Activation Lock removal for forgotten Apple ID email

This is a user-to-user forum. We cannot remove Activation Lock.

Apple can remove Activation Lock if you have satisfactory proof of original purchase – which a box isn't. The phone to be unlocked also must not be in Lost Mode.

How to remove Activation Lock - Apple Support

faraj53 wrote:

Any help ?

No. You will need the receipt from Apple when it was purchased 7 years ago. You can recycle the device.

from the very bottom of https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in :

"Does Apple offer recycling?

Yes. Apple Trade In lets you recycle any Apple device (including devices from Apple-owned brands) at any Apple Store and on https://www.apple.com/ for free. That includes your batteries and old electronic products as well as free, on-demand packaging recycling for our commercial, education, and institutional customers. When we receive your device, it will be thoroughly inspected to determine if components can be recycled or reused. Whether recycled or reused, all activities relating to the processing of your device will be managed in an environmentally responsible way."

And read these for future purchases:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250001038

https://support.apple.com/104999

faraj53 wrote:

The iphone is not on lost mood. I can not get the proof of original purchase because i get it as gift alosmt 7 years ago from the UAE. I do not live there. Any help ?

You say that this you got this phone as a gift, and "can’t recall which email I used."

Are you telling us that this phone was registered to one of your Apple Accounts? If so, I would suggest logging into https://www.icloud.com to see if your iPhone is registered to the Apple Account that you are using now – to post your request to these forums. Perhaps you have been using the same Apple Account for a long time - and simply changed the primary email address (user name) associated with it somewhere along the line.

If the phone does show up in your device list, in Find My, on the Web, you could remove it from your device list there to clear Activation Lock. Then you would want to go back to the phone and turn on Find My again … this time, with the email address you are currently using as your Apple Account name.

Note that this won't work if the phone is registered to someone else's Apple Account. If this is a second-hand phone that was registered to someone else whom you cannot contact, or who is unwilling to unlock the phone, there is no way you can unlock it. (See also: The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying a Used iPad/iPhone – Apple Communities)

The other approach to this is to remember the email address you used. If you are currently using a mobile device that is logged into your account, go to Settings and tap your name at the top.

Look in the Passwords application (or Keychain), and in a browser's security settings if you use it to automatically sign into Apple when using a browser.

This support article has suggestions for ways to find your Apple ID --> If you forgot your Apple Account primary email address or phone number - Apple Support

or go directly to this link --> https://iforgot.apple.com/appleid

If you still need help:

Contact Apple Support - Apple Support