I bought an ipad 4 did a full recovery and get a gray window saying I can't register under my itunes account and must get the former owner to release it from his account before I can register it to mine. what recourse is there?

I am afraid you need the owner's Apple ID and Password for the following:

1. Turn off Find My iPhone

2. Erase device

3. Reactivate device

Turn iPad off completely by holding sleep button down until you can slide to turn off.

Hold down home button and connect to computer with iTunes while holding down the button.

It will start in restore mode. You will be able to erase it and start over fresh.

Sorry Doug that will no longer work for a device running iOS 7. The latest iOS release includes new security features that require the original owner to enter his/her Apple ID and password before the device can be erased and set up again. This will prevent thieves from using stolen devices.

The only recourse for the OP here is to contact the original owner and have him provide or enter the Apple ID and password.

That could be a potential problem. I work for a school district that has started issuing iPads to teachers. The iPads belong to the district, but they are associated with the teachers' individual iTunes accounts,partly because things like textbooks can only be licensed to individuals, and also so we can treat apps as consumables instead of assets.

What happens if a teacher unexpectedly passes away (which unfortunately has happened more than once since I've been with the district) and we have the iPad, but no access to their Apple ID to release the device and assign it to someone else?

DougKile wrote:

That could be a potential problem. I work for a school district that has started issuing iPads to teachers. The iPads belong to the district, but they are associated with the teachers' individual iTunes accounts,partly because things like textbooks can only be licensed to individuals, and also so we can treat apps as consumables instead of assets.

What happens if a teacher unexpectedly passes away (which unfortunately has happened more than once since I've been with the district) and we have the iPad, but no access to their Apple ID to release the device and assign it to someone else?

School districts and businesses should require that persons issued an iPad MUST provide their ID/password to someone in authority.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

DougKile wrote:

That could be a potential problem. I work for a school district that has started issuing iPads to teachers. The iPads belong to the district, but they are associated with the teachers' individual iTunes accounts,partly because things like textbooks can only be licensed to individuals, and also so we can treat apps as consumables instead of assets.

What happens if a teacher unexpectedly passes away (which unfortunately has happened more than once since I've been with the district) and we have the iPad, but no access to their Apple ID to release the device and assign it to someone else?

If your school district set up the iPads for enterprise through Apple or a third party, I'm sure it won't be much of a problem setting up the iPad as new again.