If you have forgotten the passcode for a Locked Note on iPhone or iCloud, the only way to remedy the situation is to Remove or Reset Notes Password.
Reset Forgotten Notes Password on iPhone
The Notes App on iPhone allows you to Lock Notes with Password, which provides an additional layer of security for Notes containing personal or confidential information.
Once a Note is locked on iPhone, it cannot be accessed by anyone without entering the password that was used to Lock the Note, and there is really no way to by-pass or get around this requirement.
If you happen to forget the Notes Password, iPhone provides the option to Reset Notes Password, both for Notes located on your device and Notes Located on iCloud.
Unfortunately, this does not unlock any of your previously Locked Notes, it only removes Password from the Notes App.
To make this clear, all previously locked Notes (on iPhone/iCloud) will continue to be locked with the same old forgotten Password and you won’t be able to access them.
1. Reset Password for Notes Located on iPhone
If your Locked Notes are located on the internal storage of iPhone and not on iCloud, you can follow the steps below to Reset Notes Password on iPhone.
1. Go to Settings > Notes > Password > On the next screen, select On My iPhone Account.
2. On the next screen, tap on Reset Password option.
3. When prompted, enter your Lock Screen Password > On the confirmation pop-up, tap on Reset Password to confirm.
4. On the next screen, type and verify New Note Password that you want to use to protect Notes on iPhone and tap on Done.
Note: You can tap on Cancel, if you no longer want to use password to Lock Notes located on iPhone.
This will Reset the Notes Password on iPhone and all New Notes that you create from now onwards will be protected with the New Password.
2. Reset iCloud Notes Password on iPhone
If your Notes are located on iCloud, you can follow the steps below to Reset iCloud Notes Password.
1. Go to Settings > Notes > Password > On the next screen, tap on iCloud.
2. On the next screen, tap on Reset Password option.
3. When prompted, enter your Apple ID Password and tap on OK > On the confirmation pop-up, tap on Reset Password to confirm.
4. On the next screen, type and confirm the New Password that you want to use to protect Notes on iCloud and tap on Done.
Note: You can tap on Cancel, if you no longer want to use password to Lock iCloud Notes.
As mentioned above, this does not remove Password from previously Locked iCloud Notes, they will continue to remain locked and can only be accessed by using the old password.