Getting past passwords on older iPads?

[mrhall]

Our previous network manager retired this summer - and some tidying up is now needed.

 

We've got about 15 iPads - probably 5 to 8 years old - they do turn on, but have passwords we can't get past. Seems that some staff managed to get their iPad out of our control, and so we can't get in to them.

 

Any way we might be able to get them back? I suspect they are not worth very much time or effort - and we might be better just to sell them. Is that possible - or would someone only want to buy them if they are factory reset?

 

Thanks

 

Peter

[3s-gtech]

You may be able to reset them with iTunes on Mac or PC, clearing them completely. I’ve managed this before. Then an MDM should allow you to stop this from happening again.

[NokiX]

I watched a video recently about iOS 15 being available on older devices which showed some promise about continuing to use them, in that case they tested an iPad Air 2 and they were very much usable so if you're able to reset them and they're around the same age and spec as an iPad Air 2 you'll be able to squeeze some additional useage out of them.

 

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[thimon]

Plug them into iTunes and put them into restore mode to wipe them. And then yes, your MDM should kick in automatically when they connect to the internet. Otherwise if you wish to sell them release them from ASM and delete them from your MDM.

[mrhall]

Thanks.

 

We've got an IT-helpdesk iMac-book - I suppose it must be using a school iTunes account - so that would to work easily enough?

 

Sounds like a good challenge for Monday.

 

Peter

[FN-GM]

They sound like old devices. I would check to see if they are obsolete first. Would be disappointing spending time on them to find they can’t run the latest IOS.

[thimon]

FYI You can use iTunes on Windows to wipe them, without being signed into an Apple account.

[Face-Man]

you can put them in recovery mode and wipe them to remove the passcode but if they are not enrolled in DEP and have personal itunes/icloud accounts on them you might find they are activation locked and useless.... I learnt this the hard way when taking on a new school who gave out ipads for staff to setup themselves.....

[andy_b]

you can put them in recovery mode and wipe them to remove the passcode but if they are not enrolled in DEP and have personal itunes/icloud accounts on them you might find they are activation locked and useless.... I learnt this the hard way when taking on a new school who gave out ipads for staff to setup themselves.....

 

If you can prove ownership with an invoice, apple will unlock them for you.

[DavR]

They sound like old devices. I would check to see if they are obsolete first. Would be disappointing spending time on them to find they can’t run the latest IOS.

 

The majority of our iPad fleet can't run the latest iOS, I wouldn't class them as obsolete though! Just..... "update challenged".

 

I use Apple Configurator on our iMac to wipe iPads fairly regularly, that would also do the job, as long as they're not activation locked.

[FN-GM]

The majority of our iPad fleet can't run the latest iOS, I wouldn't class them as obsolete though! Just..... "update challenged".

 

So they are behind on security updates?

[DavR]

So they are behind on security updates?

 

Not at all, they've got all the security updates that are available for those devices

 

In an ideal world then sure, it would be nice to only use devices that run the latest OS, but in the one we live in, our budget doesn't stretch that far. Older devices can still play a part, as long as you are conscious of and mitigate the risk.