How to solve – I forgot the password or passcode of my iPad

The iPad has more passwords associated with it. The first is the passcode, which you use to unlock the iPad when you reactivate it from sleep mode. Another optional passcode is what you can create to block and limit the contents of other people sharing the tablet. The most important thing, however, is the Apple ID password that unlocks the App Store and other Apple services.

If you have forgotten the iPad passcode, you will not be able to use the device. Whenever you type it incorrectly, you risk the hardware getting stuck for an increasingly longer period of time (this is a security feature to prevent people from continuously entering codes until they guess yours) or being disabled altogether.

If you have forgotten your Apple ID password, you can use your iPad, but some features like app downloads or iCloud files may not be available. If you lose your Apple ID password or passcode, here are some methods you can use to recover your iPad password or passcode.

How to recover a forgotten Apple ID

If you haven’t downloaded an app for a while and activated Touch ID for purchases on the App Store, it can be easy to forget the Apple ID password. Apple has a website set up to manage your Apple ID account and can help you with forgotten passwords. Here’s how.

  1. Go to appleid.apple.com.
  2. Click Forgot Apple ID or password at the bottom of the screen just below the Manage your Apple ID field.
  3. Enter the e-mail address associated with your Apple ID, then click the Continue button.
  4. Confirm your phone number, then click Continue.
  5. Apple will send notifications to all devices that have accessed your ID. Touch (or click) Allow, then follow the instructions to reset the password.
  6. If you can’t use another phone, iPad or Mac, click Do not have access to your devices at the bottom of the page on the Apple ID site.

The next page offers additional options for resetting the Apple ID password. Can:

  • If you are setting up an iOS device for the first time, you can set a new password.
  • Use Find my iPhone on a friend’s iPhone or iPad by disconnecting it from it and then tapping the forgotten password link in the app.
  • Take your device to an Apple Store and use Find My iPhone to reset it there.

One of these options should be configured with a new Apple ID password.

How to recover a forgotten iPad passcode

There is no long-term trick to overcome the passcode needed to unlock the iPad. You can use Touch ID or Face ID to bypass it for a while, but after rebooting the iPad, you will need to enter the passcode.

The only way to solve the problem of a forgotten passcode is to reset the iPad to the factory default settings. This means deleting everything on the iPad, but during the installation process, you will have the option to restore the iPad from a backup.

The easiest way to recover a passcode that escapes the memory is to use iCloud to restore the iPad. The Find My iPad feature has the ability to remotely restore the iPad.

  1. Go to www.icloud.com in a web browser.
  2. Access iCloud when prompted. If you have set up two-factor authentication on your account, a code will go to all your Apple devices. This code is required to continue accessing iCloud.
  3. Click Find My iPhone.
  4. When the map appears, click on All Devices at the top and choose your iPad from the list.
  5. When you click on the name of your iPad, a window appears in the corner of the map. This window has three buttons- Play sound, Lost mode (which blocks the iPad) and Delete iPad. Check that the name of the device just above these buttons is, in fact, your iPad. You don’t want to delete your iPhone by mistake.
  6. Tap the Clear iPad button and follow the directions. He will ask you to verify your choice. Once done, your iPad will start restoring.
  7. The iPad will need to be loaded and connected to the Internet for it to work, so it’s a good idea to connect it during the restore.

How to manage a lost passcode using iTunes

If you’ve ever synced your iPad to iTunes on your PC, or to transfer music and movies on it or simply iCloud- how to backup and restore on your computer, you can restore it using your PC.

To restore iPad via PC:

  1. Connect your iPad to the PC you use to sync and start iTunes.
  2. The first thing that will happen is that iTunes will synchronize with the iPad. Wait for this process to complete, then click on the Device icon at the top of the screen.
  3. Then, click the Reset button.

The computer will erase your iPad. Set a new passcode when restarting the iPad.

Access to your iPad using the recovery mode

Even if you haven’t turned on Find My iPad and you’ve never connected the iPad to your PC, you can restore the iPad by going into recovery mode. However, you will need to connect it to a PC with iTunes later. If you don’t have iTunes, you can download it from Apple and if you don’t have a PC, you can use a friend’s computer.

Here’s how:

  1. Connect the iPad to the PC using the cable supplied with the iPad. Start iTunes.
  2. Press and hold both the Suspend / Reactivate button and the Home button on the iPad and continue to hold them down even when the Apple logo appears. When you see the image of the iPad connected to iTunes, you can release the buttons.
  3. You can choose to restore or update the iPad. Select Reset and follow the directions.
  4. It will take a few minutes to reset the iPad, which will turn off and on again during the process. Once restarted, you will be asked to configure the iPad just as you did at the time of purchase. You can choose to restore from a backup during this process.
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About Author

Samuel Afolabi is a lazy tech-savvy that loves writing almost all tech-related kinds of stuff. He is the Editor-in-Chief of TechVaz. You can connect with him socially :)

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