subject: Testing The Iphone And Ipad Passcode Lock Erase Data Function [print this page] I recently performed a test on my own iPhoneI recently performed a test on my own iPhone. The test was, that I tripped the "Erase Data" attribute on my iPhone. Within the next few paragraphs I will tell you everything that occurred along with what you could expect.
Here is what I did to help others increase their iPad how to knowledge. I visited (Settings > General > Passcode Lock) and flipped "Erase Data" to "On". I then backed up my iPhone to iCloud as well as iTunes. And finally, entered a bad passcode 10 times.
Okay, I actually typed it 6 times before the large red "iPhone Disabled Try again in 1 minute" appeared. Right after the minute passed, I attempted this again and it locked for five minutes. My eighth try won me a 15 minute wait. And my ninth and 10th effort both had a sixty minute "iPhone Disabled" wait period. I was required to type in a bad passcode the eleventh time before it ultimately deleted all of my data.
Just a side note. I made an effort to disrupt the lockout by both a soft reset and also a hard reset. Neither of them functioned. I additionally tested the Find My iPhone situation by using iCloud and was effectively allowed to find my iPhone. I then activated the "Play Sound and Send Message" choice with Find My iPhone. The sound played, but no message was shown.
So after roughly three hours of trying to set off the Passcode Lock Erase Data function, I was finally successful. My iPhone restarted to a brand new out of the box phone. This is when it gets terrifying...at least in my opinion.
I strolled over the procedures for configuring it. Specified my language, Country, and Location Services preference. It then moved me to a "Wi-Fi Networks" display which allowed me to choose a WiFi network.
At the bottom on the "Wi-Fi Networks" screen was an option to "Connect to iTunes". It disappeared soon after my iPhone regained a cellular connection. It then switched to "Connect using cellular". I chose to connect using cellular.
At that point I was given 3 choices: Setup as a new iPhone, Restore from iCloud backup, or Restore from iTunes backup. I made a decision to set it up as a new iPhone. I then keyed in my wife's iCloud info.
As I was afraid of, my iPhone, or what used to be my iphone, was at this point setup and functional to someone else. I was able to make calls from it and then use it just as anybody who had swiped my iPhone could have been able to use it.
Dreading the worst, I tried to search for it through Find My iPhone. Just like I believed, my phone was no longer able to be found by using my account. Nevertheless, I had been able to find my phone within my spouse's iCloud account.
To change my iPhone 4S back to, well, being mine yet again, I went to Settings > General > Reset and tapped "Erase All Content and Settings". Upon being asked if I was sure 2 times, the iPhone deleted and rebooted. I then set up my iPhone 4S and restored it from my iCloud backup.
NOTE: If you ever sell your iDevice, be sure to follow the process in the above mentioned paragraph. You don't want to sell your device with your personal data on it.
Conclusion
Should you ever desire even the slightest possibility of locating your swiped iPhone or stolen iPad, leave this specific setting "Off". If left off, the criminal would disable your iPhone or iPad within the identical time-frames mentioned previously. That means that subsequent to the 9th unsuccessful attempt the thief will have to wait around sixty minutes before trying once more. And yes, there's a possibility that the crook might go through all 9,999 likely passcodes and gain access to the information you have. That would require some considerable determination though seeing that they'd need to wait around several years to get through all of them.
If your information is that confidential, then I would recommend heading to Settings > General > Passcode Lock > Simple Passcode and turn that setting to "Off". This will permit you to setup a passcode that utilizes letters, numbers and special characters. That provides you with a great deal more then the 9,999 probabilities of the simple passcode.
