The iCloud Activation Lock is a good and effective anti-theft technology, but, it’s pretty hard to get around if you’re running into it on your brand new iPad. Plus, as long as the lock is on, you can’t use your device.
As hard as it seems to remove the iCloud lock, it isn’t difficult. We’re going to explain what it is, why it shows up and how to remove it, plus a few things to watch out for.
iCloud Activation Lock: What it is and why you run into it
Activation Lock was introduced in ios 7 to reduce ios device theft, and works on all ios devices including your iPhone and iPod touch. By default, it is enabled when you turn on Find My iPhone, and you have to enter your Apple ID username and password same to that which you used when activating the iPad.
It is unlikely that a thief would access your username and password for your iPad, which makes the lock ideal for reducing theft. Plus, the iPad can’t work without it so there’s no reason to steal it in the first place.
The downside is you can actually buy a legit device or iPad, and still not be able to use it because it won’t work. However, not all iPads with Activation Locked are stolen. It can also happen innocently if you forgot to sign out of iCloud before you erased and sold the device.
If you want to know whether the Activation Lock is applied to your iPad, you’ll see a screen that says Activation Lock when you try setting up the device, and it’ll ask for your username and password.
How to remove iCloud Activation Lock
There are two ways to this: activating the device with the username and password for your iPad, or contact the person who sold it to you. To remove the lock, do this:
· Get the Apple ID username and password and start up the device
· On the Activation Lock screen, enter the login details
· The iPad will boot up. When you get to home screen, sign out of iCloud
· Enter the original username and password again
· Turn off Find My iPad and Activation Lock depending on your ios version (10.2 or earlier, tap Sign Out>Delete from My iPhone, and ios 10.3 tap Turn Off)
· Erase any data that’s left and the settings on the iPad. Go to Settings>General>Reset>Erase all Content and Settings
· The iPad will reboot and you won’t see the Activation Lock screen but you can set up the iPad again
Jailbreaking doesn’t remove the lock once enabled.
Using iCloud
To do this:
· Go to iCloud and sign in with the original logins used to activate the iPad
· Click Find My iPhone and tap All Devices
· Click the iPad you want to unlock and click Erase iPad
· Click Remove from account and restart the iPad to set it up again
Note: There are lots of websites claiming to help remove the iCloud Activation Lock without login credentials at a cost. This isn’t possible so don’t fall for it.
Elsie is a tech writer with 8+ years professional experience. For Tech News Watch, she brings rich experience contributing to topics such as Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS among others. In her spare time, she loves checking out the latest tech trends, gadgets, and news, listening to music and cars.
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