Activation of Ipad

Problem - son as forgotten his Apple Id and password - Ipad 2 password is required because he has used Find My Phone to link it to an Apple ID - How can I reset the Ipad - everything I have done so far according to the advice stops at this point - he also does not have his Iphone so I cannot get into the settings which seems to be required to remove the Iphone link to the Apple ID - Help !! Have just looked on the forum and it seems that there is no method for sorting this - will take it my Apple man to see if he can attend to it. sorry to have bothered evertyone

If Find My iPad has been enabled on the iPad, the only way to remove it is to turn the service off. You can do this within the iOS of the iPad from Settings -> General -> iCloud (which will show you the account name that's being used) or from the iCloud itself by deleting it as a device. If you can get the iCloud account name (mentioned previously how to do this), but don't know / can't remember the password, use the account name that you found at www.icloud.com and choose to reset the password. Once you have the password reset, you will be able to deactivate the service on the iPad and reset it.

I have encountered a very similar problem with my iPad (which I have owned from new, bought c.3 years ago). It has worked flawlessly up to now, but has suddenly demanded that I activate it with my Apple ID and Password, as the owner has used "Find my iPhone" to link with Apple ID.

Only two people have ever used this iPad, and neither of us has ever owned or used an iPhone, so we certainly haven't tried to find one!

The Apple ID used to set up the iPad was an old one which is no longer valid. I have no idea what the password might have been.

As I can't get into the iPad, I can't turn the service off. Furthermore, I've never used the iCloud anyway.

Any helpful suggestions gratefully received...

You're going to need to reset your iPad and unless you have backed it up to iTunes or iCloud, you will lose everything on it.

Follow the directions given in this Apple Article on how to reset your iPad when you don't know the passcode or password.

chscag said:

You're going to need to reset your iPad and unless you have backed it up to iTunes or iCloud, you will lose everything on it.

Follow the directions given in this Apple Article on how to reset your iPad when you don't know the passcode or password.

Click to expand...

Resetting the iPad will not remove the Find My iPhone service, per se, as it will require the credentials that are apparently not available in order to move past it when activating.


If you can prove you own it (receipt, box, and the like), take everything to the Apple store and ask them to clear it.

According to the OP, he never setup "Find my iPhone" nor does he even own an iPhone. I believe the problem is with his forgotten Apple ID password which he can reset as per the Apple article above. Note, he also claims he never signed into iCloud.

Thanks for your help so far. I've done a lot of digging around following the links you suggest, using my iMac, and have also unearthed some info from when I got this iPad.

I did set up iCloud at the time, although I don't use it. My ISP went belly-up not long afterwards, so the old email address I used to set it up is unavailable - I can't access any messages sent to it. So I can't follow the usual route for ID verification in order to access or change the password.

I do have access to iCloud using my new ID, but that doesn't seem to help as that is a separate account to my old one.

I linked the iPad and iMac via iTunes and followed the Restore procedure, but after that was over and I started going through the Setup procedure, I got as far as choosing the language and network but was then faced with a message: "This device is linked to an Apple ID" (with my old email address) – and a demand for the password.

Whatever I try to do with the iPad it keeps demanding my old ID and password. How can I get around this?

Take the original receipt, box, and iPad to an Apple store. Explain your situation.

Whatever I try to do with the iPad it keeps demanding my old ID and password. How can I get around this?

Click to expand...

Before you do what "Ember" suggested, give Apple support a call and explain the situation. I had a similar thing happen not long ago and it was cleared by Apple via phone. However, if you're in the mood to dig up the original receipt and take the iPad to an Apple store, then go ahead.

One more thing... have the serial number to the iPad on hand when you call Apple.