Straight Dope Message Board

[commasense]

My wife was given an iPad (4th generation) and an iPhone 6s, and has been using them for some time with her own Apple ID, different from the one used to set up the devices. But the iPad kept bugging her to enter the password for the linked AppleID, and so I thought I would do a hard reset and link it to her AppleID, instead of the original one. The online research I did on this led me to believe it would be no problem, using iTunes on a PC. (I'd also like to do the same thing for the iPhone, and hoped resetting the iPad would be an easy rehearsal for the iPhone, which is much more critical to her daily needs.)

But when I followed all the instructions, iTunes still insisted that I had to enter the password for the original AppleID. I called Apple, and they said there's no way around this. At the moment, it seems as though the device is bricked.

But that can't be the end of the story, can it?

We don't have that password, and there is no way to get it. Please take that as a given. We legitimately own the devices, they're not stolen, but the password is irretrievably lost.

Any suggestions? 1

[commasense]

Well, you guys weren't much help. Where's the Dope's vaunted expertise now, I'd like to know?

But never mind. The password was not lost.

I've asked the mods to close the thread. 2

[GMANCANADA]

I'm not an expert on this, but I feel bad no one has replied, so here's my 2 cents:

I'm not sure where you got your original info to do a hard reset, but that would absolutely not work. If it was that easy, there would be a massive market for stolen iPhones and iPads.

The inability to do this type of a reset is deliberately built into Apple devices to deter theft. I don't think there is any way around this.

I was recently at our local transit company's auction for unclaimed "lost" items. I was looking to pick up a used iPhone for my son but they had none. When I asked the guy he said they find "thousands of iPhones each year" but they're trashed (or recycled back to Apple) because they "brick" without the original owner's password and Apple ID info and there's no way around it.

The moral of the story is if you get a used iPhone or iPad, you must get the password and Apple ID info with it. If not, you can use it for a bit, but it will quickly become useless as it needs updates etc. 3

[beowulff]

I’d like to add:
You should ALWAYS sync your iDevice with iTunes. If you don’t do this, and end up locking yourself out (typing the passcode in wrong too many times), it can be impossible to unlock your device - or even wipe it and start over.
If you have it set up in iTunes, though, it “knows” you own the device, and will let you wipe it or restore it.

And, this is speaking from experience... 4

[Darren Garrison]

Originally Posted by GMANCANADA

The moral of the story is if you get a used iPhone or iPad, you must get the password and Apple ID info with it. If not, you can use it for a bit, but it will quickly become useless as it needs updates etc.

I don't know about Apple products, but with Android phones, doing a factory reset through some combination of pressing the physical buttons causes this issue, but if you do a factory reset from within the OS while operating the phone, it goes to a "clean" reset where it acts like a brand new phone so you can set it up anew. You have to have access to the phone in the first place to to that, though. 5

[Sunny Daze]

Darren is correct. You can do a factory reset of the device once you have access to the settings - through iOS. 6

[GMANCANADA]

@ Darren - I don't know Android, but I suspected something like that. They had many android phones at the sale I mentioned, so presumably they were reset somehow.

@Sunny Daze - I understand that, I've done a factory reset on an old iPhone but to get access to the settings to do the reset it asks you for the Apple ID password.

After my mom died, I reset her iPad so we could give it to my daughter. The only way I could do that was because I knew her Apple ID & password. It asked me for that before I could do the reset.

You can reset your Apple ID password, that's very simple, but to do that you must have access to the email account that it's set up with. I assume commasense doesn't have that. 7

[Noelq]

IT Guy.

If the device is registered with an Apple ID, the ONLY way to get it unlocked is if you can provide apple with proof of purchase, and that it was registered to you.

When employees leave our company, its mandatory that they unlock their devices, and remove themselves from them, otherwise this Apple ID registration makes them virtually junk. In the cases where this hasn't happened, its about a month-long process to submit the data showing this -- with either Ipads or Iphones -- to get the devices unlocked.

It sucks ass, but I understand the security reasoning behind it. 8

[Timbits]

You can get rid of the old Apple ID by using iMyFone LockWiper. That worked for us, but it costs $40.

I assume the old owner is unreachable. They could remove the device from their Apple ID just by logging in to their account. 9

[commasense]

Originally Posted by Timbits

You can get rid of the old Apple ID by using iMyFone LockWiper. That worked for us, but it costs $40.

I assume the old owner is unreachable. They could remove the device from their Apple ID just by logging in to their account.

Thanks for that link. I may still need it.

The story is this: we have not been in touch with the person who gave us these devices for a long time, and had reason to think they would not respond to our requests for help. That's why I started the thread.

To our surprise, they did respond and agree to help. That's why I asked the mods to close the thread.

But it's a good thing they didn't, because we've just heard back from the person, and they can't find the password. They're talking to Apple, but there's a chance they won't be able to unlock the devices. In which case iMyFone may come in useful.

So the Dope has come through for me, despite the slow start. I guess that, as we age, we can't expect to have the same quick reflexes we had in our youth.

Thanks to all who offered advice. 10