How can I open my iPhone activation lock without owner's account

Hello Aldase,

Congratulations on your new iPhone! It sounds like your new iPhone has Activation Lock setup by the previous owner. I am sure you are eager to start using your new iPhone, but before you can, you will need to contact the previous owner to be able to use your new iPhone:

What if I purchase a device that is still linked to the previous owner's account?

Contact the previous owner as soon as possible and ask them to erase the device and remove it from their account. For complete instructions, read how to remove a device from a previous owner's account.

iCloud: Find My iPhone Activation Lock in iOS 7

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5818

The previous owner can follow the steps below to remove the iPhone from their account:

If the device has already been erased

If the previous owner is not present
Contact them and ask them to follow these steps to remove the device from their account:

1. Sign in to their iCloud account at www.icloud.com/find.
2. Choose the device from their Find My iPhone device list by clicking All Devices and selecting the correct device.
3. Click "Remove from Account" to remove the device from the account.

After the device has been removed from the previous owner’s account, turn it off by pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button located on the top right side of the device. Then restart your device and proceed with device setup as you would normally.

If the device has not been erased

If the previous owner is not present
Make sure the device is powered on and connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network. Then contact the previous owner and ask them to follow these steps:

1. Sign in to their iCloud account at www.icloud.com/find.
2. Select the device from their Find My iPhone device list by clicking All Devices at the top of the screen.
3. Erase the device by clicking the Erase button. This will erase all content and settings from the device. When prompted, do not enter a phone number or message. Click Next until the device is erased.
4. When the erase is complete, click "Remove from Account" to remove the device from the account.

After the device has been erased and removed from the account, you can proceed with the device setup process.

You can find the full article here:

Find My iPhone Activation Lock: Removing a device from a previous owner’s account

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4515

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

Best,

Sheila M.

julianjayden wrote:

How can i activate my iphone without the owners APPLE ID?

You can't.

You either need the account and password to which it is locked, or the owner to whom it is locked needs to remotely remove the lock via the Find My iPhone function of iCloud.com

SuWybe wrote:

I Just Got This Iphone 4s And it's asking me for the original owner apple id and password i don't know the original owner He/She has there number there but it's missing a digit for me to call them what should i do ?

You should return to iPhone from where you purchased it and get a refund. Only the owner of the Apple ID can remove the Activation Lock.

Most people posting in this thread appear to be trolls and not reading the responses posted and just asking the same question over and over.

Bottom Line: THERE IS NO WAY TO BYPASS THE ACTIVATION LOCK IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE PREVIOUS OWNERS DETAILS AND IF YOU CANNOT CONTACT THEM, THEN THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO. YOU HAVE AN UNUSABLE BRICK FOR A PHONE, SO YOU NEED TO RETURN THE PHONE FOR A FULL REFUND OR TAKE OUT A CLAIM WITH E-BAY OR WHEREVER YOU PURCHASED THE PHONE.

It's a security risk to post your IMEI and serial numbers and I've asked the Hosts to remove them; however it is really academic because as has been explained over and over again in this thread only the person who set up the Activation Lock can unlock it. If you cannot contact him, you will be unable ever to use the phone. Apple cannot unlock it for you.

Hi

You need to make an Appointment at Apple Store take has much info as you can

Receitpts and any other proof of ownership bills from your network provider .

If they will not help there is nothing you can do.

Cheers

Brian uk

You need the iCloud ID used when the device was first activated for your husband back in 2011. When your husband gave the device to your son, unless you wiped the device completely, and then allowing your son to activate it with his own ID, then it is still locked to the original ID used to activate it. That would also explain your statement regarding your son's problem with the iCloud ID. Also, this old device is not going to appear in your son's list of devices because it is not logged in with your son's ID, it has the original one.

If you cannot recall the original email used to activate the device, since you are the original owner, take the device, your identification, and a copy of the original receipt to a physical Apple store and ask for assistance in unlocking the device. This cannot be handled over the phone.

You can't is the simple answer, unless you have the willing cooperation of the person that locked it your phone is now a brick, Apple can not help you. Send it back for a refund.

In that case contact to apple care .. they ask for your copy of bill and if it is genuine then they reset that device as a new device but during this process all the data will be lost because it restore as a new device..

There is nothing you can do. You cannot get around Activation Lock and Apple will not help either. It is an anti-theft device, and if the previous owner did not remove the device from their account, you will never be able to activate the device. It is useless.

llil_hottie wrote:

Hi Shila,

I am having the same problem, I bought an iPhone 4S off www.listia.com. I have contacted the previous owner and he said he can not remember his account information on the iPhone at all. What do i do now? I have tried sending him this information to help him that you posted but he will not respond back. Please help me reset this iPhone, I was told apple can do that for me.

Apple cannot do it for you. Only the previous owner can. They will need to contact Apple to recover the iCloud password and then they can log into www.icloud.com and remove the device from their account. Until they do that, you will not be able to activate the device, and no one else but the previous owner can help you. If you cannot get in touch with them, or they will not assist you, then contact the place where you purchased the phone and demand a refund, since the device cannot be used. It will be worthless to you.

Actually, the purpose of these forums is to ask and answer technical questions, not speculate, make general complaints, start polling on a question, etc. etc. You didn't actually ask a question, but you described your situation and said that you thought Apple ought to take responsibility for your locked phone. It's been explained that this is not going to happen. For one thing, it's an anti-theft device (quite a successful one) and if it could be got round there would be no point in having it in the first place.

As to responsibility, warranties on any sort of purchased item are usually not transferable to a third party. In fact that isn't quite the case here as you haven't broken it (if you had, Apple might mend it at a price). The situations in which Apple will unlock a phone, as far as we can tell, is if the original owner brings proof of purchase: or if someone who has obtained it from a deceased person brings in original proof of purchase, proof that ownership has been transferred to them, and a copy of the death certificate for the original owner. They will not unlock it for someone who bought it second-hand, whether from a respectable shop or a dubious character in a pub.

There is, incidentally, a method whereby a prospective purchaser can check that a phone is not activation locked before buying it - basically you just go to https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/ and enter the IMEI or serial number and a captcha.

If you are unfortunate enough to buy a stolen and Activation Locked phone there is no way of tracing the owner. Apple cannot provide this information, even should they know it, because of privacy laws. The only thing you can do is turn it into the police though it's unlikely they would have much inclination to go through the process of getting the information.

Ella.f wrote:

Has anyone found the answers??

The answer is simple and has been noted here many, many times. In order to activate an iPhone or iPad that is activation locked, you need the password for the iCloud account associated with the device. If you do not have that password, cannot get it, or cannot get the password owner to assist in removing activation lock then you will never be able to activate and use the device.

Apple's own support page has the answer clearly spelled out - Turn off Find My iPhone Activation Lock - Apple Support

Ella.f wrote:

Has anyone found the answers??

Yes, EVERYONE has found the answer. And the answer is that there is no way to ever use an iPhone that is activation locked without the cooperation of the user who enabled Find my iPhone. You don't have to like the answer, but it is the ONLY answer, nonetheless.