the original owner is dead. What can I do?

Rather than drip-feed information or platitudes, I’ll attempt to cover the majority of bases...

Here are the Apple support pages that outline the Activation Lock - and the only mechanisms by which it can be turned off:

Activation Lock for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Turn off Activation Lock – Apple Support

As you will discover, unless you are the owner of the AppleID that was last used to activate the device, you’ll not be able to directly defeat or bypass the Activation Lock. Without documentary evidence that you are the original owner (such as sales receipt showing the serial number), Apple may provide assistance - otherwise, except in very limited circumstances, Apple wil, decline to provide help - and nobody here will be able to help you.

However, that isn’t necessarily the end of the story. You don’t make mention of your relationship to the deceased - if any...

A close Family member or Executor, with the required supporting paperwork, can make application to Apple to be granted access to the Apple accounts of the deceased:

How to request access to a deceased family member's Apple accounts - Apple Support

This procedure can be protracted, with no guarantee of success. It is perhaps best to exhaust other options before embarking upon this route - opting to first explore the self-help option.

Quite often, close family also have sufficient knowledge - and access to likely recovery paths - that access to the AppleID account of the deceased family member can be recovered. Having done so, it is then possible to release the Activation Lock that prevents reuse of an iPad/iPhone.

The following guidance is written from the perspective of the owner - but a family member will get the idea as they run through the process.

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If your device is Activation Locked, this help page will provide most of the information that you’ll need:

Activation Lock for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

If you have forgotten your AppleID or associated password, these can be recovered here:

https://iforgot.apple.com/

To recover your credentials, you’ll need access to any one of the following:

• Your primary email address mailbox that corresponds with your AppleID
• Any of the secondary/recovery email addresses that should be configured for your AppleID account
• Any of the trusted telephone numbers (fixed line or Cellular/Mobile) that are associated with your AppleID

Unless your AppleID account has not been fully/correctly configured, or has been seriously neglected, recovery of the AppleID and password should not be difficult.

More information about recovery of your AppleID:

If you forgot your Apple ID - Apple Support

More information about recovery of your AppleID password:

If you forgot your Apple ID password - Apple Support

When you recover access to your credentials, you would be well advised to log-in to your AppleID account from a web browser - and verify/update any email addresses and trusted telephone numbers:

https://appleid.apple.com/

Having recovered access to the AppleID account (and therefore the AppleID username and associated Password), Activation Locks can be removed. There are several routes to this, but for brevity, I’ll refer you to this support page:

Turn off Activation Lock – Apple Support

If the passcodes of any devices are unknown, the data stored on the device itself is now gone - but from your question I surmise that data recovery is not you immediate aim. That said, if the device(s) have an associated iCloud backup, you can restore the backup data to the device. To do so, you would need to follow this procedure:

If you’ve forgotten the passcode on your iPad, or your iPad is disabled – Apple Support

You’ll need access to either a PC (with iTunes installed) or a Mac (with iTunes or Finder - as appropriate for the installed version of MacOS). At the end of the process, you’ll have the option to restore data from the backup.

If your intent is to wipe/reset the device(s) for reuse by a new user, you would be best advised to prepare them properly:

What to do before you sell, give away or trade in your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch – Apple Support

I hope to have covered all the likely scenarios - and similarly hope that this guidance is helpful in fully resolving your current difficulties.

How to request access to a deceased family member's Apple accounts [and devices] - https://support.apple.com/HT208510

If you are only trying to remove an activation lock you can try taking it to an Apple Store along with proof of identity, the original sales receipt for the device with the deceased's person's name on it, and documentation (will) indicating ownership has passed onto you. There is no official policy about this so it is up to the store manager if they will do it for you.

Hello alantswbell,

As you have indicated, you are encountering activation lock which is a feature that only allows the person who set the feature to unlock it. This requires their Apple ID and password which I am guessing you do not have or else you wouldn't be asking what to do. As I provided in my earlier post, there are two things you can do. The official step is to read the link about getting access to a deceased person's accounts. I don't know the details of how this works since I have never needed to do it, but it should eventually end up with you being able to remove the lock or Apple doing it for you. The unofficial method is to take it to an Apple Store. This is not an official Apple service so you can't insist it be done. However, if you can prove to the store manager your really are the new owner (hence my suggestion you take in legal documentation that proves that) then they may remove a lock. As I said, it isn't a guaranteed service so it is up to the manager and some may just say no to any such request.

You have been provided a myriad of 'if-this' and 'if-that' links by another poster on the remote chance a person related to this deceased owner happens to know things such as security question the person set on their account and can get access. You may find it easier to simply get access to the accounts through Apple.

If you have been given this phone by a relative of the deceased person, the relative will have to do the footwork and remove the lock. On clear function of activation lock is preventing thieves from using and selling working stolen phones so whoever is doing this has to be able to demonstrate they are the true owner which will be a lot easier for a relative to do.

If you cannot remove the lock the device is useless to you or anybody else. Recycle it.