Screen broken - how to enter passcode?

unkel

The screen on this iPhone 3 is badly cracked but does light up brightly when I click the home button. But it is just white, and I can't see anything. I know the passcode but I have not been able to enter it

The aim here: to get iTunes songs off the phone onto my PC (the PC of the owner of the iPhone is also broken - hard disk FUBAR)

iTunes (and several other programs I have tried) keeps saying I need to enter the passcode on the phone. There's no way I can feed the passcode into the iPhone via the PC, is there?

jpmiddleton

You would probably be better off going into a phone repair store and asking them, I have a feeling that it would be almost impossible, however I may be wrong.

I will also ask on our forum for you and post back if I get an answer.

quad_red

A long shot but could the touch part of the screen work even if it isn't displaying an image?

Have you tried to swipe unlock then enter the code blind?

guil

did ya try sharepod

unkel

quad_red wrote: »

A long shot but could the touch part of the screen work even if it isn't displaying an image?

Have you tried to swipe unlock then enter the code blind?

The touch part works!

I'm trying to enter the code blind, but having no luck. Now I am unfamiliar with iPhones and this is an Iphone 3 (not GS) 8GB. I click on the home button. The screen goes bright. Then I swipe from left to right on the bottom. The screen then goes a shade less bright. Then I blindly enter the code (after each digit there is a noise as if I were dialling a number) and then...nothing! I can keep entering more than the 4 numbers of the passcode, and there is a noise after each one. In the meantime, connecting to iTunes keeps giving me the message:

quad_red

Do ye have another iphone/ipod touch?

If you put them side by side, then you'd have something for reference?

Either way, iTunes isn't going to let you transfer music off the device onto the computer. It doesn't work like that (unless you've purchased/downloaded something directly onto the iphone from itunes and are on a computer logged in to the same itunes account. Then you have an option to download these purchased items onto itunes. This doesn't sound like what you want to do)

See http://lifehacker.com/394046/copy-music-from-your-iphone-or-ipod-to-your-computer-for-free

I've used Senati before but it's only for macs. Try this plug in for winamp. It should do the job

http://mlipod.sourceforge.net/?page=home

Or sharepad as Guil above says! http://www.getsharepod.com/

unkel

quad_red wrote: »

Do ye have another iphone/ipod touch?

If you put them side by side, then you'd have something for reference?

Yep neighbour has iPhone 3 GS. They're very similar, right? Tried using them side by side to blindly enter my passcode, but no luck.

I've no macs, but I'm trying winamp plus the plug. Tried it on 2 PCs but no luck. The PCs do not seem to find the iPhone. Clicking on the "discover" button (under devices) in winamp doesn't do anything

quad_red

Yeah, they should be the same.

It's a pc formatted iPhone, yes?

Have you tried powering the phone off, restarting the pc and making sure iTunes is NOT running before trying sharepod or winamp?

There is a possibility that whatever has smashed the screen has also banjaxed the other hardware. What you're seeing could be indicative of a hardware failure.

unkel

quad_red wrote: »

It's a pc formatted iPhone, yes?

Not sure what you mean there. The iPhone is bog standard, not jailbroken or anything

quad_red wrote: »

Have you tried powering the phone off, restarting the pc and making sure iTunes is NOT running before trying sharepod or winamp?

Tried it on several PCs at this stage, even ones that have never even had iTunes installed

quad_red wrote: »

There is a possibility that whatever has smashed the screen has also banjaxed the other hardware. What you're seeing could be indicative of a hardware failure.

Could be, but when I plug in the USB cable into a PC, the iPhone does show up as a USB device (Apple iPhone digital camera). Can't see any data though, only an empty folder (called "internal storage" with a subfolder DCIM - like any digital camera)

quad_red

Most of the 'solutions' online suggest putting the phone into restore mode when faced with iTunes demanding a password.

But restore mode basically blanks the phone in preparation to restore the phone from a backup stored in iTunes.

Which isn't any use to ye.

unkel

quad_red wrote: »

Most of the 'solutions' online suggest putting the phone into restore mode when faced with iTunes demanding a password.

