--- title: Toddler Accidentally Locks iPhone for Nearly Half a Century description: While playing with his mom's phone, a Shanghai toddler accidentally locked the device for 47 years after inputting the wrong passcode. canonical: https://time.com/5190240/iphone-lock-toddler/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-07T22:27:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:51:12.844Z og:title: Toddler Accidentally Locks iPhone for Nearly Half a Century og:description: This is why kids and technology don't always mix with good results og:url: https://time.com/5190240/iphone-lock-toddler/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64ec47f9805f8197/69892a1722fb8532b5e24ff2/iphone-lock-screen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4495 og:image:height: 2528 og:image:alt: Touch ID or Enter Passcode og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Toddler Accidentally Locks iPhone for Nearly Half a Century twitter:description: This is why kids and technology don't always mix with good results twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64ec47f9805f8197/69892a1722fb8532b5e24ff2/iphone-lock-screen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Toddler Accidentally Locked an iPhone for Nearly Half a Century > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8f026301-da07-4bbf-858a-da31a4990a2a&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 7, 2018 10:27 PM UTC  Apple iPhone5s held in one hand showing its screen with numpad for entering the passcode. Apple iPhone5s held in one hand showing its screen with numpad for entering the passcode. Wachiwit—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 7, 2018 10:27 PM UTC It’s a modern-day horror story: a 2-year-old child input an [incorrect passcode](http://time.com/5116587/ios-11-3-features-iphone-update/) on an [iPhone](http://time.com/5076357/iphone-x-vs-iphone-8-plus-size-camera/) so many times that the device became locked for 47 years, rendering it utterly useless to its formerly digitally-connected owner. That’s the scenario now facing a Shanghai mother identified only as Ms. Lu by [Chinese news reports](https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chinese-toddler-locks-iphone-for-47-years-after-entering-wrong-passcode-1820717), whose toddler unfortunately took the time allotted to watch “educational videos” on the phone and instead began the process of disabling the device for, basically, forever. According to a [news report,](https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chinese-toddler-locks-iphone-for-47-years-after-entering-wrong-passcode-1820717) Ms. Lu waited for two months to see if the situation would improve — but the phone remained locked. “I couldn’t really wait for 47 years and tell my grandchild it was your father’s mistake,” she [reportedly said](https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chinese-toddler-locks-iphone-for-47-years-after-entering-wrong-passcode-1820717). The alternative mode of accessing the phone is to wipe it with a factory reset. (This is why you should always [backup all your data](http://time.com/money/3584232/protect-data-cloud/).) iPhones can become locked with six failed attempts at inputting a passcode on the lock screen, and the amount of time for which the phone is locked can compound with ongoing attempts to break in. So for all the parents out there: maybe be careful letting your kid loose on your phone, assuming you want to still be able to use it when they’re done, of course. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5190240/iphone-lock-toddler/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5190240/iphone-lock-toddler/"},"headline":"A Toddler Accidentally Locked an iPhone for Nearly Half a Century","datePublished":"2018-03-07T22:27:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:51:12.844Z","description":"While playing with his mom's phone, a Shanghai toddler accidentally locked the device for 47 years after inputting the wrong passcode.","url":"https://time.com/5190240/iphone-lock-toddler/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Tech","Technology","viral","iPhone"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64ec47f9805f8197/69892a1722fb8532b5e24ff2/iphone-lock-screen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64ec47f9805f8197/69892a1722fb8532b5e24ff2/iphone-lock-screen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Touch ID or Enter Passcode","caption":"Touch ID or Enter Passcode","creditText":"Wachiwit—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5190240/iphone-lock-toddler/","name":"A Toddler Accidentally Locked an iPhone for Nearly Half a Century"}}]}] ```