iPad activation failed

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iPad activation failed

I got a second hand iPad yesterday for my studies (iPad air 2 16GB Wi-Fi with OS version 15.8.3) When i tried to sign in to my apple ID i made a while ago using my windows laptop, it said "Maximum number of free accounts reached on this device) and then I tried to erase the data of the iPad through settings but it didn't worked, so I connected to iTunes on my windows laptop to restore and update . But now the iPad says "Can't activate iPad because activation server cannot be reached", and at the same time on iTunes on desktop said "This iPad"iPad" cannot be activated because the activation information could not obtain from the device" and asks to enter a SIM when the iPad doesn't even have a sim slot. Anyone had this issue before and knows how to fix? I'm quite worried because this is the first ever iPad I got. I contacted an apple advisor too and she asked me to use recovery mode but the error didn't solved at all

Posted on Oct 31, 2024 5:42 PM

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Answer 1

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oihrz Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 1, 2024 5:50 PM in response to imobl

Hi~ Thanks for replying. I found out that the iPad they sold me wasn't an original one as the SNs appears on the screen and engraved at the back is completely different. So moat probably that should be the case that the activation failed

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Answer 2

imobl

Level 7

21,114 points

Nov 1, 2024 12:33 PM in response to oihrz

You should check this article: If you can't activate your iPad - Apple Support. If you can't activate your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) - Apple Support

If your iPad is a cellular model, some have reported that temporarily removing the sim allows activation to complete.

Otherwise, 5 possible causes for that error message:

1] Activation server is actually down. Very rare occurrence, and of short duration when it

does happen. Solution - try again.

2] Your firewall and/or antivirus software are preventing the necessary connection. Solution -

temporarily disable your firewall and/or antivirus software until the activation completes.

3] computer being used for activation has been used to jailbreak an iOS device in the past.

Solution - use a different computer.

4] iPad has been jailbroken. Your favorite search engine may provide some direction, but jailbreaks often prevent

activations/updates from succeeding. Per Terms of Use for this forum, discussion of jailbroken iPads is

prohibited.

5] your region and/or timezone settings are inconsistent with your actual location. Solution - set region and/or timezone correctly.

Anecdotes in the forum say that Apple has changed the way the activation server is contacted and that older iPads on obsolete versions of iPadOS can no longer reach the server. Others have said connecting their old iPad to a Mac or PC to activate thru the computer helps.

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iPad activation failed

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