Does your iPad require a password to use it? This might be enough to keep your preschooler from being able to play with it. Unfortunately, there’s a chance your kid will tap too much and lock you out of your device.
Evan Osnos is a staff writer for The New Yorker. On April 6, 2019, he posted a tweet that likely caught the attention of fellow parents (and also of people who are tech savvy). The tweet said: “Uh, this looks fake, but, alas, it’s our iPad today after 3-year-old tried (repeatedly) to unlock. Ideas?
The tweet includes a photo of the iPad. It said: “iPad is disabled. Try again in 25,536,442 minutes.” WFSB reported that those minutes add up to 48 years.
Apple has information for people who have forgotten the passcode on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (or if their device was disabled).
“If you enter the wrong passcode on an iOS device too many times, you’ll be locked out and a message will say that your device is disabled. At this point, the data on your device has been erased. To recover the use of your device, you’ll need to remove your passcode by performing a restore.”
This didn’t work for Evan, who told New York Daily News: “On Twitter, people have suggested various fixes but the consensus seems to be that we’re using an old operating system that won’t let us restart fresh from iTunes.”
Three days later, Evan Osnos posted an update on Twitter: “Update on toddler-iPad-lock-out: Got it into DFU mode (don’t hold down the sleep/power button for too long or you end up in recovery). Now restoring. Thanks to those who shared advice!”
Parents of preschoolers and toddlers should take a lesson from this unfortunate incident. Make sure your devices are far out of reach of your children!
Related Articles at Families.com:
- Things to Consider About Toddlers and Tablets
- Why Kids and Smartphones Don’t Mix
- How to Unplug Your Kids and Encourage Family Communication