I bought an iPhone 11 at a garage sale, but I cannot get into it because the previous owner ID and password was not deleted. How do I factory reset this phone without a computer?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: How do I factory reset an iPhone 11 that I just bought at a garage sale and don’t have previous owners information
iPhone 13 Pro, iOS 18
Unfortunately, even if you had a computer, you would not be able to reset the phone......unless you know the former owner's Passcode, Apple ID and Password.......which would all be needed to complete the task below to erase the phone completely:
The former owner should have completed the steps below......before.....selling the phone.
What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support
As it stands now, the phone is completely useless until this process has been completed and I doubt the garage sale is offering refunds.
Nope. You cannot bypass Activation Lock. And Apple won't help you bypass activation lock. Unless you can find the previous owner (on your own - Apple won't help you there either) who must remove the device from their account, you have purchased a totally useless iPhone, you can't ever use. It would make a nice coaster, I suppose.
Read this --> The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying … - Apple Community
It is that same protection that prevents someone from grabbing your phone out of your hands and setting it up as theirs. Apple does not get involved in third party sales and will not allow the device to be reset simply because you said you got it at a garage sale. Only the original owner of the phone is able to remove the lock and there is no way to verify if the seller was actually the original owner.
Unless the previous owner provides that information (which we be really dumb to give anyone else your ID and password), or resets it for you and hands it back, you have a useless brick.
Kyo317 wrote:
It seems like you got scammed. Demand for a refund. If the seller refuses, sue.
Hello~ Did you read this in the Author’s original post? “I bought an iPhone 11 at a garage sale” and you advise “suing” ?? Come now…let’s reason this out. Please read this user tip that was written and posted above by *lobsterghost1*…
The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying … - Apple Community
~Katana-San~
Kyo317 wrote:
It seems like you got scammed. Demand for a refund. If the seller refuses, sue.
LOL. I suppose they could certainly sue, if they can find an attorney who wants to make some chump change on the side. The rate lawyers charge for a frivolous case such as this would far exceed, by a significant margin whatever they paid for a useless phone.
As to the claim they were scammed, I'd be willing to bet the garage sale folks don't know enough about Activation Lock on an iPhone to even know they were scamming someone. Whether they can get their money back is up to the seller, if they can even find the seller. The simplest thing they can do at this point is recycle the useless phone responsibly and learn from this buying experience.
lobsterghost1 wrote:
Kyo317 wrote:
It seems like you got scammed. Demand for a refund. If the seller refuses, sue.
LOL. I suppose they could certainly sue, if they can find an attorney who wants to make some chump change on the side. The rate lawyers charge for a frivolous case such as this would far exceed, by a significant margin whatever they paid for a useless phone.
Small claims court wouldn't require a lawyer but it would cost a fair bit of time. Doesn't seem worth it to me.
I've only ever brought one thing back to a garage sale, and only because it was $20 rather than only a buck or two.
MS 4000 ergo keyboard, in the box. Looked nearly unused and no mention there was anything wrong with it. Well, got it home and half of the keys didn't respond. Went back the next day and they had closed that day's sale early. Knocked on the door and explained I bought it yesterday and it doesn't work.
To my amazement, he didn't pull anything like, "Gee. It was working before!". He just went and got the $20 and took the keyboard back. Which means, he knew darn well it wasn't working, but put it out for sale anyway.
IdrisSeabright wrote:
lobsterghost1 wrote:
Kyo317 wrote:
It seems like you got scammed. Demand for a refund. If the seller refuses, sue.
LOL. I suppose they could certainly sue, if they can find an attorney who wants to make some chump change on the side. The rate lawyers charge for a frivolous case such as this would far exceed, by a significant margin whatever they paid for a useless phone.
Small claims court wouldn't require a lawyer but it would cost a fair bit of time. Doesn't seem worth it to me.
Yes, you are right. I wouldn't "invest" my time to go that route, however. I would hope for an iPhone 11, they didn't lose much money anyway. It is after all an iPhone from 2019, 6 years ago.
lobsterghost1 wrote:
It would make a nice coaster, I suppose.
Community theaters always need props. The show we saw last night was set in current times when cell phones were already a thing.
It seems like you got scammed. Demand for a refund. If the seller refuses, sue.
Factory reset iPhone 11 without previous owner's information
