It is illegal to lock a cell phone permanently to a specific company. How do I contact apple to remove the activation lock. Understand that this is addressed in the federal law.
iPhone 5
No, it is not illegal. And iPhones aren’t “permanently” locked to a specific company. The carrier is the one who locks it, not Apple. You must contact the carrier that it is locked to and ask what you have to do to unlock it. Apple has nothing to do with unlocking. Most US carriers will unlock a phone that is paid off and not under contract. But you have to ask the carrier, not Apple.
No, it is not illegal. And iPhones aren’t “permanently” locked to a specific company. The carrier is the one who locks it, not Apple. You must contact the carrier that it is locked to and ask what you have to do to unlock it. Apple has nothing to do with unlocking. Most US carriers will unlock a phone that is paid off and not under contract. But you have to ask the carrier, not Apple.
Activation lock has absolutely nothing to do with a carrier lock.
The activation lock is an anti-theft measure that can ONLY be turned on by the owner of the phone. It is the owner's responsibility to disable the activation lock when they transfer ownership of the device.
Activation lock does NOT lock the device to a company or carrier. It locks it to the owner of the device.
Apple can not and will not intervene unless the individual possessing the phone can prove that they are the original purchaser of the device.
YOU are responsible for making sure the used device you're purchasing is actually usable.
If it is activation locked, and the individual you purchased it from can't or won't remove the lock, or you are completely unable to contact them, it's useless and there is a very strong chance that the device is stolen.
Turn it over to the police.
You clearly don't understand how iPhones work. iPhones are activation locked to a specific Apple ID which can only be gained by contacting the previous owner. Activation Lock is an anti-theft deterrent. The FBI couldn't get past it. Apple will not help you take the Activation Lock off. They don't care about 3rd party sales. They didn't take the Activation Lock off a phone from one of the San Bernardino shooters when they were ordered to by a court order. So you either need to contact the previous owner or use it for a practical use such as unique drink coaster.
If you are the owner of that device all you have to do is sign in using Apple ID. It’s a protection system to keep external user sways and provide privacy.
You mis-read my question/statement. I did not ask about a Carrier. I am talking about the ACTIVATION LOCK and YES THE IPHONE IS "APP LOCKED" TO ONLY APPLE SERVICES. This creates a conflict of privacy as when a person assumes the iPhone it is not any of apples business who owns or operates it unless the new owner chose to provide this information. The App Lock feature locks the phone so that only Apple can get full functionality. The only way to disable this feature is to contact the previous owner which is not plausible. Again you (Apple) CANNOT create an app that defy's the federal law that denies any of the phones that are manufactured to be LOCKED or tied too a specific COMPANY OR CARRIER! The app lock feature basically mandates special requirements that are not possible such as contact the previous owner.
No. It's not. At least not in the US. If you're in a different country, the laws there may be different.
“%ProgramFiles%\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt StoreActivationMode 1
run that in the command prompt then connect your phone to iTunes
What does that have to do with activation lock or carrier lock?
You are totally mistaken. First, it was not clear from your post that it was about Activation Lock, Apple’s theft deterrent feature. And Activation Lock does not lock the phone to a specific company. It locks it to a specific PERSON, the OWNER of the phone. Which is why it never occurred to me that “company” meant Apple and not a wireless carrier. Activation Lock is like having a burglar alarm; you are suggesting that if I install a burglar alarm somehow it would be illegal to not allow a burglar to bypass it. Or the wireless entry system for your car. It doesn’t lock the car to the manufacturer; it locks it to the owner. Are you saying it is illegal for an auto manufacturer to provide a keyless entry system because that locks the car to the manufacturer?
What WOULD be illegal is for Apple to bypass activation lock for someone other than the rightful owner; they would be abetting a theft. That’s probably one reason that they will only bypass activation lock for someone who can prove the are the original owner who enabled it in the first place. The presumption is that any phone that is activation locked and not in the possession of the person who enabled it is stolen. Stolen property belongs to the person it was stolen from forever, no matter how many times it changes hands.
And Apple cannot get full functionality of an Activation Locked phone. Only the rightful owner can. If you can prove you are the rightful owner Apple will unlock your phone. And your car manufacturer will create a new wireless key fob for you if you can prove you are the rightful owner of the car.
Oh, and I am not Apple. This is a user-to-user technical support forum. Apple is not a participant.
It is illegal to lock a cell phone permanently to a specific company. How do I contact apple to remve the activation lock