resetting an iphone 4s
i just got this phone from a friend but it was their friends phone and im trying to factory reset it but i cant cause i dont have the old owners password.
iPhone 4S
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If you are having a white screen with activation lock and it shows an obscured email address (x****@gmail.com for example) then the iPhone 4s is Activation Locked by the previous owner. Only they can unlock it by going to www.icloud.com and removing the device from their Apple ID. This is a security feature to prevent stolen iPhones from being accessible or usable when it's still tied to someone's account. You can forward the previous owner this How-To guide:
Turn off Find My iPhone Activation Lock - Apple Support
If you have a black screen that's asking for a numeric passcode or it says disabled, that can be put into recovery mode easily and "restored" (erased) with a computer running iTunes.
If it is the first possibility (activation lock) and you cannot get a hold of the previous owner who still has it tied to their account, the iPhone can only be discarded (or preferably) environmentally recycled. It won't be useful for anything else without them releasing it.