Evan Osnos’ iPad was locked for an astonishing 25,536,442 minutes
By
Jason Duaine Hahn
April 10, 2019 04:34 PM
While it’s always risky leaving any child alone with an expensive piece of technology, Evan Osnos likely never expected this to happen.
Osnos — a staff writer at
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“Uh, this looks fake but, alas, it’s our iPad today after 3-year-old tried (repeatedly) to unlock,” he tweeted, along with a screenshot of the device’s screen. “Ideas?”
Apple’s iPads and iPhones typically have a feature that locks the device for an increasing amount of time if the incorrect password is inputted, CNN explained. But it typically only spans a few minutes to a few hours, making Osnos’ situation an extreme example.
The tweet quickly went viral, garnering nearly 4,000 retweets and more than 15,000 likes. Hundreds of Twitter users also chimed in with tips and reactions.
“Time travel seems to be your best bet,” wrote one user.
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Uh, this looks fake but, alas, it’s our iPad today after 3-year-old tried (repeatedly) to unlock. Ideas? pic.twitter.com/5i7ZBxx9rW
— Evan Osnos (@eosnos) April 6, 2019
“Wow, you are liberated. think what you can do with your free time,” wrote another.
Osnos told the
“The consensus seems to be that we’re using an old operating system that won’t let us restart fresh from iTunes,” he told the newspaper.
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After following the advice of some commenters, Osnos said he was able to restore the iPad and (hopefully) get it back up and running.
“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),” he said in a follow-up tweet on Tuesday. “Now restoring. Thanks to those who shared advice!”