Cant activate iphone i bought off ebay - help needed

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tangel1974 Author

Level 1

4 points

Cant activate iphone i bought off ebay - help needed

Hi, I just spent £100 on a 2nd hand i-phone 6 off ebay.

Ok, so when i got it home i switched it on and gave it a factory reset but then it took me through the language set up and got the wi-fi connected, but then took me to a page saying i need to enter the phones i-cloud/activation credentials before i can use it. I then found this was because the phones previous owner had it secured onto findmyphone and i need to contact them for them to log into their account and delete themself. Yet these credentials were not sent to me by the sender and i've contacted the seller but they dont know the original owner and they are unable to help further and told me i shouldnt have factory reset it as it was my own fault.

Now i'm at lost because i dont know what i can do. Is there any firmware i can download where i can erase the phones OS and re-install it or is the phone no use at all??

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

iPhone 6

Posted on Aug 17, 2020 4:19 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Eric Root

Level 10

685,215 points

Aug 17, 2020 5:32 PM in response to tangel1974

The phone is worthless. Contact eBay to see about their return policy.

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Answer 2

Aug 18, 2020 4:47 AM in response to tangel1974

You acquired the phone second hand from an individual. The following information explains what has happened. You apparently didn't know to heed the advice given below.

"Before you buy/acquire an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from ... [a third party], make sure that the device is erased and no longer linked to the previous owner’s account."

And see: Activation Lock for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201365.

See this heading Check for Activation Lock before you buy/acquire a device from someone else.

The presence of activation lock means that we can't help you. We are not authorized to remove the activation lock from any device. And, under your circumstances, Apple support will not remove it since you cannot provide proof of ownership that they will consider to be sufficient. You would need and have your purchase receipt for the device from an authorized Apple seller with the device's serial number on it.*

If you can't contact the prior legal owner and don't have the receipt, the device is useless to you. Note that there is no way to trace down anyone having the phone prior to you.

*Rarely, an iDevice is purchased activation locked from an authorized Apple seller.

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Cant activate iphone i bought off ebay - help needed

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