Locked out of iPad2 and a mystery Apple ID, please help

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Marie2018 Author

Level 1

8 points

Locked out of iPad2 and a mystery Apple ID, please help

I had purchased my iPad2 at a Verizon store sometime before 2012, it was brand new w/zero previous owners... As you can see I’ve been the only one using it over the years & I had it updated to 9.3 something... Been working fine until the other day I turn it on & *boom* suddenly I’m in a “set up” screen.

Thinking Apple forced an update on me, I proceed with choosing my wifi etc... When it gets to the screen that makes me login w/my Apple ID, I noticed that the ID (supposedly) attaches to that iPad is/was never mine, an email mostly blacked out looking exactly like this:

This is what it shows word for word exactly:

“This iPad is linked to an Apple ID. Enter the Apple ID and password that were used to set up this iPad. P•••••@C•••••.net”

(That is not my Apple ID, the email has too many spaces for “Clear.net” & not enough for “Comcast.net”, it’s a mystery to us as to who this even is, it’s like my iPad was stolen while I still have my iPad, if that even makes sense)

We have no idea who’s this is on an iPad2 that was bought brand new (at the time) by me & my husband sometime before 2012, with no previous owners.

It is not a refurbished one & in all these years of owning it, this just happened a few days ago, out of the blue.

Everything I saw in researching what it could be always seems to lead to “refurbished” or “bought used” or “contact the previous owner yada yada” but again, this iPad2 was purchased brand spankin’ new (at the time), was never used prior to be purchasing it, purchased at a licensed Verizon store & I have never had an email w/that amount of characters/spaces...

Was it hijacked somehow? Everything involving my Apple ID etc is fine on my phone & shows all of the details in my account of that iPad2 yet I can’t do anything w/an Apple ID that was never mine & I can’t bypass it at all as there have been zero previous owners...

I hope I’m explaining this mystery clearly & I thought I’d post this here before I try to call support over the phone, thank you so much for your help & input! :)

I apologize for the length of this post!

Posted on Jan 3, 2018 8:54 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 3, 2018 9:00 AM in response to Marie2018

I don't believe the dots necessarily reflect the actual number of letters. Do you/did you have an email address starting with "P" and ending in a domain ".net"? If so, try that.

If that doesn't work, contact Apple Support:

If you think your Apple ID has been compromised - Apple Support

It was certainly against company policy in 2012 for Verizon to sell used iPads as new. There are few mistakes that could have been made that would have allowed one to slip through but it's not very likely.

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Answer 2

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,306 points

Jan 3, 2018 1:37 PM in response to Marie2018

where was it purchased from?

If it was purchased through Apple or an authorized reseller call Apple

1-800-MY-APPLE in North America or go to apple.com/contact for a list of international phone numbers.

If you bought new, wrapped in plastic from Amazon, eBay, etc. you are not the original owner.

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Answer 3

Jan 3, 2018 9:16 AM in response to Marie2018

You should definitely contact Apple.

I don't know the policies for Verizon Resellers but I worked in inventory and operations at a Verizon corporate store in 2012 and I know it's unlikely (though not impossible) that, you would have gotten a used iPad from one.

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Answer 4

Jan 3, 2018 1:38 PM in response to Marie2018

Marie2018 wrote:

But why the set up screen now? Over 5years later of owning and using the same ipad2? Weird huh...?!

Yes, that's why I think you should contact Apple.

And, if it does turn out that it was used, it's possible that someone made a mistake. My experience is that mistakes are far more common than malicious behavior.

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Answer 5

Marie2018 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2018 9:13 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

To clearify, I’ve had this iPad2 for several years now, I bought it sometime before 2012 and at that time, I purchased it brand new from a licensed Verizon store.

It was not purchased recently.

I’ve tried using my Apple ID with out success... I don’t understand why, after owning this iPad2 all of these years it is acting as though I just got it? It was never used or refurbished. It is an Apple ID that doesn’t belong to me. It’s as though somebody else hijacked it to make it theirs...?

Again, I apologize for my long question/post but the details of what exactly is going on is in there.

Thank you :)

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Answer 6

Marie2018 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2018 9:14 AM in response to JimmyCMPIT

To clearify, I’ve had this iPad2 for several years now, I bought it sometime before 2012 and at that time, I purchased it brand new from a licensed Verizon store.

It was not purchased recently.

I’ve tried using my Apple ID with out success... I don’t understand why, after owning this iPad2 all of these years it is acting as though I just got it? It was never used or refurbished. It is an Apple ID that doesn’t belong to me. It’s as though somebody else hijacked it to make it theirs...?

Again, I apologize for my long question/post but the details of what exactly is going on is in there.

Thank you :)

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Answer 7

Marie2018 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2018 9:50 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Well, if they sold me a used iPad2 as a brand new one, then they behaved illegally & basically scammed me. But why the set up screen now? Over 5years later of owning and using the same ipad2? Weird huh...?!

I went to that Verizon store (still there & open) back then specifically asking for a brand new one w/details. Even *if* I wanted a used one (which I didn’t), they didn’t have any there and were already low stock on the new ones that were of lower GB

If it was a bait & switch, you’d expect that a licensed Verizon store would never deceive their repeat, loyal customers like that. They’d be asking for a lawsuit!

Thank you for replying, I’ll be calling Apple support soon & in the mean time, I’ll keep watching my post for other possible solutions... :)

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