Q: How can I bypass the previous owners password on my iPad?

A lot of people do not report thefts of older electronics to police authorities. Apple is not in the law enforcement business and would need to get a police report from the people who logged in to flag the device as stolen which would entail creating an entire bureaucracy within Apple to maintain this. Apple does not have direct access to any national, state or regional databases of stolen items.

Many states are now making kill switches like Activation Lock mandatory for small electronics manufacturers and it would not be surprising if it goes worldwide. The "workaround" for consumers is to become informed buyers and learn what to do before buying a device. One easy one would be to have a contact point with the person who sells it to you.

I understand your point, but having this lock-out system means that Apple is currently trying to be in the law enforcement business. Under my proposed solution, the owner doesn't need to report the device stolen to law enforcement, just to Apple. Then Apple can reject the person coming in to have the device unlocked. It is up to the original owner whether they want to file a police report. I am all for being an informed buyer, but the 78 year old woman who buys a device from her elderly neighbor is not going to know about this.

All you have to do is prove that you own the device, simple and clear. If you can not prove that you own the device Apple will not unlock it.

That is how it should be, iPhone thefts have dropped dramatically because of it.

That would be a total invasion of privacy. You want the system to work when you want it to work, but cannot provide any alternatives to how it would work only in those situations. Unlike, say, a car, an iPhone is not "registered" to a particular person with an accompanying "pink slip" that proves direct and legal sale of that device to someone else.

How, exactly, would Apple be able to tell the difference between someone who legitimately purchased an iPhone from a nice neighbor (who unbeknownst to them, dealt in selling stolen iPhones - the world is full of scumbags, some of them living in your very own neighborhood), as opposed to someone who legitimately purchased an iPhone from the well-meaning old lady neighbor who just couldn't figure out how to use that newfangled thing, and wanted it to go to someone who could use it?

Where is the provenance? Where is the paper trail showing the legitimate sale of this product from hand to hand?

It is truly unfortunate when someone is either duped by some unscrupulous hoser, and equally unfortunate when someone is sold a phone on the up and up by someone who has no proof that they actually purchased through the Apple Store 3 years and 2 moves ago....

So, when you can help to figure out a way to differentiate between those two situations - both involving an innocent party who ends up with a device that is useless, the process must go on the way it is now.

What you CAN do, however, is to educate anyone you know who is or might be in the market for an iPhone. Explain to them about the robust Anti-theft lock that is put on that phone when an original owner sets it up. Explain to them how to make sure that if they are purchasing a 2nd hand phone, that they follow the instructions below to make sure that they will be able to use it as intended:

Find My iPhone Activation Lock - Apple Support

https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

Best of luck,

GB

"The world is full of scumbags, some of them living in your very own neighborhood),"

Oh crackers. Can this day get any worse ?

my case is i bought an iphone from a friend well he passed away and i reset the iphone and it took me to the activation screen and now im stuck

<Edited by Host>

mizner wrote:

 

my case is i bought an iphone from a friend well he passed away and i reset the iphone and it took me to the activation screen and now im stuck apple people are dicks cause they won't help you

In your case Apple may be able to unlock it for you if you take it to an Apple Store (not just an Apple retailer, an actual Apple Store) together with the original purchase documents, proof you are the owner, and a copy of the death certificate.

Apple have to be quite sure it's a legitimate case before they will unlock a phone, since it's an ant-theft device and if there was an easy way round it there would be no point in having it in the first place.

mizner wrote:

 

my case is i bought an iphone from a friend well he passed away and i reset the iphone and it took me to the activation screen and now im stuck apple people are **** cause they won't help you

If you came to me with that sort of attitude, I'd probably be disinclined to help you, too.

mizner wrote:

my case is i bought an iphone from a friend well he passed away and i reset the iphone and it took me to the activation screen and now im stuck

<Edited by Host>

then why are you posting here?

I personally think this person with this email is going around selling locked Apple devices. I have a locked iPod that my mom bought for me with that same email..

Sorry, but there is so little information provided about the user id that is signed on, there is really know way to know if it is the same use ID. S*********@gmail.com can, literally, be millions of people.....

GB

pkrva wrote:

 

I think that if they were really interested in the consumer, Apple should consider an online exchange where your registered device can be sold and the sale is recorded. For example, I want to sell my iPad, so I register my desire to sell it with the exchange (via my Apple ID) and I'm given a code or a link. I use that code or link in any ad on Craigslist, eBay or wherever as proof that I'm the registered owner and the device is legit. When someone wants to buy it, they click the link or enter the code on the exchange, inspect the device ID number, IMEI, history, etc. and when satisfied, pay through the exchange. When the money hits the exchange, the device is unlocked and wiped automatically and then once the device is successfully re-registered by the new owner, I get my money. Or if they pay me in person in cash, they click the link from the device while they are standing there, I confirm the cash transaction and they can re-register. Similar to how you buy a car - every car has to have a title of some kind. While you *can* buy a car that doesn't have a title, you'll have a heck of a time trying to register it and if you can't register it, you can't drive it.

 

 

On a side note, I came to this thread because I work for a company that provides iPhones so some employees and one was recently turned in with the lock code active. It appears the user removed their apple ID, but not the lock screen pin. To complicate matters, the user just "left" and it's not like I know everyone in the entire company. I've asked HR to contact them, but that's likely not going to go anywhere. I had high hopes of finding some assistance in a 45 page discussion. Instead, I discover a few mean spirited individuals who seem to take great delight in belittling anyone who comes here looking for assistance with a legitimate problem. Not everyone who is saddled with a locked device is a thief and the fact that these "campers" seem to believe the contrary is a little sad. It's also a little sad that they have been active in this thread for over a year with seemingly little else going on in their lives. My sincere suggestion to them is to find a pet sitter for the cats and take a weekend off. Go somewhere, meet some real people, get some fresh air, have an adult beverage... I promise you will have a much better outlook when you get back.

Whey on earth create such a ridiculous and convoluted system?? That's insane!  And who wants to pay for such a thing when its wholly and completely unneccesaruy?  And yes, we'd all pay for it in the form of higher costs for Apple products to cover the expense of it.

If you want to sell your iDevice just deactivate Activation Lock and wipe it!  Then sell it and all is fine.

What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

The process is simple, and takes all of a few minutes. If every legitimate owner simply did this, then no buyer would ever have an issues in the first place.

Exactly the behavior I was referring to in my earlier post... And I hope you won't mind if I take the opportunity to educate - criticizing potential solutions proposed by others is not actually offering any kind of solution yourself. As a result, you are simply displaying a lack of understanding and wasting everyone's time. And by "you" I don't mean to call you out specifically. I mean "you" in the general sense of all the others in this thread who acted in a similar fashion, so please don't take it personally.

So I presume with the staff/time necessary to do this that we could expect increased costs in other areas from Apple? Just to do what you should be doing? This would be a policing and logistics nightmare and Apple do not run a police force.

Pete