iPad Unavailable Security Lockout? How to Fix It – 4 Ways

Are you seeing the “iPad unavailable” security lockout screen or message, and want to know how to fix it? Even if you see the iPad “Security Lockout” error black screen, it’s actually the same issue as the iPhone Unavailable lockout error with the newly updated iOS 15.2 or later.

On iPadOS 15.2 Or later, when you enter many wrong passcode attempts to your iPhone, it will show you the “iPad Unavailable/Security Lockout, try again X minutes” error, with or without “press home to unlock” on a locked or black screen.

In this article, we will show you how to fix the iPad Unavailable/Security Lockout. All iPad models’ unavailable messages including iPad, iPad mini, iPad Pro, and iPad Air can be resolved in this tutorial.

iPad says iPad Unavailable/Security Lockout Message on Screen, What does it Mean?

When your iPad says iPad Unavailable or security lockout, it means you can’t reach all contents and settings on your device. Your iPad is disabled to use now.

Even if you see the iPad Unavailable with the “Press home to unlock” option, it actually won’t work when you press the home to unlock it. Your iPad is locked out.

If it let you try agin in X minutes, you can try another passcode when the time is up. If there is no timer to wait, you should unlock it immediately to use it. The situation is usually caused by a forgotten passcode & several failed passcode attempts.

You can refer to the following solutions to fix “iPad Unavailable” or “Security Lockout” when you forgot the passcode.

To learn more about the meaning of iPad Unavailable Screen, please refer to What Does iPad Unavailable Mean.

Part 1. Tap Erase iPad on the “iPad Unavailable try again in 15 minutes” or subsequent screens – Apple Created New Way.

Apple has updated the security-locked iPhone resetting process a lot easier than before with Erase iPad option directly on the device. After entering 8 failed passcode attempts in a row, it will show you the iPad Unavailable Try again in 15 minutes with Erase iPad option. However, through the tests, the Erase iPad option is not always there for everyone for the slightly different iPadOS 15 or later versions.

This is a reverse-thinking solution that works for some people, but not for everyone. However, you can try to check if it works for you. It’s an easy and free way to erase a locked iPad(It’s an updated option released by Apple since iPadOS 15.2, but not widely released to l people for different iOS versions or iPhone models. The specific reason is unknown).

If you only see the iPad Unavailable/Security Lockout in 1 minute or 5 minutes when you forget the passcode, just enter more wrong passcode attempts to arouse the iPhone Unavailable try again in 15 minutes screen. There is a possibility that you will see the Erase iPad option there on the iPad screen directly.

There are some people who will see an “Erase iPad” button on the unavailable black screen when the try again time is up to 15 minutes, if you still do not see the “Erase iPad” option when the iPad says “iPad unavailable try again in 15 minutes”, you cannot use this solution. The Security Lockout or iPad Unavailable message shows up alternatively in a group of lockout screens, it’s very common. Don’t worry, Erase it on the device using Erase iPad whatever the sayings are.

Check if you meet the requirements to use the method.

• Tap Erase iPad. Then tap Erase iPad again to confirm.
• Enter your Apple ID password to sign out of your Apple ID on the iPad.
• Tap Erase iPad to delete all of your data and settings.
• When your iPad restarts, follow the onscreen instructions to set up your iPad again or restore the data from your backups. And set a new passcode.

Part 2. Connect your iPad to Your Computer to Fix it. – Apple Way

To fix an unavailable iPad for free, you can plug your iPad into your computer with a USB cable. Why does nothing happen when you connect your unavailable iPad to your computer? It actually is. The lockout iPad won’t be detected by your computer Finder or iTunes until you put it into recovery mode. For recovery mode button operations, read the following steps:

• On your iPad with Face ID (Such as iPad Pro): Press and hold the Top button and either volume 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.
• On your iPad with the Home button(some iPad Air, iPad mini, or iPad ): 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.

When you put your iPad successfully to recovery mode, click the Restore option on the pop-up window of your Finder or iTunes app. Soon, the Finder or iTunes app will download and install the latest iOS version for you.

If the downloading process takes longer than 15 minutes and your iPad will exit the recovery mode, you simply need to put it into recovery mode again before clicking the restore option.

When your iPhone restart set it up again. then you can retrieve your data by restoring it from iTunes backup or iCloud backup.

Part 3. Install and Use Third-Party Software on Your Computer to Unlock it.

The SD iPhone unlocker software is our Pick to fix the iPad unavailable lockout problem.

Free download the Windows version or macOS version of the software for preparation.

1. Open the app. Click Unlock Screen Passcode.

2. Connect your unavailable iPad to your computer with a USB cable.

Follows Snapshot directions on the Screen to put in your unavailable or security lockout iPad to recovery mode.

3. Download The firmware package to fix The app will show you your iPad information. Confirm it and download the proper version for your iPad. The Algorithm of the app will automatically match the Firmware and verify it.

4. Unlock it.

Click unlock add enter 000000 to confirm it. Wait for the iPad to restart. then set up your iPad later.

There are not any available measures to back up a disabled or unavailable iPad. The only way to recover your data is to restore it from backups. The iPad unavailable messages or issues are Probably the severe problems threatening your data safety. Keeping a good habit of data Backup is significantly important to everyone.

Video Tutorial:

 Part 4. “iPad Unavailable”？Erase the Unavailable iPad on Your iPhone.

When your iPad says iPad unavailable, check if the lockout iPad meets the following requirements.

Before iPad lockout, you’ve turned on Find My iPad on it. And make sure the iPad is online.

Don’t worry If you forgot about those two requirements. If you can check if your iPad is on the map of the Find My app on your iPhone or on the devices list. If it’s there, then you can erase it via Find My.

1. Grab the iPhone that signed in to the same iCloud account as your unavailable iPad. Locate Find my app on the iPhone and open it.
2. Tap Devices. Tap your iPad. Scroll down on the page, and tap Erase this device. Enter your iCloud password. Next and the next. Done.

Hooray. You should fix your unavailable iPad successfully.

Remembering your password and keeping regular backups are two hard lessons for anyone who cares about the data.

Related: How to Put an Unavailable/Disabled iPad into Recovery Mode.

You may also want to read our tutorials on iPhone Unavailable vs. iPhone is Disabled, Forgot iPad Passcode, iPhone Unavailable, Security Lockout on iPhone, Apple ID or iCloud Sign Out is Greyed Out, iPhone Disabled Bypass, How to Reset iPad without Passcode or Computer, iPad is Disabled and Won’t Connect to iTunes and How to Transfer Photos from Window PC to iPad.