Ipad password/passcode

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PilotDAR
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Ipad password/passcode

Post by PilotDAR »

Now I admit it, I'm an Ipad/Iphone/Ipod neophyte. My 14 year old daughter often provides very helpful technical assistance. Put literally, when it comes to those, I don't know what I'm talking about. I tend to think that I'll not ever catch up with advancing technology with these... However, I do use it for charts, so I gotta keep it working.

I had not used it recently (local flights only), so when I turned it on, I found that it had uploaded a software update, and restarted itself - annoying, but should not be incapacitating. However, when I touched the button to start it, I was asked to enter a passcode. I had never put a passcode on the screen. So I asked my darling daughter. "Use your Apple password" came the reply, with a possible slight eye roll... So, I looked up my page of passwords, which I rarely consult, as I don't really use Apple things much. I found the note to myself that not too long ago, Apple had required a change away from my typical four letter format, to a format containing upper and lower case letters, numbers, and a symbol. I entered it - no go, again, no go, ask daughter to enter, no go. It locks me out for 15 minutes. Hmmm...

I review my password list, that is my Apple password, and I have no others for that genre device. Older son says "use the four numbers you use to unlock the screen". Well, I've never used numbers to unlock the screen. Everyone has helpful ideas. But I now get one attempt every 15 minutes, so this is time consuming. The suggested Google search reveals that I can wipe the whole thing, and reset everything. It's much less useful to me wiped. I'm considering using the repair axe on it, it's faster.

Then, in the "nothing to lose now" mindset, I enter the password I do use on my notebook computer (four letters), and voila, the Ipad home screen. So the four letters I had selected for my notebook password are the passcode for my Ipad. Now I think I understand the nuance between a password and passcode in Italk.

So probably all you really sharp tech people are rolling your eyes, and thinking yeah yeah, blah blah... and you'd be quite right. But perhaps an old chart folder like me is similarly at risk of not knowing the difference in words and codes to unfold the charts in their Ipad. You are now armed to inform yourself better, and you can leave it being me looking like the one who does not understand the tech!
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EPR
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Re: Ipad password/passcode

Post by EPR »

My kid got locked out of his I-pad mini and it required a call to Apple tech to figure out the original email and password, bit of a pain in the you know what... but all is not lost.
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complexintentions
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Re: Ipad password/passcode

Post by complexintentions »

I appreciate the intent with which the original post was made, to try and offer help to someone in a similar situation. But it appears to subtly attribute blame to lack of familiarity of Apple and its products, which if I may gently point out, is not really valid.

Any electronic device, of any brand or model, requiring a password/passcode/passphrase to unlock, which one subsequently forgets, will - quite reasonably, and properly, in my opinion - prevent the user from gaining access.

May I humbly suggest that this is more an organizational problem rather than a technical one? And suggest a password manager program to organize, track, and securely store all of the myriad, constantly changing passwords required to operate in today's world? (And if one is NOT regularly changing their passwords, it's only when, not if, your data is going to be abused.)

There are tons of them, one of the most popular being 1Password. I have used a small independent one called Password Wallet for many years with no issues, both on my Mac and on my iPhone. I prefer it to the larger commercial password apps like 1PW as it syncs between your computer and phone over wi-fi rather than in the cloud. Plus I like supporting small independent software developers. It's cheap, some of the best money I ever spent. Of course, like all organizational tools, it only works as well as it is maintained by the user!

Just my 2 pence. I'll save my sermon on 2-factor authentication for another time. :mrgreen:
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