- Apple won’t remove a passcode without erasing the phone. We found no Google or Samsung unlock process for a deceased owner.
- Don’t guess the passcode. An iPhone can be set to erase itself after 10 wrong attempts.
- Apple removes Activation Lock once a Legacy Contact or account deletion request is complete.
- Transfer the mobile number into your name rather than closing it. Security codes go to that number.
If you don’t know the passcode, the data on the phone itself is usually out of reach. Much of it may also exist in the person’s cloud account, so start there.
First: don’t guess the passcode
An iPhone can be set to erase all data automatically after 10 failed passcode attempts. Even without that setting, 10 wrong attempts mean the phone has to be restored with a computer, which wipes it. Put the phone somewhere safe and work through the steps below.
iPhone and iPad
Apple says a passcode-locked device is protected by encryption, and it “can’t help remove the passcode lock without erasing the device”. A death certificate doesn’t change that.
What Apple can do depends on whether the person set up a Legacy Contact.
If you are their Legacy Contact, you need the access key they gave you and a death certificate. Request access at digital-legacy.apple.com or on your own iPhone. Once approved, you get a separate Legacy Contact Apple Account with access to iCloud data such as photos, messages, notes, files and device backups. You do not get the phone’s passcode, and you do not get passwords or passkeys from iCloud Keychain.
Apple’s help page says access lasts three years from Apple’s first approval, after which the account is permanently deleted, so download what you want early. See our Apple Legacy Contact guide for the detail.
Without a Legacy Contact, Apple accepts court orders for access in the US, Israel and some other places, and alternative documents in some places, such as France, Germany, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The UK is not among the places Apple names, so ask Apple what it needs from you. Only one person can request access to a deceased person’s account.
Activation Lock
An erased iPhone is still tied to the owner’s Apple Account until Activation Lock is removed. Apple’s official route for a deceased owner: once a Legacy Contact request or an account deletion request (at digital-legacy-account.apple.com, using your own Apple Account) is completed, Activation Lock is removed automatically. The device then has to be erased and set up again.
Apple also has a general Activation Lock support request for people with proof of purchase. Its help page doesn’t mention deceased owners, so the Digital Legacy route is the one we can point to.
Android phones
Google’s Factory Reset Protection means that after a reset, the phone asks for a Google Account that was previously synced to it. Without those details, Google says you “won’t be able to use the device at all”. Google’s help pages describe no process for lifting this on a deceased person’s phone, and Google states it cannot provide passwords or login details.
Samsung says a forgotten PIN can be dealt with remotely only if a remote unlock method was set up beforehand. Otherwise the fix is a factory reset, which erases the data. We found no published Samsung bereavement process.
The Google Account itself is a separate matter. You can ask Google to close the account, release funds, or provide data. Ask for data before closure, because a closed account’s contents can’t be requested later. Our Google guide explains the options.
Keeping the phone number (UK)
The number may matter more than the handset. Banks and other services send security codes by text, so you need it while you close accounts in order.
Ofcom says operators must treat bereaved customers fairly and may transfer the account into another person’s name. Say if you want to keep the number. You shouldn’t have to pay an early termination charge on a personal account, and any credit balance can usually be refunded to the executor. Operators may ask for a copy of the death certificate or its number.
- O2: set up a new account in your name and ask for the number to be moved across, free, within 7 working days. Bereavement line 0800 090 1820.
- Vodafone: close the account, transfer it, or move it to pay as you go or another network. Have the death certificate registration number ready. Bereavement line 0808 005 7450.
- Three: close, transfer ownership or move the number to another network. A pay monthly transfer is subject to a credit check.
For EE, check its current bereavement page.
Save contacts, texts and voicemails before any SIM is closed. O2 warns that once the account closes, this information is lost. If a number is closed, Ofcom has said operators may give it to someone new after anywhere from 3 months to a year.
A note on the law
Even with the passcode, using a dead person’s phone to sign in to their online accounts is not legally straightforward. UK solicitors have pointed to the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and in the US, state laws based on RUFADAA protect only formally appointed fiduciaries, with an open question at federal level. Our page on accessing a deceased person’s computer explains the position.