Inherited iPad with unknown Apple ID password - please help!!

BabybirdBabybird
Posted:
in Genius Bar
Hi everyone, 

I'm new to Apple, having recently been given an unused MacBook by my father-in-law, who had not been able to get on with it.

He also donated to us his iPad which he was also not using any longer, which was intended for his granddaughter.  He wanted me to erase all of his details from it before handing it over to her, but in trying to do this, it has become apparent that he no longer knows his Apple ID password - he gave me what he thought it was, and after trying different variations of it, his account is now locked.

He can't remember where, when, or how he purchased the iPad (he has the start of dementia), so proving ownership in an Apple store will be difficult to say the least!

Is there any way around this problem so that I can set up the iPad for my daughter to use, or do we now have a somewhat high value paperweight on our hands?!

Thanks in advance,

Babybird

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    thttht Posts: 5,451member
    If the iPad is activation locked, mind as well sell it to someone for scrap. 

    The only alternative is for you to hire a company or entity that can get through the activation lock through the various password guessing machines. The police use these. I have no idea if you can hire a company that can do this for you. So my advice is to go find a repair shop, and they may know of a service that does this. Hopefully, the iPad is using an old version of iOS.

    This probably will end up costing more than the value of the iPad however, in which case...
    Babybird
  • Reply 2 of 4
    BabybirdBabybird Posts: 3member
    tht said:
    If the iPad is activation locked, mind as well sell it to someone for scrap. 

    The only alternative is for you to hire a company or entity that can get through the activation lock through the various password guessing machines. The police use these. I have no idea if you can hire a company that can do this for you. So my advice is to go find a repair shop, and they may know of a service that does this. Hopefully, the iPad is using an old version of iOS.

    This probably will end up costing more than the value of the iPad however, in which case...
     :'(  :'(

    I had feared as much!

    Thanks for your reply though :smile: 
  • Reply 3 of 4
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,322member
    Was the Apple ID not set up with a recovery email address?

    Also was it set up to sync from the Macbook?
    Have you tried Safari Passwords or Keychain on the Macbook to see if the password isn't stored there?

    Babybird
  • Reply 4 of 4
    BabybirdBabybird Posts: 3member
    mattinoz said:
    Was the Apple ID not set up with a recovery email address?

    Also was it set up to sync from the Macbook?
    Have you tried Safari Passwords or Keychain on the Macbook to see if the password isn't stored there?

    I think it was set up with an email address that he no longer uses / has access to, don't know about any recovery email address.

    I don't know about it being set to sync with the MacBook, and yes, I did find his Apple.com password, which was what he had told me his ID password was, but this was not accepted when trying to unlock the iPad.  Apple are now planning on calling him or texting him on his trusted mobile phone number on 25th June to try to verify his account (I found this out as I managed to gain access to his email address that is linked to his Apple ID - the one he 'doesn't have access to' and Apple emailed to inform him of this, so I have forwarded on the email to him, so he is now (hopefully) prepared for the call/text from them and with any luck, they will believe that he is the rightful owner of said account, and unlock it for him/us.

    Thanks for the help, I'm afraid I'm not at all savvy with Apple, just getting to grips with the MacBook, and hoping to get the chance to do the same with the iPad!

    Babybird
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