can also bypass iCloud Activation Lock on your Mac, whose procedures are slightly different from PC’s.

Method 3. Retrieve Your Apple ID Password to Activate the iPhone

How to unlock iPhone without Apple ID? Or, how to activate iPad without Apple ID and password? If you forgot Apple ID password activation lock, you should probably try and retrieve your password from the Apple website.

As long as you can access the email address or recovery address for your Apple ID, you should be able to reset your account password. Once that is done, use the new password to activate your iPhone. Here is a detailed guide on what to do when you forgot Apple ID and password to activate iPhone.

Step 1. Launch the Apple ID site in one of the web browsers on your computer.

Step 2. Click the link that reads Forgotten your Apple ID or password at the bottom and continue.

Forgot your Apple ID and Password

Forgot your Apple ID and Password

Step 3. Enter your Apple ID in the only field on the screen and click on Continue. You can use the look it up feature if you do not remember your Apple ID.

Step 4. Type your phone number on the following screen and continue. Then, tap Allow in the prompts that you get on your other Apple devices. This will let you reset your password.

Enter the Associated Phone Number

Enter the Associated Phone Number

Step 5. If you do not have other Apple devices, you will be able to use one of the other methods to recover your Apple ID password.

Method 4. Reset Your iPhone from iCloud Website

If the Apple ID being used on your iPhone belongs to someone else and they cannot access your iPhone, or if your iPhone will not activate for some reason, another way how to activate an iPhone without Apple ID is to use iCloud web.

iCloud web is iCloud’s online version to let you work with your devices. There is a feature here that helps you reset your iPhone and let you solve the forgot Apple ID and password to activate iPhone issue.

Step 1. Open the iCloud site in your computer’s browser and sign in to your account if you have not already.

Step 2. Click on the Find iPhone option to find and perform actions on your iPhone.

Click Find iPhone Option

Click Find iPhone Option

Step 3. To view options for your iPhone, click on All Devices at the top and select your iPhone.

Step 4. Once your iPhone appears, click on the Erase iPhone option, and then click on Remove from Account.

Delete iPhone/iPad from their iCloud Account

Delete iPhone/iPad from their iCloud Account

That will erase your device as well as remove it from your iCloud account. This will then let you activate your iPhone with any Apple ID.

Method 5. Ask Apple Service to Help You Activate Your iPhone

In scenarios like when activation lock forgot password or activation lock forgot Apple ID to activate your iDevices, Apple can actually help you out. They can help activate the devices that you cannot activate by yourself.

One of the essential things to do to let Apple activate your iPhone is you need to present a receipt of purchase of the device. If you have an invoice or anything that proves you are the actual owner of the device, Apple will be happy to activate the device for you.

Contact Apple Support to Remove Activation Lock

Contact Apple Support to Remove Activation Lock

Just keep the invoice and anything else that you need ready with you. Then, head to Apple support and make a reservation for when you are going to meet them. That is all really that you need to do.

Method 6. Ask a Website to Help You Out

If you have lost the invoice for your iPhone, you cannot turn to Apple service to activate the device. However, you can also use one of online websites to help you unlock and activate your iPhone.

Keep in mind that these websites will not be able to unlock your device if it is blacklisted or stolen. The following is how you use one of these sites to avail the iCloud unlock service if you forgot Apple ID and password to activate iPhone/iPad.

  1. Open the iPhone Approved Unlock site in your browser.
  2. If you do not already know your iPhone’s IMEI number, dial *#06# on your iPhone to find the 15 digit number. Note down this number.
  3. Select your iPhone model on the site, enter the 15 digit IMEI number in the given field, and click on Unlock iCloud.
  4. The site will guide you with the procedure. Your order will be confirmed once you have made a payment.

The site will send you an email letting you know when your iPhone can be activated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some questions and their answers related to Activation Lock and forgetting Apple ID problem. If you are interested, keep reading!

Can you use an iPhone without an Apple ID?

The answer is yes. If you are reluctant to set up an Apple ID for reasons such as being unwilling to sync data with Apple, then you can use iPhone without Apple ID at all. But if you want to use iCloud, App Store, Find My iPhone and other functions, you still need an Apple ID.

How to set up iPhone without Apple ID?

Apple allows users to set up iPhone without Apple ID, here are the specific steps:

Step 1. Turn on your new iPhone and follow the onscreen instructions to set up your device. After you have set the language and region, you will see the Set up Manually option, and select it.

Step 2. Continue to follow the instructions to set up your iPhone until you see the Apple ID interface. Select Set Up Later in Settings and confirm. Then you will finish setting up iPhone without Apple ID.

The Bottom Line

After reading this post, you may have known what to do if you forgot Apple ID and password to activate iPhone/iPad. If you are having trouble activating your iPhone, we strongly recommend you use AnyUnlock – iCloud Activation Unlocker to deal with the situation first, because it is the most convenient one among the ways above, and it also has a great high success rate. And if you have some other problems, please don’t hesitate to tell us, and we will solve them for you quickly.

Free Download

Free Download

* 100% Clean & Safe

Free Download * 100% Clean & Safe

Author Avatar
Joy Taylor Twitter Share Facebook Share

Senior writer of the iMobie team as well as an Apple fan, love to help more users solve various types of iOS & Android-related issues.

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