Apple have stolen my iPAD

No one here could help with your issue. You need to work this out with Apple. This is a user to user forum, and no one here could do anything for you.

I understand this problem with older iPads has been fixed.

Hope the link below helps.

If you can't activate your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch after installing iOS 9.3 - Apple Support

I can appreciate your frustration, however this forum is not the place to voice it. Posting here to vent your frustration and to just describe what happened to you is not permitted by the TOS. Apple hasn't stolen your device, and your subject line is deceptive. While the device many not be working right now, you still have possession of the device. You need to work out getting it to work. Your issue is with the place you purchased the device from and then Apple. Since you did not purchase the device from an authorized reseller, Apple has the right to demand additional information. Remember who you paid this money to, it wasn't Apple.

Would you expect consumers to run around every time they buy a product to see who is, and who isn't authorized?

Yes.

That company you list is not affiliated with Apple in any way and by the looks of it, does not include Apple's warranty with products purchased from them. It seems they supply their own warranty. All the Apple products I looked at do to make mention of AU STOCK.

On each Apple product's page, I do see "their" standard warranty listed, but no mention of Apple's. You may be entitled to a wide range of support for your purchase due to Australian Consumer Law(s). From BecexTech, who is the retailer that sold you an Apple product..

dontronics wrote:

Thanks for the feed back ChrisJ4203

Apple has stopped me using this device, and I believe it is a result of bugs in their latest Operating System. I have done nothing wrong, and I can't use this iPAD.

As far as an existing retailer is concerned, how is the consumer expected to know who is, and who isn't an authorized re-seller?

Would you expect consumers to run around every time they buy a product to see who is, and who isn't authorized?

This company offers the full range of Apple products. Would you expect them to say in big bold red letters,
"We are not an Apple Authorized dealer, so if you have problems down the line, we can't help you!"

Sure I will do as you suggest and keep pushing the non-authorized re-seller, but I was lucky that I kept the receipt from 3.5 years ago. I don't think it is reasonable to ask even a non-authorized re-seller to find his receipts after this length of time.

Cheers Don...

Every country specific Apple web site has, at the very bottom, a "find a reseller" link that brings you to a search page to look up Authourized resellers (https://locate.apple.com/au/en/). All Apple Authorized Resellers will be listed there and if a company is NOT listed there then they are NOT an Apple Authourized Reseller, no matter what they may say or advertise. And yes, as the consumer, it is indeed up to you to investigate and know what you are buying and whom you are buying from. Who else do you suggest take responsibility for your purchase decisions?

And I would not expct an unauthorized reseller to say anything but deceptive or misleading promises. This is the whole basis of the phrase "buyer beware". As the consumer, you need to check out that what is advertised is actually true or trustworthy and make your choices of where to shop and purchase products. No business that is NOT an authorized seller of trademarked products sold via an authorized network is going to shout out that fact. That's why you have to check out the places you do business with yourself. An unauthorized reseller is inherently a "gray" market dealer as they cannot get new Apple products directly through Apple's reseller distribution system. As such, they are completely outside of any rules set by Apple for Reseller practices, and can and will do as they please, including outright deceptive sales practices.

I don't think that it has been brought up yet that the Apple ID that this device is locked to is someone else's Apple ID. The person who's Apple ID is on the device put that lock on the device to protect themselves in the situation where that device was stolen or lost.

Since there is no "chain of evidence" here, it is impossible to say at what point this device got moved from the person who put the lock on to the seller who sold you the device, but the seller should have made sure that the Activation Lock was turned off before selling it to you.

Here's a little background on Activation Lock:

ACTIVATION LOCK

When someone has put one of these locks on a device, they must follow the instructions below to remove the lock:

Turn off Find My iPhone Activation Lock - Apple Support

A responsible seller should not purchase devices for resale without making sure that the steps in the link above have been taken.

In your case, upgrading the iOS required you to restore your device, and that is when you ran into the Activation Lock. So, the problem is not with the iOS. Sooner or later, you would have run into this issue. If you had to restore your device for any other reason, then the same thing would have occurred.

The people you need to take the case up with is the seller who sold you an Activation Locked device. They essentially sold you a device that was eventually going to become useless to you. So, it seems to me that it is they who should be replacing that device with one that functions properly.

Best of luck,

GB

OK, so I'm confused about why you are not able to go here and reset the password to that account here: Apple - My Apple ID. If you don't remember the answers to the Security Questions then Apple Support should be able to send you the link to reset them:

ACCOUNT SECURITY SUPPORT

Not sure what you mean about being locked out of the @me.com account. If you follow the steps above, you should be able to get the password reset.

Cheers,

GB

The @me.com is also an Apple ID. That is the one you need to sign into to change the password.

If you get the message that the account is locked for Security Reasons, follow the instructions in this support article:

If your Apple ID is locked - Apple Support

Cheers,

GB

Check out this article.

iCloud: About your @icloud.com, @me.com, and @mac.com email addresses - Apple Support

Have you tried logging into the email for <username>@icloud.com? The password recovery emails may be forwarded to this newer domain.