Ipad Is Disabled Try Again in 4 Minutes
I gave my female parent an iPad for Christmas. She had a Mac in the by, merely afterward it died, she started using an old netbook running Windows XP that I had left lying effectually her house. The Asus 1000HE, dating from the offset days of the Obama administration, was literally wheezing and I didn't even want to imagine what security vulnerabilities its re-create of the long-abandoned Windows XP had.
The iPad was her first iOS device, and she was thrilled, specially with Affect ID. But I failed to explain that Touch ID would require her to enter her passcode every few days. And when we had set up the iPad, she had insisted on an alphanumeric passcode. So when it prompted her for a passcode, she entered her Apple ID countersign. And over again. And once more.
Until finally, the tablet seized up, displaying this message: "iPad is disabled; connect to iTunes."
Later I ranted about this situation on Twitter and in our TidBITS Slack team, I discovered that nearly techies don't even know that this is something that happens, because they don't forget their passcodes!
Alas, I know this problem all besides well because I have a tech-addled toddler who likes to use the iPad Lock screen as a drum, so he disables his iPad regularly. And before you ask, no, this feature is not related to the Erase Data feature in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode that erases the information on your iOS device after 10 incorrect passcode entries. This is a built-in security characteristic that cannot be disabled.
How many incorrect passcode entries it takes before the iPad locks is upwards for debate. Apple tree's support document says six. In my testing, that isn't true. Information technology took merely five tries with random passcodes to disable my iPad for 1 minute. However, Apple seems to have measures in places to forestall accidental disabling. I tried 1111 as a passcode over 20 times without disabling the iPad. I so entered 9874 some other 20 times with no problems. But after that information technology took only three random passcodes, without entering the right passcode to reset the count, to disable the iPad.
Once yous kick off the procedure, it works like this: the device is disabled for 1 minute. There is no fashion to featherbed information technology beingness disabled — you simply have to sit in time out like a naughty child. Once that fourth dimension is up, you go ane chance to get the passcode correct or your device is disabled for v minutes. Go information technology wrong again and it'due south disabled for 15 minutes! The next failure disables it for another 15 minutes. Afterward that, 1 hour. Go it incorrect one more time, and you won't be able to go far direct on the device e'er again. Your simply solution at that signal is to erase all content and settings and restore from backup.
As I've worked on my examination devices to replicate this beliefs, I'g amazed at how persistent my mother was in entering the wrong passcode. But I think one of the design mistakes Apple made hither was in not explaining why the iPad is disabled. The more technically expert volition likely figure out what's happening quickly, but information technology'southward not necessarily obvious to a less experienced user what's going on.
A more than helpful message would be "iPad is disabled for 5 minutes for your security. Delight verify that your passcode is correct and try once more." At the very least, that would ensure that the user had been told explicitly what they had done wrong.
How I Stock-still It — If your iOS device is disabled, the master way to fix information technology is to use iTunes to erase information technology and restore from backup. So instead of this being a simple defoliation I could articulate up over the phone, I had to head to her business firm with my MacBook Pro in tow. To add insult to injury, since my MacBook Pro only has Thunderbolt 3 ports and her iPad but came with a Lightning to USB cablevision, I had to dig out an adapter.
(To those who would point out that I could have loaded iTunes on my erstwhile netbook, no, that wouldn't have worked considering the current version of iTunes requires at least Windows 7.)
If the device has been synced with iTunes, erasing and restoring is reportedly a relatively painless process. Merely since her iPad had never been synced to my MacBook Pro, I first had to enter recovery manner by connecting it to iTunes and holding the Sleep/Wake push button and the Dwelling button until I saw the Connect to iTunes screen. That technique works on all iPads, iPod touches, and older iPhones. If you have an iPhone seven or afterwards, the process is slightly unlike:
- iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Side and Book Downwardly buttons until you see the Connect to iTunes screen.
- iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus: Press and release the Book Up button, printing and release the Volume Downwardly button, and then press and hold the Side push button until you encounter the Connect to iTunes screen.
Once I connected to the iPad via iTunes, recovery was as simple every bit clicking the Restore iPad push button. Y'all may encounter a prompt that says there was a problem with your device that requires it to be updated or restored. If so, click the Restore button on that window.
Note that restoring your device requires iTunes to download the latest version of iOS, regardless of whether or not it'south installed on your device already. And also note that your iOS device will remain in restore mode for only 15 minutes, so if the download takes longer than that, you'll have to enter that mode again. So having a fast Cyberspace connection is cardinal during the restore process. Unfortunately, my mother didn't accept a particularly expert Cyberspace connection at the time, so I had to go abode to my cobweb connection, restore the iPad, and then bring it back.
I after learned that there is another solution to this trouble that's easier, doesn't require a Mac with iTunes, and can exist initiated remotely: Find My iPhone, also known every bit Notice My iPad (the name changes per device). Y'all'll need another computer or iOS device for this, merely if you open the built-in Find My iPhone app, either in iOS or on iCloud, cull the disabled device, and tap Erase iPad, yous can erase the device. However, if Find My iPad wasn't enabled and you don't have admission to a Mac with iTunes, yous'll have to drive to an Apple Shop to become it fixed. That's right — the last-ditch solution is to take your disabled device to the Genius Bar and get Apple to reset information technology.
Notation besides that if Find My iPad is enabled, that turns on Activation Lock. So, when you're setting the device up over again, you'll have to log in with the previous Apple ID credentials that were associated with the device to prove that information technology'south not stolen.
Thankfully, this story had a happy ending. I'd set my mother's iPad to back upward to iCloud and restoring that backup brought back all of her apps, already logged in, so it didn't take long to get back up to speed. I worked with her to set up a new numeric passcode and even turned on two-factor authentication for her Apple ID at her request. That was a few weeks agone, and so far, so good.
Further Thoughts — During this small drama, I learned a few things about setting up iOS devices for others. Don't set up up an alphanumeric passcode, even if they request information technology. Make them come up with a numeric passcode. It'due south just too easy to mix up the passcode and Apple ID countersign. As well, whatever security measures you ready up, be sure to explain them thoroughly.
I likewise have a few suggestions for how Apple could improve this feature. First, let us turn it off! I don't even see why it exists — iOS already has a feature that will wipe the device if the passcode is entered incorrectly plenty times. I understand and appreciate Apple'southward dedication to security, but some devices need less than others. My mom'due south and son'south iPads have nothing on them that'southward more sensitive than what kind of YouTube videos they like — a half dozen-digit passcode is more than enough security on its own. And on top of that, I tin can wipe these devices remotely with Notice My iPhone.
Worse, this feature can render a device completely useless and potentially cause a user to lose information, if the device wasn't set to support or its backups were failing for some reason. I've never seen a non-optional security feature that could brick a consumer-level device fifty-fifty if an authorized user could later authenticate themselves.
At least in theory, someone with admission to your iPhone or iPad could lock information technology in this way but to be annoying. There should e'er be a way for an authorized user to gain access to a disabled device without having to plow to another device or computer, peradventure by inbound your Apple ID credentials.
Source: https://tidbits.com/2018/01/15/what-to-do-if-your-ipad-gets-disabled-by-too-many-passcode-entries/
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