iPad issues after factory reset

So, I just picked up this tablet (it's about a year old) iPad from a buddy of mine, and even though I went ahead and wiped everything back to factory settings, we're hitting a total brick wall trying to actually get it up and running.
Everything seemed fine at first—once I turned it on and picked my language, I hopped onto my home Wi-Fi without any hiccups at all.
But then, this screen pops up out of nowhere: Enter your unlock PIN or sign in with your Google account
I tried being a good citizen and entered my Gmail address along with my password, but instead of letting me in, it just threw this error message right in my face:
"This device has been reset. To continue, sign in with a Google account that was previously synced to this device." And honestly, we're just stuck staring at it.
It’s kind of wild that we can't find a way to make this thing usable after all that.
Does anyone here have a clue what's going on under the hood or maybe some magic trick to fix this?

Nancy Thompson8 said:So, I just picked up this tablet (it's about a year old) iPad from a buddy of mine, and even though I went ahead and wiped everything back to factory settings, we're hitting a total brick wall trying to actually get it up and running.
Everything seemed fine at first—once I turned it on and picked my language, I hopped onto my home Wi-Fi without any hiccups at all.
But then, this screen pops up out of nowhere: Enter your unlock PIN or sign in with your Google account
I tried being a good citizen and entered my Gmail address along with my password, but instead of letting me in, it just threw this error message right in my face:
"This device has been reset. To continue, sign in with a Google account that was previously synced to this device." And honestly, we're just stuck staring at it.
It’s kind of wild that we can't find a way to make this thing usable after all that.
Does anyone here have a clue what's going on under the hood or maybe some magic trick to fix this?

First off, you're going to have to perform a hard reset through iOS and then figure out a way to bypass that security lock.

The reality is that this is an incredibly difficult problem to solve; if we tried to go back and forth on this, we'd be here all day because the solution varies wildly from one model to the next. In my opinion, it would be much more efficient to simply find a professional who specializes in unlocking hardware like this.

By the way, does that iPad actually have a SIM card slot?

PS: The easiest, most painless option is to just call whoever gave you the tablet and ask them for the email and password they used to set it up.😉

darkcyclist92 said:First off, you're going to have to perform a hard reset through iOS and then figure out a way to bypass that security lock.

The reality is that this is an incredibly difficult problem to solve; if we tried to go back and forth on this, we'd be here all day because the solution varies wildly from one model to the next. In my opinion, it would be much more efficient to simply find a professional who specializes in unlocking hardware like this.

By the way, does that iPad actually have a SIM card slot?

PS: The easiest, most painless option is to just call whoever gave you the tablet and ask them for the email and password they used to set it up.😉

After edit:

That will unlock the device, and once you have access, you just need to go into the settings, add your own email and password, and wipe out the previous owner's credentials entirely.

Man, I’m having such a hard time getting a hold of the previous owner, which is a total bummer because this iPad is practically brand new—hasn't even been out in the world for a full year yet.
But honestly, there's one thing that's just totally tripping me up; why is it even asking for this? From everything I've gathered, whenever you do a factory reset on any tablet, it shouldn't be demanding the old user's login info like this.

This one had that protection turned on.

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If everything is playing out exactly the way you're describing, I honestly don't see the point in shelling out my hard-earned cash to hire someone to fix it for me right now,
It’s basically like buying a brand new car just to realize the engine is missing; there's just zero benefit in holding onto it if it isn't actually doing anything for you.

Man, he really should have closed out his account before deleting everything. Without access to his profile, you're basically stuck...

Nancy Thompson8 said:Man, I’m having such a hard time getting a hold of the previous owner, which is a total bummer because this iPad is practically brand new—hasn't even been out in the world for a full year yet.
But honestly, there's one thing that's just totally tripping me up; why is it even asking for this? From everything I've gathered, whenever you do a factory reset on any tablet, it shouldn't be demanding the old user's login info like this.

That is simply Google's anti-theft protection. You aren't wrong that this wasn't an issue in the past, but for the last five years, every single iOS-based device has had this security layer in place.

