Bought ipad on ebay, can't figure out lock code

finbarqs

Diamond Member
Feb 16, 2005
3,617
2
81
I just purchased an iPad off ebay, and it has a lock code on it. I can't contact the guy for anything, and now I'm just trying to hard reset this ipad. I've tried the "hold the sleep button" and the "Home" button for 10 seconds, but it just comes up to the same lock screen code (assuming that it needs the code to hard reset)

Of course, I'm not the original computer. Is this apple's way of copy protection? Or is there a way where I can hard reset this ipad?
 

Ka0t1x

Golden Member
Jan 23, 2004
1,724
0
71
Plug it up to iTunes and then click "Restore" it will start it back at factory settings with the latest firmware.
 

sjwaste

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2000
8,757
12
81
Ha, congratulations, you bought a stolen ipad? Does plugging it into itunes show any of the owner's info, and does it match the seller's?

I don't know, I'd feel the need to report that to Ebay if it were obviously stolen.
 

finbarqs

Diamond Member
Feb 16, 2005
3,617
2
81
figured it out.... I need to put the ipad into "recovery mode"... then all is good. Yeah...I'm pretty sure it was stolen..
 

Narse

Moderator<br>Computer Help
Moderator
Mar 14, 2000
3,826
1
81
figured it out.... I need to put the ipad into "recovery mode"... then all is good. Yeah...I'm pretty sure it was stolen..

Shouldn't you report that to ebay etc instead of doing a restore and making it more difficult to find the owner?
 

sourceninja

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2005
8,805
65
91
Especially report it because you have said on a public forum you think it is stolen. Last thing you want is for the police to find the guy, track you down, see you knew it was stolen and charge you with possession.
 

Patranus

Diamond Member
Apr 15, 2007
9,280
0
0
Not to mention that every time you connect to an Apple service your Apple ID is associated with a stolen serial number.

Not sure if Apple does help the authorities or not but it would sure be an easy way to get caught.
 

finbarqs

Diamond Member
Feb 16, 2005
3,617
2
81
the reason why I think it was stolen is because the guy is not contacting me back. Those are the only assumptions I have. I don't have hard evidence it's stolen, but that's what I suspect it to be.

#1 i'm going to report this to ebay regarding my suspicion of purchasing stolen goods.
#2 i don't want to be out an ipad, but this is the right thing to do, and I did pay a lot of money for it. (64GB wifi)
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
45
91
Was it just the bare iPad or did it at least come with stuff (charger, cable, box even?). If it didn't come with stuff, then it has a higher likelihood of being stolen I would imagine.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
the reason why I think it was stolen is because the guy is not contacting me back. Those are the only assumptions I have. I don't have hard evidence it's stolen, but that's what I suspect it to be.

#1 i'm going to report this to ebay regarding my suspicion of purchasing stolen goods.
#2 i don't want to be out an ipad, but this is the right thing to do, and I did pay a lot of money for it. (64GB wifi)

You should be able to call apple to verify if it's been reported stolen first
 

sjwaste

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2000
8,757
12
81
Not a bad idea to check if its been reported stolen. If it is, send it back to the actual owner (if possible to ID) and file a dispute with Ebay. I've heard stories of them finding in favor of the buyer for much more trivial shit, so this shouldn't be too hard.

Pain in the ass to do the right thing, but there's something to be said for it.
 

KeypoX

Diamond Member
Aug 31, 2003
3,655
0
71
the reason why I think it was stolen is because the guy is not contacting me back. Those are the only assumptions I have. I don't have hard evidence it's stolen, but that's what I suspect it to be.

#1 i'm going to report this to ebay regarding my suspicion of purchasing stolen goods.
#2 i don't want to be out an ipad, but this is the right thing to do, and I did pay a lot of money for it. (64GB wifi)

The longer you wait the less likely you are to get your money back from ebay. Ebay loves to screw people.
 

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
0
0
sjwaste said:
Pain in the ass to do the right thing, but there's something to be said for it.

Tell that to all of the people running Hackintoshes and Jailbroken iPhones and discussing them here...
 

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
0
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Whats your point? Nothing illegal bout jailbreaking..the hackintosh part i dont know.

Technically you're right, but the part I quoted said "the right thing" which is a moral decision. Just like using a no cd crack on a game you already bought, but I doubt the mods here would let that fly...
 

Kelvrick

Lifer
Feb 14, 2001
18,422
5
81
Just my experience, but my house was broken into a month ago and a few days later, we got a call from some guy saying he was from Apple and saying that they found an ipod that was registered to my wife. Gave us a case number and contact at the police department handling it.

