This account is locked and can't be used (AppleID is not active)

(Before posting links please know that the general Apple Support webpage leads right back to this error message.)

Today I was helping an apple iphone & old ipad owner, who is unable to get any support for this issue. She gets the following messages:

Iphone Forgot Password Menu: "Cannot verify identity - this AppleID is not active"

Apple Support > Request to Unlock your Account webpage: "This account is locked and can't be used"

I was struck that there was no further options allowed. This is a new one for me.

Can anyone suggest how / why this might have happened? (If not a solution?)

(FYI the account / device owner said at one point they were talking to apple phone support, but then at some point, the rep cut them off abruptly and said there was nothing to be done in this case, as if they had seen something negative in the record. But I can't confirm this or that they were actually talking to apple.)

Posted on Jul 31, 2024 8:09 PM

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Jeff Donald

Community+ 2026

Level 9

56,553 points

Posted on Aug 18, 2024 12:21 PM

I’m a former Apple Retail Store Manager. Please let me explain. The issue is when an Apple ID becomes so compromised that some Apple service cannot be used in the future. An example would be Apple Pay. Apple Pay is tied to the Apple ID. At some point the Payment Network Operators will not approve any iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch with that Apple ID. Apple Cash will not work either. There are other Apple services that Apple won’t permit either.

The solution? Move on and the next time Apple tells the owner to change the password or requests other participation, follow the instructions. Another suggestion, use a long password that is easy to remember. My passwords are easy to remember. An example is pick a favorite author/poet and make the password the first sentence or two of a favorite book. For example,

>>It was the best of times it was the worst of times it was the age of wisdom it was the age of foolishness<<

Charles Dickens — A Tale of Two Cities

Capitalize a few letters here and there, leave out a word or two, add a few special characters and it’ll take an algorithm around a billion years to figure it out.

This will go a long way to securing your future and not having to face an issue like this again.

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This account is locked and can't be used (AppleID is not active)

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