Without those specific login details, the device remains completely locked, and I mean locked down tight.

Man, I feel so bad about this, especially since the tablet is basically brand new—it’s only been about a year and it's sat there pretty much untouched
I actually reached out to the previous owner to see if we could sort it out, but they're totally clueless on how to bypass the lock screen
It's one of those situations where they just can't remember a single thing they typed in when they first set it up back in the day

Nancy Thompson8 said:Man, I feel so bad about this, especially since the tablet is basically brand new—it’s only been about a year and it's sat there pretty much untouched
I actually reached out to the previous owner to see if we could sort it out, but they're totally clueless on how to bypass the lock screen
It's one of those situations where they just can't remember a single thing they typed in when they first set it up back in the day

You didn't mention (or maybe I missed it) if you tried a hard reset? I don't mean just the standard factory reset through the menu, but a full hardware reset. You can find a few tutorials on YouTube explaining how to pull that off.
Also, have you thought about reaching out to Apple regarding this?
Don't tell me you're actually thinking about tossing the tablet.

Edit:
I don't own a tablet and I'm definitely not a tech expert, but there's someone in this video messing around with one that might help. Or just search for something similar on YouTube.

You’d basically need to log in using the previous owner's Google account on that iPad. Once you're in, you can just remove the account from the device settings. The issue here is that the former owner skipped that step, and since they didn't, a standard factory reset won't work—it just triggers that theft protection lockout.
Another option is attempting an FRP reset (Factory Reset Protection). There are some apps out there designed for this, but they usually cost money and honestly, there's no guarantee they'll actually work. Your other choice is to take it to a professional phone repair shop and pay them to handle it. They should be able to figure it out.

wiredcanyon94 said:You didn't mention (or maybe I missed it) if you tried a hard reset? I don't mean just the standard factory reset through the menu, but a full hardware reset. You can find a few tutorials on YouTube explaining how to pull that off.
Also, have you thought about reaching out to Apple regarding this?
Don't tell me you're actually thinking about tossing the tablet.

Edit:
I don't own a tablet and I'm definitely not a tech expert, but there's someone in this video messing around with one that might help. Or just search for something similar on YouTube.

Well, I went ahead and followed those instructions for the hard reset, but honestly, it’s the exact same story—nothing changed. It makes me wonder, though, isn't a hard reset supposed to wipe everything clean, including all those deep-seated system protections? It feels like it should be just like formatting a hard drive on a PC where everything gets scrubbed away completely.

Nancy Thompson8 said:Well, I went ahead and followed those instructions for the hard reset, but honestly, it’s the exact same story—nothing changed. It makes me wonder, though, isn't a hard reset supposed to wipe everything clean, including all those deep-seated system protections? It feels like it should be just like formatting a hard drive on a PC where everything gets scrubbed away completely.

That's because they built it that way on purpose. It's basically an anti-theft feature...

You’ve got a mountain of instructions here—do this, do that—but honestly, with all those workarounds and hacks, none of it is actually going to work. Might as well use this as a coaster for your beer.

So, the guys over at the repair shop just told me that getting the unlock done is going to cost $67
. Honestly, I’m sitting here staring at it, wondering if I should just bite the bullet and pay up or if I should just toss the whole thing in the trash and call it a day
. I'm really torn about it

Nancy Thompson8 said:So, the guys over at the repair shop just told me that getting the unlock done is going to cost $67
. Honestly, I’m sitting here staring at it, wondering if I should just bite the bullet and pay up or if I should just toss the whole thing in the trash and call it a day
. I'm really torn about it

Look, it’s a solid enough tablet to justify the cost. It makes sense to pay $67 for the unlock.

If all else fails, I suppose one could always try flashing some kind of custom ROM or perhaps an entirely different alternative operating system onto it. 🤷

Actually, maybe it might even be enough to just reflashthe device with a completely clean, stock ROM 🤔

Honestly, screw Google 😬