iPad is Disabled and Won’t Connect to iTunes Fixed

My iPad is disabled and won’t connect to iTunes. I don’t know what to do next to get into my locked iPad. by Timmy.

Once your iPad is disabled and won’t connect to iTunes if you forgot your iPad passcode(screen unlocking password) and your locked iPad shows you “iPad is disabled”, you may seek help from Apple official support. They will advise you to hook your disabled iPad to iTunes or computer via the Finder app, then put it into recovery mode to reset it to factory settings. Are there any other ways if your disabled iPad won’t connect to iTunes?

In that case, when your computer or iTunes won’t recognize your locked iPad or won’t recognize your locked iPad in recovery mode, what do you do then? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Yes. Here we provide you with the following three ways to fix the “iPad is disabled and won’t connect to iTunes” problem (including an extremely effective tool).

• Unlock it with Third-party software.
• Connect it to iTunes or Finder in Recovery Mode.
• Wipe it from iCloud Find My.

Whether it is a disabled iPad mini, iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro, no matter it is iPad 2/3/4/5th/6th/7th/8th generations, the following solutions work great to open your locked iPad.

What does it mean when your iPad says “iPad is disabled, connect to iTunes”?

You may sign in on your iPad but you don’t know what you’re supposed to do then and the iPad won’t do anything at all. The message reminds you that you are locked out of your iPad. The easiest way to get rid of the “iPad is disabled, try again in number (1,5,15,60) minute(s)” and open your iPad is to enter your correct passcode after waiting for the required minutes.

If you enter 5,7,8,9 incorrect entries in a row, the screen will show “iPad is disabled, try again in number (1,5,15,60) minute(s)” respectively. 10 incorrect wrong inputs in a row, you will see “iPad is Disabled, connect to iTunes”. This reminds you to fix the disabled iPad with iTunes.

What to do if My iPad says “iPad is disabled, connect to iTunes”, but can’t connect to iTunes, or connect to iTunes not working?

For iPad connecting to iTunes, nothing shows up or nothing happens, do apply option 1.

For iPad connecting to iTunes, the Restore button shows up check How to fix disabled iPad with iTunes.

Option 1: Fix “iPad is disabled” and Won’t Connect to iTunes via software (without passcode).

There are various kinds of software to fix your disabled iPad without a passcode. We choose a stable and smart one after many tests – SD iPhone Passcode Unlocker. It lets you factory reset your disabled iPad without a passcode in a few steps with intuitive directions on the screen. SD iPhone Passcode Unlocker also allows you to remove Apple ID and screen time passcode simply and straightly.

Firstly, you need to free download and install this app on your computer.

Step 1: Open the app and Go to the Wipe Passcode Module by clicking it.

Step 2: Connect the disabled iPad to your computer with the lightning to USB cable. Follow the on-screen instructions to put it into recovery mode.

Recovery Mode Button Operations. 

For your iPad models with Face ID.

Press and hold the Top button and either volume button until the power off slider appears. Turn off your iPad. Then connect your iPad to your computer while holding the Top button. Keep holding the Top button until you see the Recovery Mode screen.

For iPad models with Home Button.

Press and hold the Top button until the power off slider appears. Drag the slider to turn off your iPad. Then connect your iPad to your computer while holding the Home button. Keep holding the Home button until you see the Recovery Mode screen.

Recovery Mode successful Screen: support.apple.com/ipad/restore

Step 3: Start to download the firmware to unlock your disabled iPad. Confirm your iPad information and click Start.

Step 4: When the package to unlock the disabled iPad extraction is completed, enter “0000” and click Unlock.

Video Tutorial:

No Computer? Then you are unable to fix the disabled iPad won’t connect to iTunes problem with Option 1 and Option 2. If you don’t have a computer (laptop or desktop), you can borrow one or go to the local Apple Store or other service centers to resolve with Options 1 and 2. Here is also the option you can regain access to your disabled iPad without a computer via the method of Option 3.

If your iPad can be detected through recovery mode on iTunes, use option 2.

Option 2: Fix that iPad is Disabled and won’t connect to iTunes via Recovery Mode on iTunes/Finder.

