If Ipad Locks From Too Many Password Attempts How Long Is Wait Time to Ry Again?

I gave my mother an iPad for Christmas. She had a Mac in the past, merely after information technology died, she started using an old netbook running Windows XP that I had left lying around her firm. The Asus 1000HE, dating from the first days of the Obama assistants, was literally wheezing and I didn't even desire to imagine what security vulnerabilities its re-create of the long-abandoned Windows XP had.

The iPad was her start iOS device, and she was thrilled, especially with Touch ID. But I failed to explicate that Bear on ID would crave her to enter her passcode every few days. And when we had set up the iPad, she had insisted on an alphanumeric passcode. And then when it prompted her for a passcode, she entered her Apple tree ID password. And over again. And again.

Until finally, the tablet seized upwardly, displaying this bulletin: "iPad is disabled; connect to iTunes."

Afterwards I ranted almost this situation on Twitter and in our TidBITS Slack team, I discovered that nigh techies don't even know that this is something that happens, because they don't forget their passcodes!

Alas, I know this trouble all too well considering I have a tech-addled toddler who likes to utilize the iPad Lock screen as a drum, so he disables his iPad regularly. And before you ask, no, this feature is non related to the Erase Data feature in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode that erases the data on your iOS device after x incorrect passcode entries. This is a built-in security feature that cannot be disabled.

How many incorrect passcode entries it takes earlier the iPad locks is up for contend. Apple'south support document says six. In my testing, that isn't true. It took just v tries with random passcodes to disable my iPad for one minute. However, Apple seems to have measures in places to forestall adventitious disabling. I tried 1111 as a passcode over 20 times without disabling the iPad. I then entered 9874 another 20 times with no issues. But after that it took merely three random passcodes, without entering the right passcode to reset the count, to disable the iPad.

Once you kick off the procedure, it works like this: the device is disabled for 1 minute. There is no way to bypass it being disabled — you just have to sit in time out like a naughty child. One time that fourth dimension is up, you get one chance to get the passcode correct or your device is disabled for five minutes. Get it wrong over again and it's disabled for 15 minutes! The next failure disables it for another fifteen minutes. Subsequently that, 1 hr. Get it wrong 1 more fourth dimension, and you won't exist able to arrive directly on the device always again. Your just solution at that signal is to erase all content and settings and restore from backup.

Equally I've worked on my test devices to replicate this behavior, I'one thousand amazed at how persistent my mother was in entering the wrong passcode. Just I think ane of the blueprint mistakes Apple made here was in not explaining why the iPad is disabled. The more technically practiced volition likely figure out what's happening chop-chop, but information technology'due south non necessarily obvious to a less experienced user what's going on.

A more than helpful bulletin would exist "iPad is disabled for 5 minutes for your security. Please verify that your passcode is correct and endeavour over again." At the very least, that would ensure that the user had been told explicitly what they had done wrong.

How I Fixed Information technology — If your iOS device is disabled, the main mode to fix it is to use iTunes to erase it and restore from backup. So instead of this being a simple confusion I could articulate upwards over the phone, I had to head to her house with my MacBook Pro in tow. To add together insult to injury, since my MacBook Pro merely has Thunderbolt 3 ports and her iPad but came with a Lightning to USB cable, I had to dig out an adapter.

(To those who would point out that I could take loaded iTunes on my one-time netbook, no, that wouldn't have worked because the current version of iTunes requires at to the lowest degree Windows 7.)

If the device has been synced with iTunes, erasing and restoring is reportedly a relatively painless procedure. But since her iPad had never been synced to my MacBook Pro, I first had to enter recovery mode by connecting it to iTunes and holding the Sleep/Wake button and the Home push button until I saw the Connect to iTunes screen. That technique works on all iPads, iPod touches, and older iPhones. If you take an iPhone vii or later, the process is slightly dissimilar:

• iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons until y'all encounter the Connect to iTunes screen.
• iPhone X, iPhone eight, and iPhone 8 Plus: Press and release the Volume Upward push, printing and release the Volume Downward button, and so printing and hold the Side button until you meet the Connect to iTunes screen.

Once I connected to the iPad via iTunes, recovery was equally simple as clicking the Restore iPad button. You may see a prompt that says there was a trouble with your device that requires it to be updated or restored. If so, click the Restore push on that window.

Notation that restoring your device requires iTunes to download the latest version of iOS, regardless of whether or not it'due south installed on your device already. And also note that your iOS device volition remain in restore mode for merely xv minutes, so if the download takes longer than that, you'll accept to enter that fashion again. So having a fast Cyberspace connection is central during the restore process. Unfortunately, my mother didn't take a specially good Net connection at the time, so I had to go home to my fiber connection, restore the iPad, and and then bring it back.

I later learned that there is another solution to this trouble that'south easier, doesn't require a Mac with iTunes, and can be initiated remotely: Find My iPhone, too known equally Discover My iPad (the proper name changes per device). You lot'll demand another computer or iOS device for this, only if you lot open the born Notice My iPhone app, either in iOS or on iCloud, cull the disabled device, and tap Erase iPad, you can erase the device. Still, if Find My iPad wasn't enabled and you don't have access to a Mac with iTunes, you'll have to drive to an Apple Store to become it fixed. That's correct — the terminal-ditch solution is to have your disabled device to the Genius Bar and get Apple to reset information technology.

Note too that if Find My iPad is enabled, that turns on Activation Lock. So, when you're setting the device upwardly again, you'll have to log in with the previous Apple ID credentials that were associated with the device to prove that it'south not stolen.

Thankfully, this story had a happy ending. I'd prepare my mother's iPad to back up to iCloud and restoring that backup brought back all of her apps, already logged in, so information technology 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 tree ID at her request. That was a few weeks ago, and so far, and then practiced.

Further Thoughts — During this minor drama, I learned a few things about setting upwardly iOS devices for others. Don't gear up an alphanumeric passcode, even if they asking it. Make them come up with a numeric passcode. It'southward just as well like shooting fish in a barrel to mix up the passcode and Apple tree ID password. Also, whatever security measures yous prepare, be sure to explain them thoroughly.

I also have a few suggestions for how Apple could improve this feature. Starting time, allow us turn information technology off! I don't even see why information technology exists — iOS already has a feature that volition wipe the device if the passcode is entered incorrectly enough times. I understand and appreciate Apple's dedication to security, just some devices need less than others. My mom'south and son's iPads have nix on them that'due south more sensitive than what kind of YouTube videos they like — a six-digit passcode is more plenty security on its own. And on top of that, I tin can wipe these devices remotely with Discover My iPhone.

Worse, this feature can render a device completely useless and potentially cause a user to lose information, if the device wasn't ready to back up or its backups were failing for some reason. I've never seen a non-optional security feature that could brick a consumer-level device even if an authorized user could later authenticate themselves.

At least in theory, someone with access to your iPhone or iPad could lock it in this fashion just to be annoying. There should e'er be a way for an authorized user to proceeds admission to a disabled device without having to turn to another device or computer, perchance by inbound your Apple ID credentials.

lynchdeplas.blogspot.com

Source: https://tidbits.com/2018/01/15/what-to-do-if-your-ipad-gets-disabled-by-too-many-passcode-entries/#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20way%20to,it%20for%20another%2015%20minutes.

Share this post