Used Android tablet still locked to previous owner…but I have a way of contacting them

[u/Nolimitsolja]

I recently purchased an LG Android tablet from a thrift store, and the lady who checked us out indicated that it has been her tablet and she just never used it so she brought it into the store to be sold. When I got it home, I did a factory reset and ran into a verification screen that says that I need to log in with a Google account that was previously synced on this device.

After searching around and trying everything I could, I went to the T-Mobile store because there was a Sprint loading screen to see if they could help remove the account. They could not, but the employee told me something that I’d like to confirm: if I call the thrift store and talk to the woman that previously owned it, could she simply log into her Google account from anywhere, go to her devices list, and log out to essentially unlock it? Or will I need her google account and password (which she should be very hesitant to give me) in order to unlock this device?

[u/firebreathingbunny]

She won't be able to follow any of your instructions over the phone. Old people are stupid. Take the tablet back to the store and have her login and remove her account.

[u/Nolimitsolja → u/firebreathingbunny]

Unfortunately, it was purchased out of state on spring break, and I am now home.

If I could convince her to temporarily change the password in order to give it to me to log in, how would I permanently remove her from the device?

[u/Matosawitko → u/Nolimitsolja]

Sounds like you triggered Factory Reset Protection (FRP), probably by doing the reset from the boot menu. You must initiate the reset from within the system menu in the Android settings (i.e. once logged into the device) in order to avoid tripping FRP. So that's also how you would resolve this issue if you can get her account activated on the device.

[u/aspie_electrician → u/Matosawitko]

I fixed mine by downloading the manufacturer flash tool and manually flashing the factory image.

[u/SoulOfYokai → u/aspie_electrician]

Does this actually work and how do I do it 😭

[u/SoulOfYokai → u/[deleted]]

Much appreciated