But restore mode basically blanks the phone in preparation to restore the phone from a backup stored in iTunes.

Which isn't any use to ye.

Aye, I gathered that. The owner of the phone doesn't really care about anything on the phone, except his iTunes music. I could have the lcd screen repaired, but I'm starting to doubt that will fix anything. The touchscreen is responsive, but the blind entering the pass code should have worked if all else (except lcd) was well

There might be a way of physically removing the memory storage from the main board and attaching it to a usb stick / card reader or something like that? Would you have heard of a crowd in the Dublin area that could do that?

Thanks for your help BTW, much appreciated

quad_red

unkel wrote: »

Not sure what you mean there. The iPhone is bog standard, not jailbroken or anything

If an iphone is synced with a Mac, it's formatted differently to if it's synced to a PC.

ie. if your friend used a mac with his iphone, you need to be using a mac to try and get stuff off it.

If he used a pc, then use a pc.

unkel wrote: »

There might be a way of physically removing the memory storage from the main board and attaching it to a usb stick / card reader or something like that? Would you have heard of a crowd in the Dublin area that could do that?

Seriously doubt that. Modern minaturised electronics aren't designed to be taken apart component by component. I would wager that the memory is soldered well onto the main board and is never meant to be detached. Even if you got it off, I don't see how it would be cost effective to repair it/fit a new interface in order to get stuff off it (see attached image).

unkel

quad_red wrote: »

If an iphone is synced with a Mac, it's formatted differently to if it's synced to a PC.

ie. if your friend used a mac with his iphone, you need to be using a mac to try and get stuff off it.

If he used a pc, then use a pc.

He used a PC and so am I

quad_red wrote: »

Seriously doubt that.

Indeed. With the memory chip soldered in like that, it's mission impossible.

Gregor Samsa

unkel wrote: »

Then I blindly enter the code (after each digit there is a noise as if I were dialling a number) and then...nothing! I can keep entering more than the 4 numbers of the passcode, and there is a noise after each one.

You don't usually get noises like that when you're entering your passcode. With "Keyboard Clicks" turned on, you would hear a dull click - the same tone for each digit. With "Keyboard Clicks" turned off, there'd be no sound.

Also, if the passcode is set to the default 4 digits (which it seems to be), then you'd only be able to enter 4 digits. The phone would vibrate straight after if it was the wrong passcode.

If you're getting the same tone sounds as when you dial a number, then it sounds like you're in the Emergency Call screen, which allows you to dial an emergency number when the phone is locked. The Emergency Call button is at the bottom left hand corner of the screen after you swipe to unlock, so maybe that's getting pressed before you try to enter the passcode?

So it sounds like either there's a lot more wrong with the phone, or you're not actually in the passcode screen at all.

unkel

phutyle wrote: »

You don't usually get noises like that when you're entering your passcode. With "Keyboard Clicks" turned on, you would hear a dull click - the same tone for each digit. With "Keyboard Clicks" turned off, there'd be no sound.

Also, if the passcode is set to the default 4 digits (which it seems to be), then you'd only be able to enter 4 digits. The phone would vibrate straight after if it was the wrong passcode.

If you're getting the same tone sounds as when you dial a number, then it sounds like you're in the Emergency Call screen, which allows you to dial an emergency number when the phone is locked. The Emergency Call button is at the bottom left hand corner of the screen after you swipe to unlock, so maybe that's getting pressed before you try to enter the passcode?

So it sounds like either there's a lot more wrong with the phone, or you're not actually in the passcode screen at all.

That's making a lot of sense! I realised there is no sim card in the iPhone (the owner is already using another phone) and a quick google shows that the phone might be stuck in the emergency call screen without the original sim!

quad_red

I hope you're not continually (accidentally) crank calling the emergency services

guil

put any sim without a pin into the 3g and turn it off, put any passcode on the friends 3gs and turn it off aswell and then turn on and unlock the 3gs and try the same with the 3g

jpmiddleton

Have you managed to solve this now?