How to unlock disabled iPad without restoring/resetting...?

If your device is disabled, then you only have one choice - erase the device, then restore it from your latest backup. That is how it works. It is not going to change. You disabled the device by putting in the passcode too many times. The software will not let you do anything with a disabled device except to erase it.

GB

Restoring as new in iTunes is not the "official" way - it is the sole means of resetting a forgotten screen lock passcode or resetting a device in disabled mode. There is no escaping that fact. The individual device's screen lock passcode has nothing at all to do with anyone's AppleID. If you have a backup (iCloud or iTunes) and your photo's safely stored somewhere as for safe keeping, you need not loose anything. Just restore from backup once you've retired the device and reset the forgotten passcode.

This absolutely wonderful man at apple helped me today. I got right back into my iPad and nothing is lost. If you have ever connected your iPad to your computer through iTunes and set your computer as a trusted computer, all you have to do is connect them again, and make sure the circle beside "this computer" is 'highlighted' and click 'back up now', even if you want to then cancel it immediately after. You will now be able to re enter your code into your iPad. Your computer being a trusted device has essentially cleared the disabled iPad screen and unlocked your iPad for you and you are now free to re enter your code on your own.

How can I unlock my iPad if I forgot the passcode?

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ipad/ipad-troubleshooting-repair-faq/ipad- how-to-unlock-open-forgot-code-passcode-password-login.html

iOS: Device disabled after entering wrong passcode

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1212

How can I unlock my iPad if I forgot the passcode?

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

Using iPhone/iPad Recovery Mode

http://ipod.about.com/od/iphonetroubleshooting/a/Iphone-Recovery-Mode.htm

You may have to do this several times.

Saw this solution on another post about an iPad in a school environment. Might work on your iPad so you won't lose everything.

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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.

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Try it and good luck. You have nothing more to lose if it doesn't work for you.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

Why not try it? You have nothing to lose. And from the instructions provided, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't.

Be aware, however, that the response you are asking about was posted almost 4 years ago. No way to know if you still would be able to do it with any iOS device.

You are sure that you don't have a backup in iCloud?

Cheers,

GB

Yes, I have the same problem. A friend of mine who is not so tech-savvy did not back up photos etc, and the ipad became disabled as the password was entered wrongly too many times. And all the data of many years is now lost as there does not seem a way to recover that data. I think this is the stupidest security measure I have ever seen - whatever the excuse, this is nothing but a major design flaw - how could one lose data stored in one's own device for no good reason. There must be a better way. Perhaps a password used for apple id account can be used to unlock the iPad - which is a simple solution, and no less secure. Someone who steals an iPad and does not have the apple account password still cannot enable a disabled iPad. Please Apple, listen up and do something about this - too many people have suffered - I am a big Apple fan and come close to throwing the iPad into the bin - these days, what good is an iPad when you cannot access the data on it, especially with more and more data being stored on the iPad, e.g., 64GB and more. In the future, who is going to risk losing such large amounts of precious data, and as if Internet connection will be fast enough all the time to keep the data on the mobile synchronized with iCloud servers?

I just ran into this problem, and I put my ipad into recovery mode, plugged it into itunes, disconnected it, and reset my ipad, and then it told me to wait another 60 minutes instead of connecting it to itunes. So I didnt' have to erase and restore it.

Me too have the same issue kindly advice me that how to fix this issue....

Unless you are using iCloud Photo Library with iOS 9 and either Yosemite or El Capitan, then only your Camera Roll would be backed up to iCloud. The backup that you do for your device is not an archive for your Photos. If you want to protect your photos and videos, then you must import them on a regular basis to your computer or Mac:

PHOTO IMPORT IOS TO MAC/PC

If you do have an iCloud backup of your device, then you can restore to that backup:

IOS RECOVERY MODE RESTORE

You simply select it when you are asked as you are going through the device set up process.

If you have a question or issue when you are doing the restore, feel free to post back. ** FYI - Apple is not here. This is a user to user support forum.

Cheers,

GB

See here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1212

Yes, i agree that backing up is always best but imagine you have the device right in your own hands, and it hasn't been dropped into the lake or anything, but just a late night meant that you entered the wrong password one too many times, and that's it, any data not backed up is lost forever, however precious.

I don't see why a solution where the device plugged into a computer can be re-enabled simply via the owner's apple id account password could not work - maybe this is already possible.

A system that has the potential to destroy what it is suppose to protect is not quite the best idea I think. Imagine a bank system where to reenable an account after too many attempts with the wrong password requires resetting the account balance to zero.

This 'security' feature is completely flawed! I did not have a passcode enabled on my iPad, then I upgraded and by default it enabled it.... Well, my toddler got a hold of it and just started tapping until she disabled it. Thanks Apple, now all the videos and images I had on there that I loved so much are gone.

(and btw, I did have my iPad images/videos backup to iCloud but they're not there)