MDM on old iPad

Question

MDM on old iPad

Is my iPad mini bricked?

Six years ago I bought a second-hand iPad Mini 5. Signed in with my kid’s account and it’s worked flawlessly up til now.

She now has a larger iPad, so I thought I’d reset the Mini so her younger brother could have it as a clean iPad. And so my woes have begun.

It turns out it’s got MDM on it, from another country, and the company went into liquidation around the time I bought the Mini. I can’t get past it, I can’t contact the company, I just want to give a nine-year-old a iPad 😕 what are my options?

Posted on Feb 25, 2026 10:29 AM

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Answer 1

LotusPilot

Level 10

304,574 points

Feb 26, 2026 1:47 AM in response to Davethemoviejunkie

To reiterate, unless you are lucky - and are able to manually delete the profile from iPad Settings - your only option is to seek assistance directly from the System Administrator who manages the device.

If the company has ceased to exist along with the management platform that manages its devices, you are stuck.

Unfortunately, herein lies one of the many potential consequences of purchasing a pre-owned Apple device. Sorry, but there are no workarounds for your situation; the mini5 in your possession is now useless to you.

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Answer 2

LotusPilot

Level 10

304,574 points

Feb 25, 2026 11:25 AM in response to Davethemoviejunkie

The presence of a management profile indicates that the device is centrally managed by an Enterprise or Educational establishment. Devices that are configuration locked by an MDM platform can usually only be released from central management by the platform that manages the device. Be aware that Apple will not assist with removal of management profiles.

Unless you are lucky - and have the option to delete the profile from iPad Settings - you’ll need to seek assistance directly from the System Administrator who manages the device.

Install or remove configuration profiles on iPad - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Feb 25, 2026 11:32 PM in response to LotusPilot

Thanks @LotusPilot, that’s what I understood to be the case. My question is: what happens when the company that used to administrate the device has gone into liquidation? It would seem that the iPad was sold on once the company had dissolved, without anyone removing the MDM. Is there no protocol for dealing with this sort of situation? I would gladly contact the company concerned if they still existed 😞

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MDM on old iPad

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