Losing someone is a traumatic experience, so you don’t want to add the potential frustration and distress of being unable to access important information or content that has become imprisoned on their iPhone or Mac. But how can you unlock an iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max once the owner has passed away? Here are a few things you can try, plus details of Apple’s Digital Legacy initiative that should make the process much easier.
What is Apple’s Digital Legacy feature?
The Digital Legacy program allows you to designate people as Legacy Contacts so they can access your Apple Account in the event of your death.
- Go to Settings > [your name] > Sign-In & Security > Legacy Contact, tap Add Legacy Contact, then follow the onscreen instructions.
- In the unfortunate event of your death, that person can then request access to your Apple Account, although it will require a copy of your death certificate to prove they are eligible.
- When Apple confirms the status of the device’s owner, it will then grant the nominated person access to the deceased’s data as well as disabling the Activation Lock on their iPhone or Mac.
How to access a deceased person’s iPhone or Mac device
You can use one of the following methods to try to recover the data from a deceased person’s device:
Recover data via iCloud
If you know the login details for the person’s iCloud account or have access to their iCloud email address, then you should be able to use it to recover a large amount of data. Provided the person in question used the service, it will give you the chance to download photos, documents, contacts and other files.
- Go to iCloud.com.
- Select the Forgotten your Apple Account or Password? option.
- Use the iCloud email address to reset the iCloud password.
Recover data on iPhone 18 Pro Max by restoring an iCloud backup
Another option, which once again requires you to have access to the deceased’s iCloud account, is to wipe their device and restore a recent iCloud backup. The reason for using the restore method is that you should still have all of the data left intact.
Before you attempt this, try to ascertain the last time the device was backed up, as you wouldn’t want to erase the data only to find that the backup is from a couple of years ago. If there is a recent one, tap Set Up Manually, tap Restore from iCloud Backup, then follow the onscreen instructions.
What to do if you don’t know the deceased person’s iCloud details
Sadly, this is probably a likely scenario for many people. All that you can do in this event is to contact Apple Support or visit your local Apple Store and explain the situation. Please note that devices locked with a passcode are protected by passcode encryption, and Apple can’t help remove the passcode lock without erasing the device.
Adding a Legacy Contact is the easiest, most secure way to give someone you trust access to the data stored in your Apple Account after your death.
The key take away is to plan for these sad events by finding out these essential passwords in advance. But that is, of course, easier said than done.