Still don't have it back since they're using it as evidence in a case (maybe more of my stuff as well?).
 

sjwaste

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2000
8,757
12
81
Tell that to all of the people running Hackintoshes and Jailbroken iPhones and discussing them here...

What's illegal about those, first off? And second, do you actually put those in the same category as stolen goods?
 

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
0
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What's illegal about those, first off? And second, do you actually put those in the same category as stolen goods?

If you jailbreak it and put it on a carrier other than AT&T, yes, you just stole a contract from them and cost them money. And if you install a Hackintosh on a homebuilt PC then you just cost Apple the hardware cost they'd normally get from that sale, so yes again.

But my pet peeve is really just that talk about both freely is just fine here, when I know the AT mods would lock any thread talking about pirated software torrents, no-cd cracks, etc which is a huge double-standard in my eyes.
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
45
91
If you jailbreak it and put it on a carrier other than AT&T, yes, you just stole a contract from them and cost them money.

If I jailbreak/unlock my unsubsidized iPhone that I bought secondhand from my friend, then I am not taking a contract away from AT&T (because I don't have one) nor am I taking money away from Apple (as they have already been paid)

And if you install a Hackintosh on a homebuilt PC then you just cost Apple the hardware cost they'd normally get from that sale, so yes again.

If I buy a copy of Leopard to install onto my PowerBook, then I have again already paid Apple for the hardware and have just paid them for the OS. They sell the OS separately, so don't tell me that just by buying the OS that a person is costing Apple a sale. And regardless of any other ethical or moral issues that you have, a great deal of people hackintosh because the $700 Mac Mini is not powerful enough, and the $1200 iMac has one too many screens for their existing hardware.

In my case, i was upgrading my desktop anyway, so I decided to give hackintoshing a try, and it is very nice to have just one computer that can boot both OSes, especially considering that my desk isn't big enough to fit an iMac and up until recently the Mac Mini wasn't exactly super-awesome.

But my pet peeve is really just that talk about both freely is just fine here, when I know the AT mods would lock any thread talking about pirated software torrents, no-cd cracks, etc which is a huge double-standard in my eyes.

Your point is valid in that the legality of Hackintoshing is a little vague, and most other legally dubious things are verboten on the forum, so the apparent double standard can be bothersome, but have you taken it up with Aphex, or the forum overlords?
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,570
10,203
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And if you install a Hackintosh on a homebuilt PC then you just cost Apple the hardware cost they'd normally get from that sale, so yes again.

But my pet peeve is really just that talk about both freely is just fine here, when I know the AT mods would lock any thread talking about pirated software torrents, no-cd cracks, etc which is a huge double-standard in my eyes.

If hackintoshing is stealing, then so is overclocking. After all, you're "stealing" a sale of a more expensive/faster processor, no?

Then again, this is America (well, supposedly), and generally, once you buy it, you can do what you want with it.
 

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
0
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If I jailbreak/unlock my unsubsidized iPhone that I bought secondhand from my friend, then I am not taking a contract away from AT&T (because I don't have one) nor am I taking money away from Apple (as they have already been paid)

Well you still kinda are, because the iPhone is supposed to be tied to AT&T. If Apple didn't have an exclusive agreement with them you'd have a point though.

If I buy a copy of Leopard to install onto my PowerBook, then I have again already paid Apple for the hardware and have just paid them for the OS. They sell the OS separately, so don't tell me that just by buying the OS that a person is costing Apple a sale. And regardless of any other ethical or moral issues that you have, a great deal of people hackintosh because the $700 Mac Mini is not powerful enough, and the $1200 iMac has one too many screens for their existing hardware.

If you buy OS X for Apple hardware you already have that's fine, that's the whole reason why Apple sells the software by itself. But the license says it can only be used on Apple's own hardware, so hackintoshing is a license violation and robs Apple of the hardware revenue. If they don't have a machine that doesn't meet your requirements, that's too bad but it doesn't give you the right to violate the agreement you supposedly agreed to when you bought the software.

In my case, i was upgrading my desktop anyway, so I decided to give hackintoshing a try, and it is very nice to have just one computer that can boot both OSes, especially considering that my desk isn't big enough to fit an iMac and up until recently the Mac Mini wasn't exactly super-awesome.

Casual license violations are still license violations.

VirtualLarry said:
If hackintoshing is stealing, then so is overclocking. After all, you're "stealing" a sale of a more expensive/faster processor, no?

I'm not really sure of my opinion on that since I think overclocking is stupid anyway since you're running the hardware you just bought out of spec. But there's no rate limiters on the CPUs, Intel isn't actively trying to stop you from overclocking and I don't think the CPU comes with a use license that says you can't overclock them. If they did, then I'd agree with you.