Remove Activation Lock from iPhone Locked to Owner

If you see a "Locked To Owner" message, one referring to iCloud locked, or activation locked:

Read this article about removing Activation Lock --> How to remove Activation Lock - Apple Support To remove the lock you will need either:

-The account information that set the lock (if the previous owner is deceased, read —> How to request access to a deceased family member’s Apple Account - Apple Support )

OR

-The original sales receipt from Apple itself or an Apple approved vendor. Other ways you may think might be “proof” of ownership or purchase, such as having the box or a receipt from a third party vendor such as Ebay, will likely not be acceptable by Apple. Apple may have no way of verifying the authenticity of other methods. If you have an acceptable receipt, ask Apple to unlock the device —> https://al-support.apple.com/#/additional-support

If it is asking for an account that is not yours, take it back to the person from whom you received it. Get them to do the things in this support article or ask for a refund --> What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support There is no way to discover the owner of a device unless they left a message to display on the device when it is turned on, or the person who gave you the device knows them. Note that the device cannot have Lost Mode set on it. If your device has been taken over as a result of you having entered a scammer’s Account then the scammer may have set Lost Mode too and the device is lost to you.

Return or recycle the device if you cannot unlock it; it is useless to you. From the very bottom of Apple Trade In - Apple :

"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 Apple 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."

When considering future purchases, browse this: The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying … - Apple Community

By the way, this is a user to user support forum. We are not Apple, but even if you were to ask Apple they would probably provide you with the same answer.

Follow the steps provided by Limnos and as long as your proof of ownership is from Apple or Authorized Apple Seller, you will be able to have that account removed.

As stated the key is the proof of ownership/receipt you have. I could certainly create a receipt that includes a serial number/IMEI for a device I sold to someone else and it would not mean that Apple will remove the Activation Lock. Apple is not going to call me to verify if I was the legitimate owner either, just as they are not going to do that with any other third party receipt.

Unfortunately we have seen many users who ended up buying a used device from other sources and they are only left with a brick. It may be stolen or not, Apple has no way to verify because a user is not required to mark their device as stolen when it is lost.

You are not addressing Apple here, so you will need to follow the information that has been provided to submit your documentation to Apple. No need to post the same thing over again, it will make no difference.

With proof of purchase from Apple or an Apple Authorized reseller, you may be able to unlock at al-support.apple.com. Or, simply enter your password (a hint is provided) that you used to set up your device