how to restore ipad without updating to newest version

[shannnnnnnn]

I have a 3 year old ipad. It is having problems. I want to erase content but it's asking for a passcode. The passcode for the lockscreen PLUS others I always use does not work. I set this passcode over 3 years ago and have no idea what it is.

I want to restore to factory settings and fix this but every option I am presented with says "the newest version of iPad software will be installed"

How to i restore to default settings without upgrading? Upgrading iOS has ruined every single device I've ever owned - i actually want to use this iPad not render it useless and obsolete?

Help?

 

[gobikerider]

I have a 3 year old ipad. It is having problems. I want to erase content but it's asking for a passcode. The passcode for the lockscreen PLUS others I always use does not work. I set this passcode over 3 years ago and have no idea what it is.

I want to restore to factory settings and fix this but every option I am presented with says "the newest version of iPad software will be installed"

How to i restore to default settings without upgrading? Upgrading iOS has ruined every single device I've ever owned - i actually want to use this iPad not render it useless and obsolete?

Help?

Impossible but wait a couple weeks for iOS 11.2 to release then restore and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Altis]

Have you tried Settings > General > Erase all Content and Settings ?

Make sure to do a backup first if you intend to restore it later.

 

[shannnnnnnn]

Have you tried Settings > General > Erase all Content and Settings ?

Make sure to do a backup first if you intend to restore it later.

Passcode required...

 

[flaubert]

I believe that your only way to clear the passcode is to accept latest firmware, as outlined here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204306

 

[shannnnnnnn]

Impossible but wait a couple weeks for iOS 11.2 to release then restore and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Why? Have they designed it to operate on older devices?

I'm not averse to upgrading the software but have always found - once you get 2 versions away from the release version, the hardware can't cope and simple actions like opening an app take 4-5 times longer than it used to.

From experience, after an upgrade a few years back, my iphone started taking 10 seconds just to unlock and 30 seconds just to open the messages app... Effectively rendering the iphone useless, unusable and no more than an expensive tea coaster..
[doublepost=1511909201][/doublepost]

I believe that your only way to clear the passcode is to accept latest firmware, as outlined here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204306

Was hoping there might be a guru with a workaround... I guess not ... I really don't like Apple!

 

[satchmo]

I have a 3 year old ipad. It is having problems. I want to erase content but it's asking for a passcode. The passcode for the lockscreen PLUS others I always use does not work. I set this passcode over 3 years ago and have no idea what it is.

I want to restore to factory settings and fix this but every option I am presented with says "the newest version of iPad software will be installed"

How to i restore to default settings without upgrading? Upgrading iOS has ruined every single device I've ever owned - i actually want to use this iPad not render it useless and obsolete?

Help?

Are you referring to the passcode it asks when you uncheck 'Encrypt local backup' or 'Change password' in iTunes?
I came across this today, and was able to bypass it by doing this:
General> Reset >Reset all Setting (not Erase All Content and Settings)

 

[BugeyeSTI]

You shouldn’t be upset with Apple. Your situation is self inflicted, the iPad is working as designed. The passcode is there to prevent anyone else but you from erasing all your data. The only option you’ve left yourself is restoring to the latest firmare offered for your model iPad.

 

[RationalUser25081991]

You shouldn’t be upset with Apple. Your situation is self inflicted, the iPad is working as designed. The passcode is there to prevent anyone else but you from erasing all your data. The only option you’ve left yourself is restoring to the latest firmare offered for your model iPad.

I made an account JUST to reply for this. He has every right to be upset with Apple. He can't restore his iPad without updating it. It's one thing to lose your pin and have to lose your data, that's undesrtanadble, it's another to not be able to restore a device without updating it. If I don't have internet access I can't update an iPad I paid hundreds of dollars for? No, apple did this for a reason. Apple is currently being sued for knowngly and maliciously slowing down older devices with new updates beyond just the natural life cycle of their devices, so guess what, we have every reason to not want to update our locked devices when wiping them.

