Resetting an iPad

[lkilgore]

I have an interesting situation that I know many of you will laugh out loud when you hear, but it is what it is. One of my teachers bought an iPad3. She didn't sync it on an iTunes account, but she says she went into the iPad and set a passcode - to keep her kids from playing around with it. She has now forgotten her passcode and has tried entering a code so many times that the iPad now displays "iPad is disabled; connect to iTunes." She brought it to me to see if I can reset it. When I connect it to iTunes, I get the error message, "iTunes could not connect to the iPad 'iPad' because it is locked with a passcode. You must enter your passcode on the iPad before it can be used with iTunes." I didn't know you could access and set up a passcode, without first connecting to iTunes, but it looks like you can. So, my question is... how can I reset this iPad?

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[Mickey330]

The only way to reset that iPad is to do a restore on it. In other words, you will have to put a "fresh" iOS 6 firmware on it and then treat it as if it was brand new out-of-the-box. To do the restore, just connect it back to iTunes and hit the restore button (on the main Summary page in iTunes). iTunes will do its magic and you will have a "brand new" iPad. However, all the data that was on that iPad will be gone because, if you do a "restore from backup," - you'll just put that unknown passcode right back on it. So, it must be restored as new.

And, this is the only thing you can do. Apple made those pass codes very strong. They are virtually uncrackable. Sorry.

Hope this clarifies. Let us know how you get on.

[lkilgore]

Thanks for the reply and information. I was able to hold the home key and power button in order to get to a point where I could erase the iPad, including password, so that I could reset the iPad to it's factory setting.

All is well, thank you.

[The OB]

Thanks for the reply and information. I was able to hold the home key and power button in order to get to a point where I could erase the iPad, including password, so that I could reset the iPad to it's factory setting.

All is well, thank you.

Wait, wait! Bit confused here. Are saying a mere "reboot" has fixed the problem you explained instead of going through the full factory reset outlined by Mickey330? Or am I not understanding this thread? It does happen
regards, Andrew

[RCC]

Wow. If all it takes is a reboot to get a locked iPad working again, that doesn't sound very secure to me!

Rich Cape Cod

[KevinJS]

Wow. If all it takes is a reboot to get a locked iPad working again, that doesn't sound very secure to me!

Rich Cape Cod

It's the data that is made safe by locking it. There's nothing you can do about protecting the hardware itself if it gets lost or stolen. Also, photographs are visible when then the iPad is locked since they can be viewed in Windows Explorer, but nothing else can be seen.

[lkilgore]

Once I figured out how easy it was to reset the iPad, it took no time at all to reset it to factory settings. I was originally concerned when the iPad indicated that it was locked out, due to my teacher trying to enter the wrong password multiple times. What I have learned from this situation is that every iPad can be reset, without any trouble at all. That is good news for situations like mine, where the user's actions locked up the iPad. It is bad news for any stolen iPad, because it will be very easy to reset. Of course resetting will wipe the data on the iPad, but that doesn't really resolve stolen iPad issues.

[KevinJS]

That's true, but nothing will. There was a rumour of a program that would remotely brick a stolen iPhone, but it was never substantiated, as far as I know. One of our moderators on the iPhone forum stated that it was actually impossible, and I believe him.