For Windows users with iTunes, or users with Mac and iTunes, open iTunes. For Mac users with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later(Catalina or Big Sur), open Finder.

How to connect your disabled iPad to iTunes when you connect it nothing happens or not working, or not showing up in iTunes. Do enter your locked iPad in Recovery Mode.

Step 1: Put your iPad into Recovery Mode with buttons.

For iPad with FaceID:

Press and hold the Top button and volume down button until the power off slider appears. Drag the slider to turn off your device. Connect your device to your computer while holding the Top button. Keep holding the Top button until you see the recovery mode screen.

For iPad with Home button:

Press and hold the Side (or Top) button until the power off slider appears. Drag the slider to turn off your device. Connect your device to your computer while holding the Home button. Keep holding the Home button until you see the recovery mode screen.

Step 2: Locate your iPad on your computer.

On iTunes, view your iPad by clicking on the iPad’s icon in the upper-left corner of the iTunes window.

On Finder with macOS Catalina, find your iPad in the sidebar of the Finder windows. Click the iPad to select it.

Step 3: Once you see the screen with the option “Restore” or “Update”, choose “restore”. During the downloading software process, if your iPad exits recovery mode (more than 15 minutes), get it to that mode again.

What do you do when you plug it into your computer and it won’t fix iTunes? Turn to Option 2.

If you have two or more ios devices, try option 3.

Option 3: iPad is disabled and cannot connect to iTunes fix via Find My iPad(without a computer).

To use this method, you need to operate on another iPhone or iPad, or borrow an iOS device or use your friends’ iPhones.

To use this way, check if you have all these three conditions on your iPad before being locked.

• Find My iPad is enabled.
• Your iPad is connected to the Ethernet network.
• You know your Apple ID and the associate password.

1. Open iCloud.com on your borrowed mobile devices or iOS devices.
2. Enter your Apple ID credentials.
3. Trust the device by putting in a pin code on another authorized device if you have two-factor authentication. If you won’t have the two-factor authentication on your Apple ID, you can enter your iCloud account directly. If you are unable to authorize this borrowed device to get into your account, borrow a computer and use Option 1 or 2.
4. Choose Find My iPad once you logged in.
5. Choose Devices and locate your iPad.
6. Tap “Erase iPad” and confirm Erase by entering your Apple ID and password.

Wait for a moment or two. Later you will get your iPad opened by erasing all data. Set your device again, you can either set it up as a new iPad or restore it from your previous backups.

Frequently Asked Questions:

iPad is Disabled Connect to iTunes But I Know the Passcode.

Even if you know your passcode when the iPad is disabled connect to iTunes, it’s no use to save your data on the iPad. You can’t bypass a factory reset on your iPad to enable it. Apple has designed the feature when it comes here, you have to reset your iPad to factory default settings, and it won’t give you any chance to enter the correct passcode when saying “iPad is disabled connect to iTunes”.

Why do I need to factory reset to re-enable the disabled iPad, how to do that without erasing data on my iPad?

As the disabled iPad won’t be recognized by your computer and iTunes, it is hard to proceed with a backup when it’s disabled.  Without a backup, you will lose your photos, contacts, and other data on your iPad. Hopefully, you can restore from the previous backups after erasing all data.

How to avoid a disabled iPad?

Set up the auto-lock time for your iPad. Write down your password and keep it properly.

Wrap it up

When the iPad is Disabled and Won’t Connect to iTunes happened, some users may open the disabled iPad with this default recommended method with iTunes or Finder, while others may discover different scenarios and results, such as the scenario that iTunes won’t recognize the disabled iPhone with a laptop or computer, also the scenario that they may find that “iPad is disabled but don’t have a computer and it says connect to iTunes it won’t do anything”.  For the latter two situations and other circumstances in which your problems can’t be fixed by iTunes or Finder, it is worth trying the software method. iPad is disabled and won’t connect to iTunes? Enable it by factory resetting it with any one of the above methods. For your data, If that’s any consolation, restore your backup later from iTunes, iCloud, or other backup services or software.

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