Activation Lock On Old Idevice

I have gotten myself in a predicament a few years ago I got myself an iPhone 4s I had it a couple of weeks until I had locked my Apple ID with it and I couldn’t download apps so I tried logging out but I couldn’t. So I had gotten the bright idea to reset the phone thinking that would fix it but found myself in a worse situation than before now I can’t use the device. Now I have tried getting in contact with Apple but to no help. I had boughten the device from eBay and I don’t think that’s a good enough to prove my purchase and I can’t unlock my Apple ID because I have forgotten what I put in on my birthday. I was younger then and had had that account for awhile I am much older now and have forgotten.


[Edited by Moderator]

Posted on Oct 29, 2025 6:22 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 29, 2025 8:46 PM

If you are telling us that the iPhone is registered to your Apple ID, but that you have forgotten your ID password, see the "reset your Apple Account password" here:


How to remove Activation Lock - Apple Support


If this used iPhone is Activation-Locked to someone else, then without the help of whomever it is locked to, it is, and will remain, a "brick". Apple will not unlock a phone on the basis of a second-hand sales receipt from eBay (or other similar places).


The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying a Used iPad/iPhone – Apple Community


Even the seller is willing to unlock the phone and properly prepare it for transfer to a new owner, the iPhone 4s is an extremely obsolete phone. It has a 32-bit processor and cannot update past iOS 9.* – so cannot run modern apps, and might not even be able to connect to the App Store at all. It only supports 2G/3G cellular bands – and in many parts of the world, carriers have shut down 2G/3G networks, which would make it useless as a phone.


If you can get it unlocked, and you have the appropriate 30-pin-dock-connector to USB cable, you could, perhaps, load purchased music onto it from a Mac or a Windows PC and use it as a portable music player.

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7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 29, 2025 8:46 PM in response to Fluroxie

If you are telling us that the iPhone is registered to your Apple ID, but that you have forgotten your ID password, see the "reset your Apple Account password" here:


How to remove Activation Lock - Apple Support


If this used iPhone is Activation-Locked to someone else, then without the help of whomever it is locked to, it is, and will remain, a "brick". Apple will not unlock a phone on the basis of a second-hand sales receipt from eBay (or other similar places).


The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying a Used iPad/iPhone – Apple Community


Even the seller is willing to unlock the phone and properly prepare it for transfer to a new owner, the iPhone 4s is an extremely obsolete phone. It has a 32-bit processor and cannot update past iOS 9.* – so cannot run modern apps, and might not even be able to connect to the App Store at all. It only supports 2G/3G cellular bands – and in many parts of the world, carriers have shut down 2G/3G networks, which would make it useless as a phone.


If you can get it unlocked, and you have the appropriate 30-pin-dock-connector to USB cable, you could, perhaps, load purchased music onto it from a Mac or a Windows PC and use it as a portable music player.

Oct 30, 2025 7:32 AM in response to Fluroxie

Even if you could get in this phone, which is unlikely since you bought it from eBay and that won't suffice as proof of ownership to seek help from Apple. The reality is the phone is totally obsolete, won't operate as a cell phone in most parts of the world and it's iOS version is so hopelessly out of data to render virtually all modern apps unusable on the device.


In other words, it's simply not worth the effort to even try to get this phone working again. It's ready for the recycle bin. Keep in mind iPhone 4s is a phone from 2011, 14 years ago. It had its day, but that day passed long ago.

Oct 29, 2025 7:11 PM in response to Fluroxie

"Activation Lock On Old Idevice: [...]I had boughten the device from eBay and I don’t think that’s a good enough to prove my purchase and I can’t unlock my Apple ID because I have forgotten what I put in on my birthday. I was younger then and had had that account for awhile I am much older now and have forgotten."

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Thank you for the screenshot.


Why the Lock Out:

This was sold by a third-party. This is the site the seller should have used, prior to selling it to you: What to do Before you Sell, Give Away, or Trade in your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support. They should have known better.. So, you are not going to be able to unlock this, if not reset properly by the seller. Note that your device is extremely obsolete, and is what would be considered obsolete and insecure. Apple no longer provides updates for this device.

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Activation Lock On Old Idevice

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