How do I unlock an iPhone 4 without performing a backup?

AT&T has given me permission to unlock an iPhone 4 and has provided these steps:
Thank you for contacting AT&T Customer Care about unlocking your AT&T Mobile device.
We have reviewed your request and confirmed that the device may be unlocked.
Please allow 24 hours upon receipt of this notification to complete the unlock process.
To complete the unlock, simply
1. Open iTunes on your Mac or PC and verify that you have Internet connectivity.
2. Ensure a SIM card is inserted into your iPhone.
3. Connect your iPhone using the dock connector to USB cable that came with your iPhone.
4. Backup and restore your iPhone using iTunes. For information on backup and restore, please visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414.
5. After restoring, your iPhone will be unlocked.
My issue is that I don't want the data, apps, settings, etc. of the previous user of the iPhone 4, so I don't want to perform a backup. However, in step 4 it states I have to backup and restore the iPhone and only after restoring it will the iPhone be unlocked. Is it possible to unlock the iPhone by just performing the restore without having first done a backup, or is the backup a crucial part of the process to unlock the iPhone?
Thanks for your assistance!

The iPhone 3G backup and iPhone 4 backup (if you create one) would be saved using different file names. To see both, you could open Preferences from iTunes' menu on your computer, then select the "Devices" tab.
You ask if you still have to back up the iPhone 4 first. If you can erase it first, then its backup would contain virtually nothing. Whether you can erase it or not, its contents would be irrelevant. See if the process allows you not to back it up. If it does, great. If not, no harm would be done. By the way, you can delete this useless iPhone 4 backup from the same tab in iTunes Preferences.

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there should ba a way to undisable it without loosing all of your data

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Original message: in response to apple-id

How to unlock a iphone without calling or mailing AT

hi
I got an Iphone from a friend but it has a lock of ATT
i called them but they said i had to have an account and shizzle
but since i got it from a friend i don't know what to do.
i read that ATT just send the IMEI to APPLE and they will unlock it. so is there a way to unlock my iphone without ATT in the program

Nope. Ony AT&T can authorize the unlocking. Any other method will involve hacking and can't be supported here.

How can i unlock my iphones passcode without restoring

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I currently do not have cellular data so i cant accept a call, to get to settings and remove it from there.
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Apple can do nothing at all.
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http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ipad/ipad-troubleshooting-repair-faq/ipad- how-to-unlock-open-forgot-code-passcode-password-login.html
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http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1212
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http://tinyurl.com/7ndy8tb
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http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-Forgotten-Password-for-an-iOS-Device
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http://ipod.about.com/od/iphonetroubleshooting/a/Iphone-Recovery-Mode.htm
You may have to do this several times.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘iPad is disabled’ fix without resetting using iTunes
Today I met my match with an iPad that had a passcode entered too many times, resulting in it displaying the message ‘iPad is disabled – Connect to iTunes’. This was a student iPad and since they use Notability for most of their work there was a chance that her files were not all backed up to the cloud. I really wanted to just re-activate the iPad instead of totally resetting it back to our default image.
I reached out to my PLN on Twitter and had some help from a few people through retweets and a couple of clarification tweets. I love that so many are willing to help out so quickly. Through this I also learned that I look like Lt. Riker from Star Trek (thanks @FillineMachine).
Through some trial and error (and a little sheer luck), I was able to reactivate the iPad without loosing any data. Note, this will only work on the computer it last synced with. Here’s how:
1. Configurator is useless in reactivating a locked iPad. You will only be able to completely reformat the iPad using Configurator. If that’s ok with you, go for it – otherwise don’t waste your time trying to figure it out.
2. Open iTunes with the iPad disconnected.
3. Connect the iPad to the computer and wait for it to show up in the devices section in iTunes.
4. Click on the iPad name when it appears and you will be given the option to restore a backup or setup as a new iPad (since it is locked).
5. Click ‘Setup as new iPad’ and then click restore.
6. The iPad will start backing up before it does the full restore and sync. CANCEL THE BACKUP IMMEDIATELY. You do this by clicking the small x in the status window in iTunes.
7. When the backup cancels, it immediately starts syncing – cancel this as well using the same small x in the iTunes status window.
8. The first stage in the restore process unlocks the iPad, you are basically just canceling out the restore process as soon as it reactivates the iPad.
If done correctly, you will experience no data loss and the result will be a reactivated iPad. I have now tried this with about 5 iPads that were locked identically by students and each time it worked like a charm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Try it and good luck. You have nothing more to lose if it doesn't work for you.
 Cheers, Tom

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Message was edited by: modular747

I have forgotten my password how do I unlock my iPad without losing al my pictures

I have forgotten my password how do I unlock my iPad without losing all of my pictures

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http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ipad/ipad-troubleshooting-repair-faq/ipad- how-to-unlock-open-forgot-code-passcode-password-login.html
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http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1212
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http://tinyurl.com/7ndy8tb
How to Reset a Forgotten Password for an iOS Device
http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-Forgotten-Password-for-an-iOS-Device
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http://ipod.about.com/od/iphonetroubleshooting/a/Iphone-Recovery-Mode.htm
You may have to do this several times.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘iPad is disabled’ fix without resetting using iTunes
Today I met my match with an iPad that had a passcode entered too many times, resulting in it displaying the message ‘iPad is disabled – Connect to iTunes’. This was a student iPad and since they use Notability for most of their work there was a chance that her files were not all backed up to the cloud. I really wanted to just re-activate the iPad instead of totally resetting it back to our default image.
I reached out to my PLN on Twitter and had some help from a few people through retweets and a couple of clarification tweets. I love that so many are willing to help out so quickly. Through this I also learned that I look like Lt. Riker from Star Trek (thanks @FillineMachine).
Through some trial and error (and a little sheer luck), I was able to reactivate the iPad without loosing any data. Note, this will only work on the computer it last synced with. Here’s how:
1. Configurator is useless in reactivating a locked iPad. You will only be able to completely reformat the iPad using Configurator. If that’s ok with you, go for it – otherwise don’t waste your time trying to figure it out.
2. Open iTunes with the iPad disconnected.
3. Connect the iPad to the computer and wait for it to show up in the devices section in iTunes.
4. Click on the iPad name when it appears and you will be given the option to restore a backup or setup as a new iPad (since it is locked).
5. Click ‘Setup as new iPad’ and then click restore.
6. The iPad will start backing up before it does the full restore and sync. CANCEL THE BACKUP IMMEDIATELY. You do this by clicking the small x in the status window in iTunes.
7. When the backup cancels, it immediately starts syncing – cancel this as well using the same small x in the iTunes status window.
8. The first stage in the restore process unlocks the iPad, you are basically just canceling out the restore process as soon as it reactivates the iPad.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Try it and good luck. You have nothing more to lose if it doesn't work for you.
 Cheers, Tom

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