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When backing up iOS devices to the mac, encrypted backups are possible. Is there a way to test my password, which I think is correct, without trying to restore some iPad from this backup?

I want to make sure that I not only have my iPad backed-up, but also make sure that I remember the password correctly.

I would prefer not to "pretend" I want to change my password, just to check if my password works.

Any Ideas?

I am on macos Catalina and iPadOS 14.3.

2 Answers 2

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If you saved it in keychain, it will auto-fill in the Change Password dialog.

If so, it's listed in keychain as "iOS Backup", where you can open the plaintext version to see.

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If not, then I think you'll have to try changing it to see if you remembered it correctly. I don't know if it will allow changing to the same password - never tested that.

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  • It will let you change to the same password. Not sure how to initiate keychain usage when i denied it the first time it asked me. But your answer will work for people who already use keychain.
    – Human
    Jan 18, 2021 at 11:45
  • I just had a look at my keychain and saw what you talked about. I looked at the iOS Backup entry and realized at some point in the past I apparently used keychain and there was a password stored alright, just not the right one. So it seems to be dangerous to assume keychain holds the correct info. Also the account info is not clear to me, what account? Am I supposed to recognize the ID? I don't expect you to answer, just food for thought.
    – Human
    Jan 18, 2021 at 11:58
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I just tested the changing password approach and it works. You additionally have to verify the password change by entering your code on your phone while it is connected.

Another option would be to download a program like iBackup viewer. Then you can also see what the backup contains.

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