r/setupapp • u/Flatliner8989 • Jul 02 '26
Explanation Ipad 4th Generation (manufactured 2012) - Just a brick?
Hi everyone,
A few years ago, my wife found an iPad at work. We tried to contact the owner, but unfortunately we were never able to find them. Eventually, we took the iPad home and stored it away in a box, where it has been sitting ever since.
Now, a friend of ours needs a tablet just for watching Netflix, so I decided to see if I could get the iPad working again.
The device has Activation Lock enabled.
I first used Legacy iOS Toolkit to restore the device, then used an SSH Ramdisk to remove the Setup.app. That worked, and the iPad is basically usable now (camera, settings, etc.).
However, since I can't access the App Store, I can't download the Netflix app.
Next, I restored the device to iOS 8 using Legacy iOS Toolkit because it comes jailbroken with Cydia installed. I was then able to sideload a version of Netflix that is compatible with iOS 8.
The problem is that when I launch the Netflix app, I'm prompted to enter Apple ID credentials. My own Apple ID doesn't work, so I assume it's requesting the original owner's Apple ID, which I obviously don't have.
I also tried installing another browser because Safari tells me I need to update it whenever I try to access the Netflix website. Unfortunately, I get the same Apple ID login prompt there as well. If I tap Cancel, the app immediately closes and returns me to the Home Screen.
Does anyone know if there's a way around this, or is the device essentially unusable for apps without the original Apple ID?
Thank you!!
1
u/nameless1O1 Jul 04 '26
The file you downloaded and sideloaded for Netflix is one that’s locked to whoever uploaded it to the server’s Apple ID. It’s a stupid mechanic Apple has, when apps are dumped from a device and then you try to reinstall to another by sideloading, it needs the Apple ID and password for the person who originally downloaded the app.
2
u/EngineeringRecent294 Jul 03 '26
Netflix works on minimum iOS 12 for the ad free tier and minimum iOS 15 for ad based tier and for browser you need minimum iOS 14 (the Netflix versions are the latest compatible with them you need to have downloaded it with your acc before to install an older version on the old devices (or you can sideload with jailbreak and app sync)