Edit: For anyone else who comes here from google to see if there is a solution, there is, though it will void your warranty. What you have to do is find an archived version of the iOS installed on your iDevice. If you don't know what version that is, find out which came with it originally, and just download all of them until when you lost access, or the latest version, and just try them all. You can manually flash iOS via itunes and it will restore your iPad to that version. Most later version of iOS do not let you downgrade, some do, though only if they are a minor revision, however if you use the one already isntalled it should work. If all else fails, at least on older devices, you can litterally use someone else's fresh backup to restore onto your device. Just a reminder that this is NOT illegal, it is your device and at least according to US law you may do anything you want to it. Apple lost that battle in court when they tried to sue indeviduals for jailbreaking iOS. The only thing they can do is void your warranty for breaking their TOS. In my opinion if you are already locked out of your device and your only option is to void your warranty or to update to an OS version that will effectively brick your device without the ability to downgrade forcing you spend more money on a device you don't need because your existing one serves your purposes just fine, the choice is a no brainer.

 

[gobikerider]

I have a 3 year old ipad. It is having problems. I want to erase content but it's asking for a passcode. The passcode for the lockscreen PLUS others I always use does not work. I set this passcode over 3 years ago and have no idea what it is.

I want to restore to factory settings and fix this but every option I am presented with says "the newest version of iPad software will be installed"

How to i restore to default settings without upgrading? Upgrading iOS has ruined every single device I've ever owned - i actually want to use this iPad not render it useless and obsolete?

Help?

Upgrading an iPad Air 2 (3 years old) to iOS 11 will not affect perfomance, honestly the Air 2 has remained snappy over the past 3 years.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I made an account JUST to reply for this. He has every right to be upset with Apple. He can't restore his iPad without updating it. It's one thing to lose your pin and have to lose your data, that's undesrtanadble, it's another to not be able to restore a device without updating it. If I don't have internet access I can't update an iPad I paid hundreds of dollars for? No, apple did this for a reason. Apple is currently being sued for knowngly and maliciously slowing down older devices with new updates beyond just the natural life cycle of their devices, so guess what, we have every reason to not want to update our locked devices when wiping them.

Edit: For anyone else who comes here from google to see if there is a solution, there is, though it will void your warranty. What you have to do is find an archived version of the iOS installed on your iDevice. If you don't know what version that is, find out which came with it originally, and just download all of them until when you lost access, or the latest version, and just try them all. You can manually flash iOS via itunes and it will restore your iPad to that version. Most later version of iOS do not let you downgrade, some do, though only if they are a minor revision, however if you use the one already isntalled it should work. If all else fails, at least on older devices, you can litterally use someone else's fresh backup to restore onto your device. Just a reminder that this is NOT illegal, it is your device and at least according to US law you may do anything you want to it. Apple lost that battle in court when they tried to sue indeviduals for jailbreaking iOS. The only thing they can do is void your warranty for breaking their TOS. In my opinion if you are already locked out of your device and your only option is to void your warranty or to update to an OS version that will effectively brick your device without the ability to downgrade forcing you spend more money on a device you don't need because your existing one serves your purposes just fine, the choice is a no brainer.

Sounds like you don’t understand how iOS backup works. Backups don’t store a copy of the OS only data. Plus anything you find online doesn’t matter, if Apple isn’t signing the version of iOS your trying to install it won’t happen. If your jailbroke, you have more options. Thanks for joining just to reply to my post, I’m honored....

 

[RationalUser25081991]

Sounds like you don’t understand how iOS backup works. Backups don’t store a copy of the OS only data. Plus anything you find online doesn’t matter, if Apple isn’t signing the version of iOS your trying to install it won’t happen. If your jailbroke, you have more options. Thanks for joining just to reply to my post, I’m honored....

Editing this replay because it did fail. Which sucks. Apperantly this method was patched at some point. It looked like it succeded last night. Guess it's time to try it. I will be back if this ipad is basically bricked.