About Activation Lock

Apple’s iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) use a security feature called Activation Lock that’s designed to keep anyone else from using your device in case it is lost or stolen. You won't see this screen on an iPad you own unless you decide to wipe it and reset it to factory defaults. Or if you try to turn off Find My iPad in the Settings for iCloud (which you should not do).

To disable Activation Lock, you'll need the Apple ID and password you used to set up the iPad. Activation Lock is a great anti-theft feature, but it can make things very difficult if a device’s former owner didn’t deactivate it before you got it.

When the Find my iPhone/Find my iPad feature is enabled—part of the Activation Lock process—Apple stores the device serial number along with the Apple ID in a database. Even after a clean restore, the device will register with Apple’s database and see the feature is enabled based on the serial number of the device. So you can’t set it up because the Activation Lock is still active. An Apple store can bypass this, but they are unlikely to do so unless you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you own the device.

If you got the iPad from someone else:

Reach out to the previous owner and have them remove the device from their Apple ID. The previous owner can do this by meeting with you and entering their password on the Activation Lock screen of the iPad. Or they can deactivate the lock by accessing their iCloud account from anywhere through a web browser. Here’s how:

* Sign in to iCloud.com

* Go to Find My iPhone

* Wait for Find My iPhone to work

* Select “All Devices” at top of screen to open a list of devices linked to their account, and select the device to be removed

* Click “Remove from Account”

After the previous owner removes the device, you should shut down the device and then turn it back on again to set up the device as new.

Can I Keep Some of the Apps?

If that old iPad has apps you like and want to use, once you clean and clear it out, most of those will no longer be available to you. They are tied to the previous owner’s Apple ID.

If you really like some of those apps, take notes and remember that you’ll need to download and install them again (and pay for them using your own Apple ID if they are not free.)

Reminder - Don’t Manually Delete Content

If you're working on one of your old iPads, you shouldn't manually delete your contacts, calendars, reminders, documents, photos, or any other iCloud information while you're signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID. This would delete your content from the iCloud servers and any of your devices signed in to iCloud.

Important Disclaimer

During this course, you'll be working with Appe IDs, iCloud account settings and other areas where mistakes can be made. I've tried to caution you where you might go astray, but I can't foresee every occasion where things might go wrong and have bad results. Please take care and ask me for help in the Comments if you have concerns.

In the next lesson, you’ll see how to reset the iPad to factory defaults.