How to wipe a found iPad?

Zomp

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Aug 28, 2006
13,942
The Slums of Shaolin
My job has a lost and found department.  If you find something and no one claims it after 3 months, its yours.  I am now the owner of an iPad mini that is locked with a passcode.
 
Any reliable sites or tools that will help with getting into it and wiping it?  The only one I found said the original iTunes e-mail and password were needed.
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,275
Zomp said:
My job has a lost and found department.  If you find something and no one claims it after 3 months, its yours.  I am now the owner of an iPad mini that is locked with a passcode.
 
Any reliable sites or tools that will help with getting into it and wiping it?  The only one I found said the original iTunes e-mail and password were needed.
If you can't update or restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

You can put your iOS device into recovery mode, then restore it using iTunes.

 
Use recovery mode
You might need to use recovery mode to restore your device in these cases:
  • iTunes doesn't recognize your device or says it's in recovery mode.
  • You see the Apple logo onscreen for several minutes with no progress bar.
  • You see the Connect to iTunes screen.
Learn what to do if you see the progress bar onscreen for several minutes.
To put your device into recovery mode, follow these steps:
 
  1. Turn off your device and leave it off.
  2. Plug in your device's USB cable to a computer with iTunes. 
  3. Hold down the Home button on your device as you connect the USB cable. Keep holding down the Home button until you see the Connect to iTunes screen.
  4. When you see this screen, release the Home button. If you don't see this screen, try steps 1 through 3 again. 

 
When your device is connected, iTunes will open. You'll see a message saying that iTunes has detected an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in recovery mode.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201263
 

TFP

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Dec 10, 2007
20,380
Zomp said:
My job has a lost and found department.  If you find something and no one claims it after 3 months, its yours.  I am now the owner of an iPad mini that is locked with a passcode.
 
Any reliable sites or tools that will help with getting into it and wiping it?  The only one I found said the original iTunes e-mail and password were needed.
Was it found on a Amtrak Acela train, and did it have a Clamcase Bluetooth Keyboard on it? Maybe a crack in the screen in the top right corner? 
 
If so, that would be grand.
 

axx

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
8,126
Don't laugh; but keep putting in an invalid password. Eventually the invalid password timeout will get to an hour. After the hour timeout it will magically wipe itself if you put an invalid password in.
 

derekson

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2010
6,224
If it has a relatively new version of iOS, it may have activation lock enabled, which would mean that you'd need the iTunes password of whoever owns/owned it. On the other hand, it may not, if they didn't enable "Find my iPhone".
 
You'll find out if you try putting it into recovery mode and resetting it as described above.
 

Aden08

New Member
Sep 5, 2019
1
Unlock iPad Mini without passcode? According to your situation, you can put locked iPad mini into recovery mode and then restore it with iTunes. Or you can try an iPad passcode removal tool like Joyoshare iPasscode Unlocker to help you. It can unlock digital passcodes, Touch ID, and Face ID. Else, It is fully compatible with all iOS device models. Hope the methods can be helpful to you.
 

CarolinaBeerGuy

Don't know him from Adam
SoSH Member
Mar 14, 2006
9,419
Kernersville, NC
Unlock iPad Mini without passcode? According to your situation, you can put locked iPad mini into recovery mode and then restore it with iTunes. Or you can try an iPad passcode removal tool like Joyoshare iPasscode Unlocker to help you. It can unlock digital passcodes, Touch ID, and Face ID. Else, It is fully compatible with all iOS device models. Hope the methods can be helpful to you.
Lurkers gonna lurk.
 

AlNipper49

Huge Member
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 3, 2001
44,851
Mtigawi
You’re going to need to put it into recovery mode and just wipe it using the iTunes method. Trying to get other info or try different paths will increase time spent on this tenfold. Apple is really a piece of shit when it comes to this stuff.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,840
Perhaps things have changed since this question was posed 4 years ago.
 

uncannymanny

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 12, 2007
9,079
If you can access Siri you could ask who it belongs to. A free iPad is cool, but making an attempt to return it is nice too.
 

Monsser

New Member
Oct 10, 2019
3
The password can be cracked,but I think it is better to return such valuable equipment to its owner.