My grandmother is in the hospital, and she gave me her iPad to use. I erased the device through Settings, but during setup it asked for the Apple Account email and password. My aunt originally helped create the account, and the handwritten login information we found is difficult to read. After trying several possible details, the account became disabled and the iPad is now showing Activation Lock. I'm not trying to use a device that I found—the iPad belongs to my grandmother, and I'm trying to recover the account and finish setting it up. What is the proper way to reset the password and remove the lock?
2 Answers
No one else can enable the account for you. Use Apple’s official account-recovery page and enter your grandmother’s Apple Account email and trusted phone number if you know them. It should guide you through resetting the password or starting account recovery. If the account is locked, stop guessing passwords because more attempts can make recovery harder.
Activation Lock is tied to the Apple Account, so erasing the iPad does not remove it. Your grandmother, or someone legally helping her, will need to recover that account and sign in during setup. If recovery is impossible, contact Apple Support with valid proof of purchase; without the account credentials or acceptable proof of ownership, Apple generally cannot remove the lock.
Thanks, I’ll try the official recovery process with the information we have.