Preschooler Locks Dad Out of His iPad for 48 Years

It’s what every parent fears when they pry their phone or tablet from toddler hands: Getting locked out.

And one dad is now going viral for his epic lockout. Evan Osnos, a writer with The New Yorker, tweeted that his 3-year-old tried to unlock his iPad and locked dad out for an amazing 25,536,442 minutes. So like a solid 48 years.

“Uh, this looks fake but, alas, it’s our iPad today after 3-year-old tried (repeatedly) to unlock. Ideas?” he tweeted along with a photo of the iPad lock screen.

Uh, this looks fake but, alas, it’s our iPad today after 3-year-old tried (repeatedly) to unlock. Ideas? https://t.co/5i7ZBxx9rW
— Evan Osnos (@eosnos)
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Some Twitter users suggested Osnos save the locked iPad and give it to his child for their 50th birthday, while others joked “reboot your 3-year-old.” Others suggested more practical solutions by linking to technical instructions on what to actually do in this scenario.

The story attracted attention worldwide, and according to Apple, it’s not impossible to fix.

“If you enter the wrong passcode on an iOS device too many times, you’ll be locked out and a message will say that your device is disabled. At this point, the data on your device has been erased. To recover the use of your device, you’ll need to remove your passcode by performing a restore,” Apple’s instructions state.

It’s a good reminder to parents to back up our devices. In the end, Osnos did get back into his iPad by putting it into DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode.

Update on toddler-iPad-lock-out: Got it into DFU mode (don’t hold down the sleep/power button too long or you end u… https://t.co/nc4zFJqB0s
— Evan Osnos (@eosnos)
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It’s a happy ending to a funny story, and it reminds us that a persistent preschooler can be a force to be reckoned with. Clearly, Osnos’ kid doesn’t give up easily.