Can I still track my iPad after erasing with Find My?

In summary, if the iPad has been erased, or if you delete the iPad from your AppleID account, it cannot be tracked using Apple's Find My services. To re-associate a device with your AppleID, you must sign-in on the device itself with your AppleID credentials.

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Locate a device in Find My on iPad - Apple Support

Here is Apple’s advice for lost or stolen devices:

If your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch is lost or stolen – Apple Support

Use the Find My app to locate a lost or stolen device – Apple Support

If the Find My iPad feature was enabled prior to it being “misplaced”, then if active, you would stand a good chance of locating it. 

However, if the feature was not activated prior to being misplaced - or the iPad has been inactive for more than 24 hours, the last known location will not be available - and the opportunity to use technical means to recover the iPad have been lost.

An iPad that has been instructed to erase using Apple’s Find My service will only erase when it receives the command to do so - this, logically, being determined by the iPad having an active network connection. If the Find My service indicates that the erase is pending, then the erase command has not [yet] been successfully delivered to the iPad; the status will change when [if] the command is successfully delivered to the device.

Nobody can gain access to your iPad without successfully entering the correct device Passcode - and for this, there are a limited number of tries before the iPad will automatically become disabled. As such a brute-force attempt to access the iPad, by guessing the correct passcode, is highly unlikely to be successful. Only if your device Passcode is known to whoever finds your iPad will any locally stored data be at risk of discovery.

iOS/iPadOS is architecturally designed to protect the owners data. 

All locally stored data is encrypted; by design, the only copy of the encryption keys necessary to access local data are held within the Secure Enclave - the device security chip. The device Passcode unlocks the Secure Enclave, which in turn releases the encryption keys to the Operating System while the device remains unlocked.

If an incorrect Passcode is repeatedly entered, the Secure Enclave automatically wiped and the device disabled - an operation that erases all stored encryption keys. This is known as a crypto-erase. Once erased, all locally stored data is permanently beyond reach and cannot be recovered.

The ability to track your iPad via the Find My service is linked to the Activation Lock - this being enabled when Find My is enabled on the device.

By design, simply signing-out from iCloud does not disable the Activation Lock or disable the ability to track the iPad. Similarly, remotely erasing and/or removing the device from your AppleID account does not disable the associated Activation Lock.

Not opposites at all. Taken in full context of the two different replies, both statements are correct.

Remotely erasing the iPad erases data and configuration. As such, the erased iPad has no capability to communicate to connect with or communicate via a network connection - and therefore cannot be tracked or otherwise monitored.

Signing-out from iCloud from device settings does not remove the device configuration - and neither does signing-out from iCloud alone disable the Activation Lock. While you may have signed-out from iCloud, you are likely to still be signed-in to other Apple Services with your AppleID - and consequently the iPad may remain visible via the Find My service.

As a footnote, the Activation Lock is a "back-end" software lock - that prevents reuse of the device by anyone else, or reactivation by anyone other than the owner of the AppleID to which the Activation Lock relates. Erasure of the iPad, or signing-out from Apple services, does not deactivate or otherwise annul the Activation Lock.

khuraman256 wrote:

Actually you have written two opposites:......

"if the iPad has been erased, or if you delete the iPad from your AppleID account, it cannot be tracked using Apple's Find My services"

"simply signing-out from iCloud does not disable the Activation Lock or disable the ability to track the iPad"

The wording there is unclear, but the information is correct.

If you erase, or remove from your Apple Account, it cannot be tracked with Find My.

If you remove the iPad from your Apple Account, you also remove Activation Lock. You don’t want to remove Activation Lock.

If you sign out from iCloud — which is not the same as removing the device from your Apple Account — Activation Lock will remain enabled.

Follow the instructions in these two links:

If your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch is lost or stolen – Apple Support

Use the Find My app to locate a lost or stolen device – Apple Support

You may get a call or receive a text from the “police” or from “Apple” reporting your iPad has been “found” too, and requiring you log into an “Apple” portal to prove your ownership. That’s the thieves. Do not provide your Apple Account credentials.

If the iPad is not in your physical possession, it will still be signed-in to all Apple services to which you are signed-in on that device. Clearly, you can't sign-out from the device if it is not in your possession. Assuming that the device Passcode is known only to you, your data is secure.

If you use the Find My service to remotely erase the iPad, the erase command will be executed when the command is received by the target device. Remember, the iPad must have an active network connection with which to receive the command.

Erased or not, the Activation Lock will remain active, preventing any reuse, unless you take explicit steps to disable it. To be clear, unless the Activation Lock is removed by the owner of the AppleID to which the Activation Lock relates, the lost/stolen iPad has no value - as it cannot be reused or re-activated by anyone else.

If you have any concern for the security of your AppleID (a.k.a. Apple Account) credentials, you would be well advised to change the associated Password. Once changed, you will need to sign-in again to all services on all devices that remain in your possession.

You're very welcome. Hopefully, between MrHoffman and I, you now have a much improved understanding.