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A user-friendly guide to unlocking or recovering an iPad with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode
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iPads come with several security features you can use to lock your device and keep your data secure. If you try to unlock your iPad one too many times, it will be disabled for security reasons. If this happens, you can reset the password by restoring your iPad to its original factory settings. As long as you've backed up your iPad to iCloud or your computer, you won't lose any data during this process. This will work for the iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. This wikiHow teaches you how to unlock your iPad's screen, as well as what to do if your iPad is disabled after unsuccessful login attempts.
Things You Should Know
- To use Face ID , press the top button or tap the screen. Glance at the iPad, and then swipe up.
- For passcode , press the top button or home button. Enter your passcode.
- To reset an iPad, turn it off. Hold down the top button (or home button) and connect it to your computer. Open iTunes to restore it.
Steps
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Check the disabled message. If you see a message on your iPad that says it's disabled, it's because you've tried one too many times to unlock the screen without success. If it says to try again after a certain period of time (such as 1 minute or 15 minutes), don't panic—just try again after that time period. However, after 10 incorrect tries, your iPad will remain disabled until you restore it to factory settings.
- As long as you've backed up your iPad to iCloud or a computer, you should be able to restore it and easily get your settings and files back where they belong. If you didn't make a backup, those files and settings will be erased .
- Don't connect your iPad to the computer just yet —first you'll need to put it into recovery mode.
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Turn off your iPad. The steps are different depending on whether your iPad uses Face ID or has a Home button:
- If your iPad has a Home button: Press and hold both the top button until the Power Off slider appears. Drag the slider to turn off your iPad.
- If your iPad doesn't have a Home button: Press and hold the top button and either of the volume buttons at the same time. When the Power Off slider appears, drag it to turn off the iPad.
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Hold down the top button as you connect the iPad to your computer. If you have a Home button, hold the Home button down instead. Keep holding down this button as you immediately connect the iPad to the computer using a Lightning cable. This must be done quickly. You can lift your finger from the button when you see the Recovery Mode screen on your iPad—it has an image of a computer and a charging cable.
- If you see the passcode screen, turn off your iPad and restart the Recovery Mode process.
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Open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows). Finder is the two-toned smiley face icon on the Dock at the bottom of your Mac's screen. If you're using Windows, open iTunes—it'll be in the Windows menu.
- If you're using Windows, you must have Windows 10 or newer .
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Select your iPad. If you're using Finder, click your iPad's name in the left panel. If you're using iTunes, click the icon of an iPad in the upper-left area of iTunes.
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Click Restore . It's the option in the middle when you connect your iPad to iTunes or Finder while in recovery mode. iTunes or Finder will now download software for your iPad and start the process of restoring it. [1] X Research source Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed.
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Set up your iPad. Once the iPad is restored, you'll be prompted to set it up as new. This will allow you to pick a new passcode and set up new security features such as Touch ID or Face ID.
- During setup, you'll be asked if you want to restore from an iCloud or computer backup—be sure to select the option to restore from backup so you can get your files and settings back.
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Press the top button on your iPad. It's on the top edge of the tablet. This will wake the screen. [2] X Research source
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Glance at your iPad. Do this at about 10 inches (25 cm) from the iPad, or about an arm's length.
- If you're wearing a face mask or if the iPad doesn't recognize your face for some other reason, you'll be asked to enter your passcode to confirm.
- Make sure you don't accidentally cover the camera with your finger.
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Swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Once your face is recognized, an unlocked padlock icon will appear—swipe up from the bottom of the screen to complete unlocking your iPad.
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Press the Home button or top button. If your iPad has a large Home button below the screen, press that. If there's no Home button, use the top button.
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Swipe up on the screen. This will prompt you to input your passcode.
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Enter your passcode. Once the passcode is accepted, your iPad's screen will unlock.
- If you enter your passcode incorrectly 10 times, it will be disabled. See the first method to unlock a disabled iPad .
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Place your finger firmly on the Home button. Use the finger you used to set up Touch ID .
- This will automatically unlock your iPad.
- If Touch ID doesn't register, you may need to rotate or reposition your finger to get a good reading.
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Use your passcode instead if Touch ID doesn't work. If the iPad doesn't recognize your fingerprint, it will prompt you to enter your passcode.
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Update your iOS if you can't get Touch ID working. Once the iPad is unlocked, make sure that your system software is up to date. Check that Touch ID is turned on under Settings > Touch ID & Passcode . Other things that can prevent Touch ID from working properly include: [4] X Research source
- Dirt or moisture on your finger or the Touch ID sensor
- A case or screen protector interfering with the sensor
- Not placing your finger over the entire sensor, touching and releasing the sensor too quickly, or moving your finger around too much while it's on the sensor
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Community Q&A
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QuestionHow do I find the correct iTunes program for my iPad?Community AnswerIt is usually the first option. Check the number of downloads and how many people rated it.
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QuestionHow do I unlock an iPad if I can't remember the login information?Community AnswerReset it. To do this, you should take it to Apple and ask them. After doing this, make sure you memorize your new password. I recommend writing it down somewhere safe where you can always access it when you need to.
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QuestionHow do I unlock my iPad if I forgot the password?Community AnswerTry finding your iPad's location through your Google account. Usually, if you log in and look through the devices tab, you should be able to lock or unlock your iPad or other devices with a master password. If this does not work, try the factory reset. Since you have logged in with Google on your iPad, everything will be backed up, allowing you no damage.
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wikiHow Video: How to Unlock an iPad
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About This Article
Article Summary
X
1. Wake up your iPad.
2. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
3. Enter your passcode.
4. Power off your iPad and connect it to a computer (if disabled or you can't remember your passcode).
5. Open the Finder or iTunes and click iPad
.
6. Press and hold the top button on your iPad until the recovery screen appears.
7. Click Restore
on your computer to restore the iPad to it's factory settings.
8. Go through the iPad setup process.
9. Use any iPad backup you have to restore your data and settings.
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 190,725 times.
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