Unlocking an iPod – “I forgot the Screen Lock code?”
Monday, 21st May 2007
My “How do I force quit or restart a frozen iPod?” post seems to be quite popular – I hope people are finding it useful.
I recently found some info on how to unlock your iPod if you have used a screen lock code (iPod nano, iPod nano 2G, and iPod 5G models) to lock your iPod and then forgotten the code. It seems like your options are:
- Connect your iPod to the primary computer you use it with (the first one iPod synced with), and open iTunes. When you disconnect your iPod from the computer, it should no longer be locked.
- You can restore your iPod to factory settings using iPod Updater. This will erase all data on your iPod (so ideally you want to try option 1 first)! Then, you can add your music and data back to your iPod – providing you have your data backed up of course.
You can read more in the article on EveryMac.com.
If you find any further options for unlocking the screen without the screen lock code, please post them as a comment below.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:23 am
try this handy application for removing the screen and volume locks on the Video and nano http://www.hiddenvision.co.uk/ipod visit that page and download or run the the app.. 100% safe I assure you.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Steve…fek off you blagger. Contains link to ebay site. Don’t bother.
April 7th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
help me unlock my ipod
August 10th, 2008 at 5:13 am
my friend locked my i-pod and my primary computer broke and now i cant unlock it
October 1st, 2008 at 7:31 pm
my friend did the same as Ginny’s did PLEASE HELP!!!! my iPod is my LIFE!!!!! email me! PLEASE!!! at:
onlyifheknew@hotmail.com!
January 1st, 2009 at 2:19 pm
go to the hidden folder ipod_control on the ipod then go to device folder and delete the _locked file. Note this will only unlock the ipod but you will not be able to put in a new code until you restore the ipod.
e.g (ipod drive)\ipod_control\device\
Tell me if it works,
que.goa@gmail.com
January 19th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Yes Enrique is right.. it will work if you delete the file _locked.. but you wont be able to lock it again..
Cheers.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I NEED HELP! i still don’t get how you unlock the ipod… and do you have to have an iTunes folder in order to unlock the ipod!
PLZ HELP ME!!!
~Kiara~
if you figure it out.. email me at BeauifulKiaraisonline@gmail.com
February 6th, 2009 at 3:12 am
I locked my i-pod and I don’t have the same primary computer now, so can someone help me plz+ please
February 10th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
my ipod nano 4gb is on screen lock and I can’t get off it. Every time I enter a code, it flashes red and I don’t know what to do! Please help me!
February 18th, 2009 at 3:33 am
please help me anyone. I got this ipod from my firend cause she got a touch one so it is on the locked screen and i don’t know the code and i moved away from my friend.. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME QIUCK!!!!
March 4th, 2009 at 9:02 am
ples help me to open my ipod screen lock
March 12th, 2009 at 11:20 am
THANKS A LOT!!!
March 13th, 2009 at 3:34 am
or……. you can do this….. this is my guide..
For those forgetful people…
All right guys i have a solution for this but it will require some work first:
Now u should get some thing like :
V?¥?°ij?•??\f?©??Pb???æT~?±?¢Hz?µ?¶Lv???™@r???ÆDas the text but its not that confusing to show here are two diffrent codesV?¥?°ij?•??\f?©??Pb???æT~?±?¢Hz?µ?¶Lv???™@r???ÆDthe same!
]???£hj?•??\f?©??Pb???æT~?±?¢Hz?µ?¶Lv???™@r???ÆDso in fact the part that matters is the first 4…. and its a 4 digit code!!
soooo i have made a guide line.. for u to match up your code with
0000 = ^???†k
1111 = _?±?°j
2222 = \???¢i
3333 = ]???£h
4444 = Z?¥?§o
5555 = [?µ?•n
6666 = X???¶m
7777 = Y?ó?ßl
8888 = V???®c
9999 = W???©b
Now how does this help?? Well i set my code as 1234 and this is what the first 4 digits were:
_???£oif u look at the first one and compare to the guide it shows that the first digit is 1 the second 2 the third 3 and the last is 4! taaa daaaa!!!!
Rock on people hope this helps!!!!
~Thimolas the awesome :P
Oppps!! forgot to mention that eagle btc helped me find the folder…… the little bit at the begining was from
http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=118446&highlight=combination+lock
March 24th, 2009 at 1:37 am
ok so like i dont even know how too do that can i just bring it too the apple stor becuse i have an ipod nano and i locked it when i was messig around with my ipod and i cant figer out my code can you put in a surtin password that will unlock it?
March 24th, 2009 at 1:42 am
but what if you dont have tex ed or somthing like that how do you dowllod micorsofe word
March 31st, 2009 at 5:54 am
hi,great post,just keep it up
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:42 am
benjamin (aka thimolas) you are an absolute ledgend!
that guide is awesome awesome awesome!!
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:44 am
and btw, how did you come up up with this brilliance?
