My son bought a used iPhone that has an activation lock and doesn't know the previous owner

my son bought an iphone 4 from the local Thrift store, in order to activate I need to login to the apple ID which is unknown to me, how do I bybass this beings I already bought the phone, and would have NO idea who the previous owners were. It wont even show me the email that its locked from.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Jun 19, 2020 5:12 PM

Similar questions

Activation locked iPhone I bought an iPhone for my daughter, but when I went to set it up, it got to a screen saying I needed to enter the owner’s id and password. I have no idea who the previous owner is because I bought the phone at a swap meet. And I’ve gone back looking for the person I bought it from several time, but haven’t found them. Is there any way to get around this? I didn’t pay retail price for it, but it still wasn’t cheap. [Re-Titled by Moderator]
1559 7
Hi, I purchased a used iphone 11. I cannot get past the activation lock step. I purchased a used iphone and I cannot get past the activation lock screen because it is linked to another Apple ID. I suspect this means the person who sold me the phone maybe did not own it, because after my attempts to ask for his information, he stopped answering my messages. I would be happy to return the phone to its owner if that is the case. Or is the a way to request apple to assign my apple id to this phone? Thank you.
697 4
activation lock I bought a second hand iphone 8 plus and the previous owner didnt remove their account. I reseted the iphone and now its on the activation lock screen. what can i do? or how can i trace down the previous owner of the iphone so they remove their account?
568 1

1 reply

Niel

Level 10

742,097 points

Jun 19, 2020 5:21 PM in response to Kfliehs

You can't; it's an anti-theft measure. Go back to the thrift store and ask them to contact the previous owner or give you a refund.

(181650)

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

My son bought a used iPhone that has an activation lock and doesn't know the previous owner

Welcome to Apple Support Community

A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.

Learn more Sign up