Reset Previously Managed Corporate iPhones without Passcode

Question

Reset Previously Managed Corporate iPhones without Passcode

Devices previously enrolled in MDM but were not reported in time to offboard before going stale and dropping off - we have been unable to get past the Passcode screen, after the timeout we do not see the "Forgot passcode?" option and the recovery mode/DFU also does not seen to work as expected as Apple Devices and iTunes do not detect the iPhone when plugged in and in recovery mode - this was attempted on multiple devices without success.

These devices are corporate-owned and -managed and present in ABM - what are our options for resetting these devices? Once reset, they should re-enroll and be good to go, but we have not been successful in getting to the reset stage.

iPhone SE (3rd generation)

Posted on Dec 31, 2024 6:11 AM

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Answer 1

celliott147

Level 6

12,582 points

Jan 2, 2025 9:17 AM in response to edwardcallens

A couple of things strike me as odd here.

For the devices to go stale, typically, that means (unless changed by your org), that the device hasn't connected to the MDM in over 2 years.

That said, truly going into DFU mode should be detected by your computer. I've had issues with Finder on macOS occasionally not detecting a device in DFU mode, but I've never had an issue with Apple Configurator 2 not seeing a device.

If once reset, you're being prompted for a password or pin before enrolling, that's because the device is activation locked. You can now remove this within Apple Business Manager.

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Answer 2

KiltedTim

Level 10

224,652 points

Dec 31, 2024 6:40 AM in response to edwardcallens

First you need to figure out why your computer isn’t detecting them in recovery mode. Regardless of anything else going on, you should be able to restore them in recovery mode using a computer.

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Reset Previously Managed Corporate iPhones without Passcode

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