3-year-old repeatedly enters wrong password, locks dad’s iPad until 2067

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Kids can be great at technology — but they can also be a wildcard, and lead to problems like this one.

This past weekend, a journalist at The New Yorker put out a tweet, asking the Twitterverse for help after his toddler managed to lock his tablet until 2067.

“Uh, this looks fake but, alas, it’s our iPad today after 3-year-old tried (repeatedly) to unlock. Ideas?” Evan Osnos tweeted.

The tweet included a picture of the iPad screen, saying the device was disabled. The message on the screen also said “try again in 25,536,442 minutes.”

That’s 48 years.

For those who don’t know, Apple devices have a security feature that kicks in whenever someone repeatedly types the wrong password. The more times an incorrect password is entered, the longer the lockout time.

Osnos received several replies to his tweet for help.

One person suggested he make it a gift for the child’s 50th birthday.

Another joked that he should “Put it in a bag of rice.”

On Monday, Osnos tweeted an update, saying he was able to get the device into DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode and the iPad was being restored.

“Update on toddler-iPad-lock-out: Got it into DFU mode (don’t hold down the sleep/power button too long or you end up in recovery). Now restoring. Thanks to those who shared advice!”

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