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ContactHow to Restore iPad When it Is Disabled (3 Best Methods)
Samuel Spenser Published on March 20, 2025Recover Data3-min reading
If your iPhone or iPad is disabled due to multiple incorrect passcode attempts, you won’t be able to access it. Fortunately, you can restore a disabled iPhone or iPad using several methods, including iCloud, iTunes, or Finder. However, bear in mind that restoring a disabled iPhone or iPad will inevitably erase your device. Therefore, wish you have a backup of your iOS device. Anyway, keep reading to learn how to restore iPad (iPhone) when it is disabled in 3 ways.
In this article:
Part 1: How to Restore Disabled iPhone or iPad with iCloud
iCloud is not just a data backup and restore feature for iOS devices, it can also manage your devices. If you've enabled Find My on your iPhone or iPad (generally it is turned on), iCloud Find can easily restore your iPhone or iPad. After that, you just need to log into your iCloud account, which is also your Apple account, to access your iOS device.
How to Restore a Disabled iPhone/iPad with iCloud
Go to the official webpage of iCloud Find and log into your iCloud account, which is also your Apple ID and password.
Then, you will see your iOS devices combined with your iCloud account in the All Devices tab, including your iPhone, iPad, iPod, iWatch, etc. Choose the disabled iPhone or iPad you want to restore.
In the new window, you should click the Erase button to restore the disabled iPhone or iPad to factory settings. All content and settings will be erased on this device.
Then, iCloud Find will factory reset the disabled iPhone. You can boot it to set it up again. Bear in mind that you also have to enter your Apple ID and password to remove the iCloud activation lock.
Part 2: How to Restore Disabled iPhone or iPad with iTunes
How do I restore a disabled iPad or iPhone when iCloud Find My is not turned on? In that case, there's still a method to restore your disabled iPhone or iPad - Recovery Mode. You can enter your disabled iOS device to Recovery Mode first, and then restore the disabled iPhone or iPad with iTunes on Windows (or Finder on macOS).
Enter Recovery Mode on Disabled iPhone or iPad
Ensure that you have iTunes or Finder installed on your Windows or Mac computer. Connect your disabled iPhone or iPad to your computer with a USB cable and launch iTunes or Finder.
For iPad or iPhone (except for iPhone 7 series and SE 1st) without a Home button: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button, and then press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then, keep pressing the Power button until you see the iTunes screen appear.
For iPhone 7 series: Keep pressing the Volume Down and the Power buttons until you see the iTunes screen come up.
For iPhone 6 series or earlier (including SE 1) and iPad with a Home button: Keep pressing the Power and Home buttons until you see the iTunes screen come up.
Restore the Disabled iPhone or iPad
Whether on iTunes or Finder, a window will appear, saying there's a problem on your iPhone or iPad. You should choose Restore rather than Update. Then, iTunes will restore your disabled iPhone or iPad.
Part 3: How to Recover Data After Restoring Disabled iPhone/iPad
Although you've learned how to restore a disabled iPad/iPhone to factory settings, you will lose all data if you have no iCloud or iTunes backup. In that case, you should not miss imyPass iPhone Data Recovery. This program can scan your iPhone or iPad to restore all permanently deleted data and files even without a previous backup, including messages, contacts, photos, videos, app data, etc.
Download and install imyPass iPhone Data Recovery and launch it on your Windows or Mac computer.
Click the Start Scan button on the main interface to scan your iOS device to search for all lost and existing files.
This program will scan your device. You can see lost files are found during the scanning process. You can choose your desired files. For example, you can restore email on iPhone. Then, click the Recover button to recover your desired files.
Conclusion
How do I restore a disabled iPad? You can use iCloud Find to erase the device to restore it quickly. If Find My is not turned on, you can enter Recovery Mode on your device and use iTunes or Finder to restore your disabled iPhone or iPad. If you haven't backed up your device, you can use imyPass iPhone Data Recovery to easily recover all data on your iPhone or iPad.
Samuel Spenser, a senior editor from imyPass, is an expert on password unlocking and recovery. He has more than 3-year experience in writing tutorials about password recovery for Windows.
