# [Help]  Need help Unlocking new Ipad mini already linked to an Apple ID



## Vengenceonu (Apr 21, 2014)

The ipad is linked to an existing apple id and i cant get past the setup language screen.


----------



## Tom Bombadildo (Apr 21, 2014)

Connect it to iTunes, perform a factory reset.


----------



## Vengenceonu (Apr 21, 2014)

Tom Bombadildo said:


> Connect it to iTunes, perform a factory reset.


 
It has an iOS7 activation lock. Not even a factory restore works. After about 20 min browsing online, it's looking like a $500 paperweight right now...


----------



## Tom Bombadildo (Apr 21, 2014)

I assume this is a used iPad or something?

Looks like there's an "Activation lock" bypass you could try if Apple hasn't fixed it yet/it hasn't been updated.

http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/03/ios-7...nd-bypass-activation-lock-without-a-password/


----------



## Vengenceonu (Apr 21, 2014)

Tom Bombadildo said:


> I assume this is a used iPad or something?
> 
> Looks like there's an "Activation lock" bypass you could try if Apple hasn't fixed it yet/it hasn't been updated.
> 
> http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/03/ios-7...nd-bypass-activation-lock-without-a-password/


 


The ipad was bought at a store but never was claimed so it just sat there for months. Obviously I dont know the original owner so Im trying to unlock it.

Also about the link you posted, that's only for Iphone's and only if you have access to the home screen. I cant even get passed turning the Ipad on, setting english as language and then setting up wifi. After that it says "This ipad is linked to an Apple id, enter it and password to continue".

Basically it's an 'If you dont know it, gtfo' fail-safe that apple added in iOS 7.


----------



## FireEmblemGuy (Apr 21, 2014)

Best you can do is try to track down the former owner. Generally there's a message that comes up when you plug it into iTunes, from the previous owner, with contact info, etc. If it's there, try contacting them; if not, you've got no choice but to return it; it's a fancy brick without the proper login info, unless the owner removes it from their account.

Naturally this is entirely shady and illegal, but if there's contact information, you can try and extrapolate the available info to figure out their security questions and their iTunes email, then reset the password, log in, and remove the iPad from their iCloud. I managed to do so with nothing but the previous owner's cell number on an iPhone 5 I bought from eBay, but the only reason it worked was a combination of an unusual name, easy security questions, and being lax about Facebook privacy settings.


----------



## Originality (Apr 22, 2014)

Once it's been forcefully restored by iTunes, all existing methods to bypass the account lock don't work. As long as you could access settings, there were a number of bypass methods. Without that, you're stuck.

If you paid anything to get it, I would claim a refund. If not, then trying to contact the previous owner is the only method.


----------



## Vengenceonu (Apr 22, 2014)

I dont know how to contact the previous owner, they never showed up and the account lock gives some ambiguous email you cant guess (i*******@o*****.net) I guess imma hold on to it for a while. Would any of you have any hope for a future Tool assisted/Jailbreak/vunrability to appear in the future that would get passed it?


----------



## 1stClassZackFair (Apr 22, 2014)

Have you tried putting it in DFU mode then doing a restore using ITunes? I don't remember the exact process, but search it up. It wouldn't hurt to try DFU mode.


----------



## Vengenceonu (Apr 22, 2014)

1stClassZackFair said:


> Have you tried putting it in DFU mode then doing a restore using ITunes? I don't remember the exact process, but search it up. It wouldn't hurt to try DFU mode.


 
No not even DFU mode can bypass it.


----------



## Originality (Apr 22, 2014)

DFU is what got it stuck in this situation in the first place. Normally to restore, you need to remove the account first.


----------



## Vengenceonu (Apr 22, 2014)

Originality said:


> DFU is what got it stuck in this situation in the first place. Normally to restore, you need to remove the account first.


 
yea i know even before i got it, it was factory reset. Probably by the store owner.


----------



## PityOnU (Apr 23, 2014)

Apparently this is a huge, HUGE problem nationally (at least here in the US). Apple's account locking does help stop a few people from having their data stolen, but for the most part it just screws over consumers that buy secondhand devices.

There are cellular carriers and thrift stores with hundreds or thousands of used Apple devices that are locked to an account and there is no way around it as of yet. These are $400 devices which have become, as OP put it, useless paperweights.

After talking with someone in the industry, I was told that the first person to figure out a way around the account lock is going to become a millionaire overnight.


----------



## Vengenceonu (Apr 23, 2014)

Apple better address this problem in 8.0 because it's doing more harm then good.


----------



## rehevkor (Apr 23, 2014)

Vengenceonu said:


> Apple better address this problem in 8.0 because it's doing more harm then good.


 
It's by design, it's a problem to the second hand market (well, mostly the black market..) but Apple don't care - they want to sell _new_ devices.

Rather confused about how you got this though, you say they bought (pre paid?) it but never claimed it? How did they manage to register it?


----------



## Vengenceonu (Apr 23, 2014)

rehevkor said:


> It's by design, it's a problem to the second hand market (well, mostly the black market..) but Apple don't care - they want to sell _new_ devices.
> 
> Rather confused about how you got this though, you say they bought (pre paid?) it but never claimed it? How did they manage to register it?


 
No freaking Idea. Im told it was bought months ago but never claimed (which seems odd since its already linked to an account) so the store owner was gonna send it in to apple to see if they could unlock it (which they cant hence the dilema) Supposedly it sat there for months until the person who gave it to me thought i could unlock it because im sorta semi-tech saavy. The box had marks on it and no manual and misc items you usually find in apple packaging was inside. Just the ipad and charger.

IMO, I think it was probably bought but returned for some reason. Unfortunately whoever returned it never unlinked his account from the device making the store owner assume its broken and wanted to return it to apple I guess but they wont unlock it. It sat there as a paperweight for months until it eventually made its way to me. This is speculation on my part.


----------

