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

Do NOT do this!   Restoring a device with activation lock will erase it, but you will STILL need the password in order to activate the device. It's the point of activation lock.

Apple are not going to change in any way a proven method of reducing crime, no matter what you want. People who legally own (and can prove that) an IOS device have remedies available to them, those who can't, don't.

And Apple have provided a method of checking before purchase that an iOS device isn't Activation Locked:

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/10/01/activation-lock-status-check/

Basically you just go to https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/ and enter the IMEI or serial number and a captcha.

If the company can prove they own the device, Apple will unlock it for them.  Why is that so difficult to grasp?

Also a well managed HR department would retain the employee until such time as the devices they have turned in have been verified to be in satisfactory status.

This includes removing any and all passwords from the device.

Additionally company owned devices should always have a company icloud account set up, so as to prevent this exact thing from happening.

Again if the IT department is doing their job, this should not bean issue at all.

Get the purchase receipt for the iPhone, go to an Apple Store and have them unlock it for you.

pkrva wrote:

 

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.

If you dont want an idea critically examined, then don't post it in a public forum. Were you looking for a forum of yes-people, then you came to the wrong place. People here are free to speak their minds, including yourself, but that doesn't mean their ideas must be accepted by everyone (or even anyone) here.

I honestly found your proposal extreme and wholly unnecessary. It adds a massive layer of complexity to a situation that simply does not require it, and would do so at a significant cost to Apple. That cost will either be recovered from all customers of Apple, or the people using the "exchange" would need to pay a fee to use it, in which case many or most will not do so making it even more pointless.

Do you honestly want smart phones and other personal electronics "titled", regulated and tracked like automobiles are? Activation lock is a user/owner implemented and used feature - everything you already need for smooth transactions of the property from one owner to the next already exist.  And in legitimate extreme cases (e.g. death of a relative) Apple already offers support and solutions. All the bases are already covered.

Phil0124 wrote:

 

If the company can prove they own the device, Apple will unlock it for them.

Well Phil, you had me going at the start there. If I that first statement you made has been said somewhere before in the 45 pages of this thread, then I surely missed it and I appreciate the repeat. Though I believe it would be an honest mistake given all the useless rhetoric these geniuses throw around. But then you lost me. What point is there in taking a jab at HR? Not only is it completely irrelevant to the problem, (and thus a bit foolish), but I can only guess you didn't read my original post in its entirety. If you had, you would have read that this user just up and left. There was no exit interview, no letter of resignation, no "we have to let you go." So I don't think we can blame HR for not locking him up until we got all our stuff back in good working order.

And then the dig on IT... Again with the irrelevant hyper-generalization. My "job" is actually quite a bit more significant than worrying about how I'm going to unlock old iPhone 5's. We typically have MDM for that, but unfortunately for me this device predates that implementation. I had some time today and it was like a little puzzle. And for the record, using a company icloud account for company iPhones is not considered a "best practice." It can cause a variety of problems with messaging, additional management overhead for IT, and just general confusion. In the future, if you are going to offer a suggestion to someone in how to handle mobile device accounts in a corporate environment, stick to suggesting and MDM solution such as Meraki, Exchange, or Office365 MaaS.

I'll see if I can get accounting to find the receipt and maybe I'll head over to the Apple store later this week. Thanks, Bill!

It has been said many times before in many threads, not just this one.

Oh, I don't think we can call that "critically examined." I certainly don't mind hashing out ideas as we work towards a solution and take little pride in authorship if my idea isn't the best. But you kinda just fired off a bunch of blah-blah about it being complicated and insane. I was thinkMing the problem might be that you don't really know what would actually be involved in creating an exchange like that - which is totally understandable!  See, most of the infrastructure is already in place among the various Apple services (e.g. iTunes, iCloud, etc) - user accounts, payment gateways, device info and assignment... It's all there already and you are already paying for it. It would really only be a matter of rearranging some data and presenting it in a different way. Not an overnight endevour to be sure, but not a billion dollar project built from the ground up either. Do I think Apple would take a piece of the action? Of course. But I'm pretty sure there are plenty of folks who would be willing to pay a few bucks for the assurance that what they are buying is the real deal. (I think some of them could be found in the earlier pages this discussion!) I do remember people who were down on eBay when it first started for the same reason, so I guess everything in its own time.

As for the titling- I don't know how "other personal electronics" got into it, but smart phones are already tracked and regulated. Both Apple (or Google in the case of Android phones) and your carrier know what phone you have, the serial number, model number, IMEI, etc. Just like a car, you are welcome to stop using it any time you like and put it in a drawer, but if you want to start using that phone or another, you have to register it... Again, it's part of the infrastructure that's already in place...