April 4th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
hey. i gave my ipod to a friend of mine and when i got it back the touch screen code was on. she said she had no idea how it happened. please, help me unlock my ipod. it’s very important and it’s my last one. i’ve had two before and this will be my last if i don’t fix it. please!!!!
April 19th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
well i was messing around with those files and i found the file and saw the code iw as like “oo thats cool! “” so i just spent a couple hours messing around with it! thanks people
Thimolas the dreamer
February 5th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
i hav locked my ipod and aam not sure how to unlock it as i hav forgot the code. help please!
October 24th, 2010 at 8:04 am
i am really dying to buy an iPad but it is so damn exepnsive in my opnion-”
October 28th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
I was playing with my iPod, and of course, i forgot the stupid combination when i put it on screen lock. I don’t know how to unlock it without using a computer. My mom told me to stick something sharp in where u put the headphones, but i don’t know what she means! If i don’t get it unlocked, I’m probably gonna cry, cause i got my iPod on my 9th birthday. HELP ME PLEASE!
December 16th, 2010 at 4:52 am
my ipad have some display problems and i cannot fix the damn thing ,::
December 28th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Thank you so much benjamin (aka thimolas)! Even though for some reason that code-breaker doesn’t work for my iPod (iPod Nano 5th Generation), I managed to decipher parts of my lock code and it helped me remember my actual code.
Thanks again! I’m far too lazy to sort through all my music to put on my iPod again :)
March 13th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
hi i’m 11 years old and i locked my ipod but i can not unlock it its hard very hard i tryed to use yours itunes connect it did not work
March 14th, 2011 at 9:36 am
how can i reset the screen lock without formatting the phone
April 12th, 2011 at 8:43 am
my ipod 16 gb screen lock i forgot password apple nano ipod
May 21st, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Okay, so I haven’t used my ipod nano in a long time, and I clicked screen lock, and then when I tried to get on my ipod it was locked and I forgot my code????
May 30th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
i cannot connect the ipod 2 my computer plzzzzzzzzz…….help……
July 13th, 2011 at 12:16 am
steve!!!!! thank you your site really did help :] and it was easy
July 16th, 2011 at 11:28 am
Thank you for placing up this post, I think every person will thanks for that.
August 5th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
wait! :[
_unlocked is the only folder that i have. not _locked
August 5th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
i have classic btw
September 4th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
The above code didn’t work for our ipod at all. none of the characters matched anything above. Oh well.
And my folder is called _unlocked as well…
September 22nd, 2011 at 12:36 am
benjamin (aka thimolas), thank you thank you thank you, i love you right now, you just saved my life!!! i just got a new computer cuz my old one crashed and i lost ALL my music, i had like a billion songs, and the only place i had them was ON MY IPOD which my friend locked as a ‘joke’ so if i restored my ipod like i thot was the only way to fix it id lose every one of my songs (which took me 5 years to collect) you have no idea how eternally grateful i am for your comment!!!!
October 5th, 2011 at 9:45 am
I have 5th generation ipod nano, I got my screen lock too… For the easy remove: press and hold together de menu and a middle button. This combination is restart the nano and remove the screen lock.
benjamin (aka thimolas) I can’t decode my lock/unlock file.
“Well i set my code as 1234 and this is what the first 4 digits were: _???£o” this code is 6 digits…
October 22nd, 2011 at 8:59 am
ive forgt my ipod password someone please help!!!!!!!
October 27th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
I gave my husband an Ipod 2 for his birthday.
After a few months he died an left it behind. How can I go and unlock it, so I can use it.
December 7th, 2011 at 5:15 am
i locked myself out of my ipod nano 4th gen :’( i cant use my primary computer because i moved and am now using a new computer and i do NOT want to wipe it out :PP is there any other way to unlock it?? please help me!! :)
December 15th, 2011 at 4:11 am
is there any way to get to those folders (ipod_control) on a mac? I tried using a code for terminal and it didn’t work..
December 15th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
i trun off my ipod and now it say enter code to unlock it but i dnt remember my code it can u please HELP me!
December 17th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
HELO
My ipod was loocked by mistake of my small sister.Suddenly it’s screen loocked and i dont know code plz help me how to unlock screen of my nanno ipod
THANKYOU
December 27th, 2011 at 12:58 am
What Enrique and benjamin suggested worked for me, but it took a while for me to figure out how to do it. Here’s what you do.
1.) Plug in your I-Pod
2.) Open your I-pod under “computer” (most computers will have “computer” open automatically, just double click on your i-pod)
3.) Search “lock”
4.) Delete the file
Thank you to Enrique and Benjamin.
January 12th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
yah i locked my ipod and its my life so i pluged it in to my laptop and 20 min later ejected it and its good now so try that
January 23rd, 2012 at 7:40 pm
i restored my ipod touch with my itunes account and when i restored it i just synced it again with my songs videos and other stuff and i didnt have to put a password anymore