Q: How can I bypass the previous owners password on my iPad?

Taka asai wrote:

 

I have also a same problem with my ipad mini. I just bought it yesterday from a second hand store. And its in a starting setup mode. I bought it, now im having a problem with the apple id becouse i dont know who's the previous owner. Os there any way that i can remove it so i can use my own id? I tried to take back my ipad 2 bcoz i just swap it and add a little amount of money to get this ipad mini. But they said, they already sold my ipad. So theres no way they can give it back to me. Pleasw help.

Take it back and get a refund if you can, there is no way you can use it.

Here is the case I have in my hands.

My friend bought a new iPad by mid-2015.

She got home, her boyfriend set it up using HIS Apple ID.

She knows the code to unlock the iPad and she is able to use it as it is but she wants to reset it to factory. She doesn't know the password to his Apple ID.

And, as you may have guessed, the boyfriend became exboyfriend and will not assist her.

She has the invoice on her name.

Is there something Apple can do to help her reset?

If the invoice shows the serial number of the iPad and is from

Apple or an Apple authorized iPad retailer, she can take the iPad

and invoice to the nearest Apple store where they may assist

here. Or she can contact Apple using the 'Contact Us' link

from the bottom right hand corner of this forum page:

Contact Us

Ralph9430 wrote:

 

This is a new security feature that is expected to reduce iOS device theft.

Actually it has reduced it, by 30% or more.

Thanks for the info. She purchased it at Best Buy so, in theory, it should be rather "simple" to get her reset.

I will gather all the data and initiate contact with Apple.

We will see

angiesweetness wrote:

I'm having the same problem

What problem?

This doesn't work. The ipad will restore but you still need the original apple account password to activate. Actually you're better off not restoring. At least you can use the ipad without using the apple id for purchases and whatnot. When you put it into recovery mode and restore it to factory settings once you set language, region, and wifi, the next step will ask you to enter the apple username and password of the previous owner who activated it before you can activate it. So basically you're left with a brick.

That is correct, as many of us have outlined in this thread. The device is locked with an Activation Lock. Only the person who put it on, or someone who knows that person's Apple ID and password can take it off.

Don't fall for any malarkey about magical ways to get around it. Can't be done.

ACTIVATION LOCK

Sorry you got scammed,

GB

how do i kill that question

you have 5 minutes to edit a post,

after that you can report it and a moderator can make adjustments to it.

if not it belongs to the ages like Stonehenge and "Good Morning Starshine"

Gliddy glub gloopy. Nibby nabby noopy. La la la lo lo

Actually it's 15 minutes

So, I have this issue as well.

I'm working with some elderly folks trying to help them out with their iPad. I'm in DevOps and I thought it was the nice thing to do. They have an early version iPad. I updated to the latest software, but stupid Apple has a bug in their release where IF you update old hardware with new firmware AND you forget your lock code, it disables the iPad and renders it useless. This is well documented apple problem. They are old, so they forget a lot of things (and this stupid policy must've been written by ignorant young people but I digress). So, of course they don't have backups. So I restore it like new, and I run into this previous owners password issue. Their son set them up years ago (it's a first generation iPad), with icloud, and find my iPhone on HIS account but with her iCloud email. We remember the email, but we don't know the password, and have incorrectly answered security questions so many times it doesn't work. Of course, they also don't have access to that email account, it's the same unknown password.

So, my question for this forum is 2 fold (7 hours into troubleshooting a NON STOLEN device):

1) What exactly does the user that has the Device registered in "find my Iphone" have to do to remove it completely (so it won't register) - do I need to have a fresh download of the new software?

2) How long does it take when a device is REMOVED from a find my iPad account, before it will reset on the actual device?

Thank you very much.

The only other method for this is 1) to do the break j a i l thing which I really don't want to try since i've never done it and this is APPLE"S FAULT! or 2) Find a 10 year old receipt from Best Buy (yeah, right).

Please help me! I'm beyond frustrated.

You obviously skipped reading the posts in this thread.

There is no Apple bug. If you upgrade iOS on an iDevice and forget your passcode (4 or 6 digit or long version) then you have to put it in Recovery mode and Restore the device. I don't see how someone forgetting their passcode is an Apple bug.

If after doing a recovery they run into Activation Lock (which is also not a bug but an anti-theft measure that has been highly successful) then they need to contact their son and have him log into iCloud and remove the device from his account. Once he has done so they will be able to activate the device.

iPads aren't 10 years old so they would not be looking for a receipt that old. If they purchased it with a credit card Best Buy should be able to trace the sale.

This is not Apple's fault and is not a bug. It is the fault of theives who made it necessary for Apple to add this functionality and of people who fail to properly store their passcode, user name and password in a dage place where they can find them should they forget them. This functionality, and the absolute impossibility of thwarting it, has dramatically reduced theft of iPhones and iPads. Having lost and recovered an iPad that someone else could have simply taken over without it, I heartily applaud Apple for having introduced it.

devigenuone wrote:

 

So I restore it like new, and I run into this previous owners password issue. Their son set them up years ago (it's a first generation iPad), with icloud, and find my iPhone on HIS account but with her iCloud email. We remember the email, but we don't know the password, and have incorrectly answered security questions so many times it doesn't work. Of course, they also don't have access to that email account, it's the same unknown password.

 

If the answers to the Security Questions are forgotten, then the reset link can be sent to a Rescue email address (which, of course, is not the same as the email address for the Apple/iCloud ID), or you can contact Apple Support to have a reset link sent to you. Be prepared to answer the questions that they ask to prove ownership of the device: ACCOUNT SECURITY SUPPORT

 

So, my question for this forum is 2 fold (7 hours into troubleshooting a NON STOLEN device):

1) What exactly does the user that has the Device registered in "find my Iphone" have to do to remove it completely (so it won't register) - do I need to have a fresh download of the new software? Find My iPhone can be turned off one of two ways: either directly on the device itself, or you can sign into the Apple/iCloud ID at iCloud.com, and erase the device from there. Both ways will ask for the password, so that must be resolved before you can turn it off.

 

2) How long does it take when a device is REMOVED from a find my iPad account, before it will reset on the actual device? Removing a device from the Find My iPhone account does not remove the Activation Lock. Only signing out of Find My iPhone by one of the two methods described above will actually remove the Activation Lock from the device: Sign out of Find My iPhone on the device, or erase the device via the iCloud.com account.

This is not a bug or a bad design, it is an anti-theft measure. Thefts of iDevices since the Activation Lock was introduced have dropped more than 30%, and those that are stolen are useless to the people who steal them. Jailbreaking the device isn't going to help. If it was that easy, then the Activation Lock would pose no issues for would-be thieves.

Also, you don't want to jailbreak these devices. If you do, you are opening them up to a multitude of issues which you will then have nowhere to go to get support or help for. Don't do it....

 

Thank you very much.

 

The only other method for this is 1) to do the break j a i l thing which I really don't want to try since i've never done it and this is APPLE"S FAULT!  What, exactly, is Apple's fault? That the owner forgot their passcode? That they have a security mechanism that protects the device from being stolen or from being used if it is stolen? That they have provided an app that helps these folks find an iPad or iPhone that they have misplaced or forgotten where they put it? My comment on your jailbreaking idea is above. It won't help in any way, and will without doubt make things far worse.... or 2) Find a 10 year old receipt from Best Buy (yeah, right).

 

Please help me! I'm beyond frustrated.

Here's a little more about the Activation Lock and how it works:

ACTIVATION LOCK

Here's a little more about the various uses for Find My iPhone (in addition to protecting your device with the Activation Lock): iCloud: Find My iPhone overview

Cheers,

GB