hello i work in a bar and during the summer i found an ipad2 the wi-fi only model - handed it in to the boss and hes told me yesterday (after 6 odd months) i can have it as no one has asked or came back looking for it.

the problem is it obviously has a passcode that i dont know, i looked on youtube for help and found some vids showing me how to put it into recovery mode then says connect to itunes and restore it - only thing is ive tried that twice now and half way through the download a window pops up saying it cant be restored because it has a passcode and to enter it to continue? the youtube vids diddnt mention this and actually said it would wipe the passcode so you could restore it to factory settings, but its not working out that easy and seems a little strange? can anyone help or is it just useless to anyone now?

thanks in advance for any tips or advice

I think you can take that iPad to an Apple store and they can tell you who purchased it. If there is a password, you may be just locked out permanently ~ let's see what others chime in with.

Have you tried plugging it into iTunes and doing a restore without putting it into recovery mode? Just curious.

You should be able to restore any iPad back to factory settings if you first put it into DFU mode. That's what it is designed for.

See our guide here to help you put it into DFU mode - DFU Mode for Dummies

After that, connect to iTunes and press restore. The fact it had a passcode should not longer be an issue.

Originally Posted by twerppoet

Have you tried plugging it into iTunes and doing a restore without putting it into recovery mode? Just curious.

lol you know what i havent tried that no ill let you know what happens. thanks

Originally Posted by f4780y

You should be able to restore any iPad back to factory settings if you first put it into DFU mode. That's what it is designed for.

See our guide here to help you put it into DFU mode **cannot post link**

After that, connect to iTunes and press restore. The fact it had a passcode should not longer be an issue.

ok thanks thats sounds more like whats going on - the you tube vids ive seen only mention recovery mode not DFU mode -0 again ill try and let you know - thanks

ps - obviously the pc it was 1st synced with is not the same pc i have now - would that make any difference at all?

Oh the joy!!! Thank you guys - seems it was the dfu mode all along - i followed above advice and searched for ipad/dfu mode on utube and then tried the restore again and it worked!

Thanks so much

You should technically be able to just plug it into your computer open itunes then on the left side where your ipad is listed right click it and say backup let that do its thing then in that same menu click transfer purchases that will copy any apps you own to your pc, after that is done you should be able to just click restore on the ride side window of itunes and sit back and let it do the rest once that is done you can either restore the backup you saved or if you want to just start totally fresh and set it all up again as a new device.

Originally Posted by carterlinba

You should technically be able to just plug it into your computer open itunes then on the left side where your ipad is listed right click it and say backup let that do its thing then in that same menu click transfer purchases that will copy any apps you own to your pc, after that is done you should be able to just click restore on the ride side window of itunes and sit back and let it do the rest once that is done you can either restore the backup you saved or if you want to just start totally fresh and set it all up again as a new device.

This is a VERY old thread so I'm not sure why you are dredging it up, particularly when your response does not address the OP's actual problem?

Any iPad which is locked with a passcode cannot be connected to a PC for the first time unless you know the passcode. The communications channel is encrypted until the device is unlocked successfully at least once. Otherwise passcode locking an iPad would be an extremely insecure thing. If you could simply connect the device to a PC and grab the data from it, there would be little point other than to deter casual snoopers. The iPad1 device has a vulnerability where a simple 4 digit passcode can be relatively easily hacked, however all other iPad models are completely secure in this regard as things stand today. iPad1 devices can be better secured by setting a strong passcode, rather than the default 4 digit one, if folks are paranoid about their device being stolen and hacked.

The only option for the OP in this scenario was to completely restore the device using DFU mode. There is no way to access the information on the device without discovering and inputting the passcode at least once.

Hopefully this provides any members that are interested with enough information regarding this topic, and since it is so old I shall take the opportunity to close the thread.

Thanks for your understanding.