You need to be talking to the people who can make it happen.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Hi Chound, my initial thought when I read your post was "What has been said many times in many threads..."? But then I realized you were probably backing up your buddy and that's cool. Though I feel like I should mention that it's much more helpful to people if you can provide a link to one of those many helpful threads or posts. If you've actually seen them, of course. That's sort of community forum 101. Thanks anyway!

pkrva, Instead of wasting your ideas on other users, you should take your idea to Apple and see how it flies.  None of us here can change the protocol of Activation Lock which is in place to protect the average user against theft.

Much appreciated, frazzm. Thats the kindest, most appropriate response I've seen given to anyone all day.

pkrva wrote:

 

Oh, I don't think we can call that "critically examined." I certainly don't mind hashing out ideas as we work towards a solution and take little pride in authorship if my idea isn't the best. But you kinda just fired off a bunch of blah-blah about it being complicated and insane. I was thinkMing the problem might be that you don't really know what would actually be involved in creating an exchange like that - which is totally understandable!  See, most of the infrastructure is already in place among the various Apple services (e.g. iTunes, iCloud, etc) - user accounts, payment gateways, device info and assignment... It's all there already and you are already paying for it. It would really only be a matter of rearranging some data and presenting it in a different way. Not an overnight endevour to be sure, but not a billion dollar project built from the ground up either. Do I think Apple would take a piece of the action? Of course. But I'm pretty sure there are plenty of folks who would be willing to pay a few bucks for the assurance that what they are buying is the real deal. (I think some of them could be found in the earlier pages this discussion!) I do remember people who were down on eBay when it first started for the same reason, so I guess everything in its own time.

 

As for the titling- I don't know how "other personal electronics" got into it, but smart phones are already tracked and regulated. Both Apple (or Google in the case of Android phones) and your carrier know what phone you have, the serial number, model number, IMEI, etc. Just like a car, you are welcome to stop using it any time you like and put it in a drawer, but if you want to start using that phone or another, you have to register it... Again, it's part of the infrastructure that's already in place...

For someone who does not know me from Adam, you certainly take a lot of liberties in your own judgemental tone. I've been working in IT and data management since punch card mainframe days, so I am very well aware of what is involved in your brief explanation of such a system and I don't believe for one minute that you have a clue about the actual details (technical, legal, and ethical) of what you're talking about.

You also seem to be oblivious to the actual fact that what you propose is wholly and completely unnecessary.  There is no need for it, so why implement it? It's a pointless and unnecessary complication of what is currently a wholly private matter of one person selling their own private property to another person.

And no, personal smart phones are not in any way, shape or form regulated in the same manner as automobiles. That is an absurd comparison. I don't pay property taxes on my phone, as I do with my car. I do not pay an annual state license or registration fee on my phone, as I do my car.  I do not have to get my phone annually safety inspected or EPA emissions inspected as I do my car.  I do not need a state approved license to use my phone, as I do with my car.

But by all means, continue with your crusade that there (a) is a problem in the first place, and that (b) it is NOT a problem of personal responsibility for personal property.

Again, every owner/purchaser of every iDevice has the OPTION to implement activation lock, or not, as they choose. And every owner/purchaser of every iDevixe can thus disable it should they decide to sell, give, pawn or toss their device to someone else. Apple created the system, and the means for every owner/purchaser to control it of their own free will.  The fact some do not do so lies with them, not Apple or anyone else.

As for me, I'm done with this thread. Like so many along the same lines here it has degenerated to the same level as so many others - those burned by the mere thought of personal responsibility for private property blame "someone else" and refuse to even acknowledge that they've been empowered to control the situation themselves, but have refused to do so (out of ignorance, or otherwise).

You, as an apparently senior personal at your company also had, and have, the capability to control this entire situation. You choose to use the technology but refuse responsibility for understanding it and using it appropriately. You "have other things to deal with" than this. Well, welcome to the party mate - we all have "stuff" to deal with we were not aware of when we signed on at our jobs. But if it falls within your responsibility, then your "job" was to learn about it and implement it appropriately.  Don't shufle off the responsibility just because you have "other stuff" to deal with. I learn of "other stuff" on my plate just about every week - it comes with the responsibility of the job, and I learn how to deal with the tech appropriately, not pass the buck.

I'll see if I can get accounting to find the receipt and maybe I'll head over to the Apple store later this week.

There is a way for companies to set up an email exchange with Apple to have a phone reported then to be de-activated.

That about all I know.

Enterprise

1-866-752-7753

& you have hr department dock the persons pay until the iPhone is deactivated.

Hi Asai, What did you to remove the password of the previous owner. I am in the same situation like yours. Help me out, Please.