Can I Wipe a Discarded iPad and Use It?

tunzafun001 on 16/09/2024 - 21:28
Last edited 17/09/2024 - 18:08 by 1 other user

So I've tried to put Reading Eggs on an old Android tablet for my daughter. In short, it doesn't cut it.

So today, we walked past an recycle bin, and she says "hey Dad…a tablet"..runs and grabs it. It's an iPad (says 16GB on the back). Surprisingly it turns on, battery seems good. But it's pass coded.

I know almost nothing about iPads.

Can I wipe/ reset this thing somehow and use it for Reading Eggs? I had a quick look and saw some Gecko tools way back in 2017? Surely something easier these days?

Will make for a happy 4 year old.

I do have a 2015 ish MacBook Air if that helps in anyway? But never used the App store.

Cheers

Computing Apple iPad

Comments

  • sumyungguy on 16/09/2024 - 21:37
    +2

    Try this: https://support.apple.com/en-au/119858

    • tunzafun001 on 16/09/2024 - 22:10
      +3

      So put it in recovery mode.
      Plug it in to the MacBook
      Open it in Finder.
      Select Restore.

      Wipes it back to original…

      Really that simple?

      Thought I'd need an Apple ID, a proprietary app and the mane of a unicorn!

      • sumyungguy on 16/09/2024 - 22:15
        +1

        Just need macOS Catalina or later. Older iPads aren't as secure as iPhones which need need Apple ID and password to reset. Great find BTW. iPads seem to live forever, just that the older models may be considered unusably slow.

        • tunzafun001 on 16/09/2024 - 23:34

          I have Mojave. Is that good enough? and just want it for Reading Eggs and Bluey (default). Should do that?

          If it helps, I looked it up and it's an iPad 2 wifi/3G. Has the old shape big plug at the bottom.

          • sumyungguy on 16/09/2024 - 23:47

            @tunzafun001: Your MacBook can run Catalina, the successor to Mojave. If you don't have a 30-pin connector you may be able to find one at an op shop. Reading Eggs requires iPadOS 13 or later. iPad 2 can only run iPadOS 9

  • will05 on 16/09/2024 - 22:12
    +5

    someone's trash is yours’s treasure
    will make for a happy 4-year-old ——> absolutely, in fact kids perceive the "significance of recycle and reuse" which is inspiring itself.
    there are lot of videos on YouTube to reset the passcode - http://surl.li/xblmvx
    also, Kmart or big w always have iPad cases on sale so those kids’ gadgets last longer.
    Good luck with setting up Dad :)

    • tunzafun001 on 17/09/2024 - 00:01
      +3

      Cheers mate, I'll get her to help me go through the process of setting it up. All that subliminal learning. She already gets my multimeter out when her star light batteries go flat, and she got given a non working talking bear, that we "did surgery on' and fault tested together and got it working….I regret that day ; ) But yeah, in her world, everything is worth having a go at fixing. Cheers for the Kmart tip. If it works, she can do some chores for some "dollar bux' and we will go chose a cover.

  • OMGJL on 16/09/2024 - 22:16
    +3

    depends….

    if it was really….REALLY old, wipe it and you'll be able to use it again, but it's gonna be too old and won't perform any good at all.

    if it was not logged on with an Apple ID, then wipe it you'll be able to use it, but I doubt that's gonna happen.

    chance that you'll end up with a working tablet is very slim.

    BTW the latest iPad that comes with 16G capacity AFAIK is iPad Air 2 (released in 2014) and some early models of the iPad Mini 4.

    it'll be really old and not usable by now anyway (of course that depends on the level of tolerance too)

  • JimmyF on 17/09/2024 - 08:33
    +1

    Just buy a new device, Android tablets are cheap enough.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join