icloud: The maximum number of free accounts have been activated on this iPhone.

There is no solution. There are limits to how many iCloud accounts that a device can have activated. It doesn't matter that it was by a previosu owner, it's the device that matters. Everything you do using an iDevice is tied to it's ID number, even Mac computers. This applies to the Apple store as well as the app store and everything iCloud related.

I tried getting around this once by contacting support because I had bought a 3GS off Craigslist. They would not do a thing and would not even change the persons name that the iPhone was still registered to the day they activated it. Any device bought used will always show the original purchasers name on it and Apple will not change that even with a receipt showing you bought it from them.

We would all still like to know why you, as a company, are driving us away with this restriction. (by the way deleting my posts did not change the truth, and will not change how anything will go) ; ) .

I have been using around 10 icloud accounts and i broke loss and ma ipad said me the maximum number of free accounts have been activated on this ipad..the only way to overcome this problem is use ur old icloud accounts or sign into ur old account through itunes and follow this steps

1.Open iTunes.

2.Sign in to your Apple ID by choosing Store > Sign In from the iTunes menu.

3.Choose Store > View My Account from the iTunes menu.

4.From the Account Information screen, click Manage Devices.

Next to each device or computer name, you will be able to see when each was associated to your Apple ID. You will also be able to track how many days are remaining before your associated devices or computers can be associated to a different Apple ID.

Sorry if u don't have ur old account itz impossible to use icloud through a new account! It would be better if u contact the customer care.

Hi I have the answer

It's not going to work if you only have the 1 device that is second hand and used all the accounts.

I have 3GS / I4/ ipad1

I had same problem with my secondhand iPad.

But my 3GS I brought new.

So all you have to do is setup iCloud on any iPhone or iPad that has not been setup to iCloud or has remaining setup for iCloud and then sign in on blocked device.

And hay presto it will let you in.

I've done this with all my devices and all work fine.

Good luck

So you are dating sign in from another device, and this will some how by bypass the 3 free account restriction on a completely related device? Or are you trying to say that signing in from device will cause the ID to be seen as a non free ID? Hard to swallow.

I've got an idea.

Instead of dismissing the answer to the problem you have been having and trying the advice you have been given then your reply would be different.

The answer I wrote was not some thing I just typed out and hope for the best. I HAVE DONE THIS IN REAL WORLD AND IF WORKS 100%.

People like you make other people who are trying to help stop helping.

I was looking for some reason why this would work. I have signed into iCloud from another device before & after, yet the affected iDevices still warn that the three free limit has been reached. The worst part is how Apple chooses to handle this matter, refusing to acknowledge it.

thanks dear this is realy helpfull . but only for those have another apple device. otherwise you can do 1 thing go to your friend who have any apple product and loggin from there and then logg in to ur iphone.

The Soluation is simple, Just ativate your apple icloud from your friens iphone and after that sign in to your device and you are done. Main reason is the icloud account activation, all apple device can activate not more than 3 ID(Actually its not the ID but the the ID accociated with Icloud), So, you need to activate your account from other apple product, Once your ID is activated it can be use in any apple product 1st hand or 2nd hand.....

Any advice here, I am the original owner of my iPhone 5. I had problems and apple advisors have had me reset as new twice now. I didn't realize there was a problem until one advisor ask me to turn on "Find My iPhone" when I attempt to go into iCloud it asks for my account and told me I had exceeded the maximum number of free accounts. I've never actually signed up for an account, I guess when you activate the phone it automatically does it. Who should be responsible for that, I certainly didn't want to reset my phone as new twice and now I can use some of the features thanks to Apple Advisors.

Lisa

This CAN BE FIXED!!!! CALL THE APPLE STORE

Before you say anything, I had the same problem as the thread. I bought a used Iphone and the previous owner made THREE Icloud accounts, so I couldn't sign-in. I called the store and they walked me through how to override the ICloud "too many accounts" situation. You do need another apple device to follow their instructions with since the whole process can't be done on the used phone if the Icloud is maxed-out.

They're not so cheap that they don't wanna assisst people that buy used phones from somewhere else. In my opinion, they're still going to make money off you if you set up the Icloud because you're going to buy content like music, videos etc, and put them on there. Also, if they set up your I cloud you might want more storage space, so there's $20 right there just for the next level after free.

Good luck

<Edited by Host>

Hello Im new to Apple gadgets so i didn't know that there was a limited accounts.. because i used android phone and you can make as long as you like accounts there so i didnt know.. and reach my limit my iphone is new and has no account yet and already reached the limit .. is it possible to sign in again after a couple of days?

Thanks so much Whothedaddy.... Works great for my friend! Awesome!!! 😎

Whothedaddy wrote:

Hi I have the answer

It's not going to work if you only have the 1 device that is second hand and used all the accounts.

I have 3GS / I4/ ipad1

I had same problem with my secondhand iPad.

But my 3GS I brought new.

So all you have to do is setup iCloud on any iPhone or iPad that has not been setup to iCloud or has remaining setup for iCloud and then sign in on blocked device.

And hay presto it will let you in.

I've done this with all my devices and all work fine.

Good luck

Manace03 wrote:

You can also go create your account online at appleid.apple.com/account then use it on the iPad.

Nonsense. That creates an Apple ID. You can have as many of those as you can be bothered to create. The protracted discussion in this thread is about iCloud accounts.

As has already been established, once any device has created three iCloud accounts it can't create any more. The workaround is to create a new iCloud account on another device. Then you can sign into it on the first device (and the device you used can of course create only two more accounts).

Right, that could be it.

I created the new apple ID on my PC at iCloud.com, then signed into iCloud.com with it from there - assuming that was all I had to do, and there was no problems at this stage.

I've now downloaded iCloud for Windows, which won't let me sign in until I've used the new Apple ID to set up iCloud on an iOS device (which it's not letting me do - and I only have the one Apple device).

Here's a screenshot, signed in iCloud.com with the new Apple ID: