Origin Story

I got 2 1st generation iPads from a flea market for very cheap, after testing them with a powerbank on site to see which powered on. I found one which turned on and showed a charging symbol, and another that just flashed the Apple logo. I chose the latter because it was in better condition and because it is a 32 GB model.

I got the tablets home and the first iPad was turned on when I pulled it out of my backpack, where it sat charging. It booted to beautiful iOS 5.1, latest update. It appeared to have been completely restored. The other one was still just flashing the Apple logo.

So I took the tablets apart, and found that the 2nd tablet had a leaking battery with green crystals formed around the terminals. It was no good. I swapped the motherboards to the case with the good battery, and the board booted and asked to be connected to iTunes in order to activate, which I proceeded to do. It was running iOS 3 and was again completely clean of any personal data.

Unfortunately, the board from the 32 GB iPad refused to charge the good battery, I presume that some of the battery acid got to it and messed up the charging circuit.

I then reassembled one iPad made from the best condition case, screen, the 16 GB motherboard and the functional battery.

On a later date, I found another iPad with cellular and 64 GB for a very cheap price, but in very poor condition. Sure enough, the battery was dead and the display was also faulty, showing colorful lines. I don’t know if the motherboard is any good, as I didn’t want to take apart my working iPad again (the metal clips that secure the display will almost surely break if you try to take it apart).