Activation Lock Appearing After Reset

Question

Level 1

4 points

Activation Lock Appearing After Reset

(edit: Fixed picture formatting. I’m typing this from my phone and this is also my first time posting so please forgive me for any mistakes!)

All of the sudden yesterday after I reset my phone, this randomly popped up. (See image 1)

This is my phone that I got from my phone service provider in October 2022. This has never happened with an update before and I’ve never lost my phone either.

Every time I reset it, that ‘Activation Required’ screen pops up and so do these two screens as well. (See images 2 and 3)

Then it’ll sit on the last screen for a minute or so then without me typing anything, my phone will unlock itself then it’ll be fine.

My phone is fully updated now but it started acting weird before I updated it to the new iOS so that’s a little weird to me as well.

I just wanted to know if my phone was hacked or something because this just started yesterday.

iPhone 14 Pro Max

Posted on Mar 20, 2024 1:33 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 20, 2024 1:47 PM in response to Poppyflower3

Was this by any chance a used iPhone you purchased? If it was, it wasn't prepared properly for you, a new user and you'd have to know the Apple ID and Apple ID Password, which was used to set up the phone originally. If you don't know it or you can't reach whoever originally set up the phone, you have a useless brick, at this point. Without the original purchase receipt, which clearly shows the iPhone serial number on it, Apple won't help you here.

So, was this a used iPhone?

If yes, read this --> The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying … - Apple Community

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Answer 2

Poppyflower3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 20, 2024 1:58 PM in response to lobsterghost1

This isn't a used phone, that's what's really weird about this situation. I ordered the phone brand new from my service provider 1 month after the 14 Pro Max released, unboxed it, activated it and all that, and it has never done this until yesterday. My phone is working perfectly fine right now, it just does that whenever I reset it. It'll sit on that "iPhone Locked to User" screen for like a minute then automatically unlock like nothing even happened. I'm just hoping that my phone isn't hacked or anything,,

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Answer 3

Poppyflower3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 20, 2024 4:10 PM in response to lobsterghost1

I never entered it. It would automatically unlock after a minute which is what worried me that this was some kind of virus or hack trying to get me to input my ID and password. I tried seeing if anyone else had this problem after or before the new iOS update but I didn’t find anything recent. I want to try but I’m worried if someone actually is trying to steal my info, then inputting the ID and password would just give it to them :(

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Answer 4

Mar 20, 2024 4:16 PM in response to Poppyflower3

Unless you handed your phone over to someone for an extended period of time and they installed software on your phone, you haven't been hacked. Why after an update you're getting this message I don't understand, but you haven't been hacked as it's almost impossible to hack an iPhone.

I would enter your Apple ID and Password and just get past this or you won't be able to use your phone.

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Answer 5

Poppyflower3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 20, 2024 4:46 PM in response to lobsterghost1

I never entered my ID and password. I was worried that if this was a virus or a hack, then if I entered my info, the potential hacker would have both my email and password. I tried looking up if anyone else had this problem before and after the new iOS update, but I couldn't find anything.

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Answer 6

Poppyflower3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 20, 2024 5:08 PM in response to lobsterghost1

Oops I realized sent the same message twice, sorry! This is my first time writing on the discussions and didn’t see previous message was sent so l wrote it again. Thank you for your help, I feel better about the situation knowing haven’t been hacked! lol

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