iphone 4s locked and cannot bypass the activation because of apple id and password

WORKING? Seriously? May wanna take a second look. The BIGGEST problem I have found is that most people really aren't aware of what this lock really is or how to prevent it. Take 2 seconds and put yourself in the shoes of a guy like me. I'm running my shop as normal. IPhones always were a decent profit generator for us. So we take a few more in on pawn, and all of a sudden, BAM!!! They're being prepared for sale and we find they're locked to the old customers icloud account. Your simple solution? Call the customer and have them unlock the devise. LOL! Sounds all like milk and cookies to someone not in the biz. Our experience is a customer claiming there is nothing more needed. They did all they were supposed to. The phone is not stolen. What THEY DON'T KNOW OR UNDERSTAND, NOR DID THE LENDER (us) is that the devises needs to be released from their account. Or you end up with a customer (as with many who lost their item due to non-payment) who gives you the big middle finger and a laugh as they hang up on you.

Yeah. I'll find a way to cover the tiny (in your eyes I'm sure) $600. But to me, I'm looking at the $1000 I should be generating from an item I LEGALLY own but can't do anything with.

From my research, yes. I believe there are MANY out there with my same problem whom are viable business people stuck in this same situation. There may just be a lawsuit. Or maybe not. Who knows....

I challenge Apple as a company to take a PUBLIC survey on selling iDevises and see what the public knows about removing their devises from their icloud account before they sell it. I'll bet they're either really surprised or.... they're really satisfied at their wins because of the lack of public knowledge....

Yes, I'm sure your research is very extensive and thorough. However police units in New York, San Francisco and London have all reported double-digit decreases in the theft of iPhones which is exactly what Activation Lock was designed to do.

The phones you have may indeed be stolen but the victim never reported it to the police for whatever reason.

Again, this isn't going to go away. Given the pressure from various state legislatures and Congress the program is guaranteed to expand probably by government mandate. Samsung already developed a kill switch for their phones but the phone carriers refused it. This is when legislators stepped in.

Apple isn't going to do a survey and they aren't going to do away with Activation Lock. Neither are other phone manufacturers. There won't be a lawsuit, there will not be a crest of pressure to have Apple remove antitheft provisions. Prior to the implementation of this feature there were a lot of posts here by people who had there phones stolen wanting to know if they could lock it out.

Better start reading up on what the other manufacturers are going to implement.

Apple is not here, so the challenge is falling on deaf ears. We are users like you.

I empathize in your plight, but you might want to take a look at this support document What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and then use it to prepare something at your shop to have customers do before you will accept the devices. While it may take a little time up front, it will save you a great deal of time and frustration in the end. And what deggie is true about this becoming a rule for all cell phone manufactures to enable something like this for all devices, so your problems can only get worse.

Right. 4 stolen iDevises in a row that never got reported to the police which could have been recovered by police WITHOUT the need of the icloud lock. That's likely I'm sure.... Sounds like the OWNER should be held responsible for not taking corrective action instead of me. BUT.... sure....

Better to turn a blind eye than to see the truth.😐

I'll certainly stay informed. Thanks for your input.....

At a pawn shop? That isn't unusual at all and you know it.

Given the phones could have been stolen from other jurisdictions and not entered into NCIC it is entirely logical. If they are not stolen then you have no issue, you can contact the person who pawned it and have them give you the information necessary to clear Activation Lock or use a computer to turn off Find My iPhone. If they legally owned the phone and transferred the device to you this should not be a problem at all.

As I said before... We now know what to look for and have taken measures to HOPEFULLY prevent this in the future. But to have no choice but to take a loss on these devises is ridiculous and unfair. I do not expect any of you to understand when it's not your money or time that went into a loss such as this. But I can't just stand back and accept that loss. And I'm sure there are many more that won't either. We'll see.

Another thing that weighs on my mind is how the local carriers such as at&t who offer a devise "buy back" or "turn it" incentive don't have to worry about this type of situation. What keeps them from getting a bunch of locked devises. Knowledge?? Doubtful.

There is a very easy method for you and all pawn shop owners to avoid getting burnt.... refuse to accept any and all iPhones.

I didn't ask you to sit back and take a loss. I'm just saying that it isn't going to get better just because you want it to. You need to communicate directly with Apple, and it might not be a bad idea if there is an industry representative for pawn shops nationwide to do the talking to Apple. While I do not know if this would do any good, it is the only choice. National pressure lead to the lock, and has lead to legislation that is leading to locks on all devices in the near future.

As far as the carriers, I would be willing to bet they return the devices to Apple for some credit, or are just recycling the electronics.

4 devises in a row??? All with pictures of the people who pawned it? With apple ID emails that use parts of their first name and or last name??? Do you think I'm stupid? YES! That IS unusual. We pawners are not dumb. We try to use what we can to make sure the items we take in are NOT stolen. Contrary to common belief, WE DON'T WANT STOLEN GOODS! EVER. Police have a right to take them if needed. And we lose the item AND the money.

Again, to someone that clearly knows how it works, it's a simple solution. I also run a cell phone trading site on Facebook with about 9000 members that constantly have the same issue. A buyer buys the phone from a seller. The seller was the legal owner. The seller had no idea they needed to remove their icloud account. The buyer contacts the seller and tells them the phone can't be used. The seller calls the buyer a liar. An argument ensues. All because of lack of knowledge. Happens every single day. Should they "subscribe to cellular tech sites" as well so they stay informed??

A fine reply. Thank you. Maybe I need to take my concerns directly to apple.

And maybe a large solution for retailers and loaners like me would be a way to get credit for these items as well. We loan on them or buy them and turn them in to Apple for a credit back as cash or toward wholesale devises we can sell and profit on provided they are deemed not stolen.

As far as the Facebook site you mention, if the sellers are calling the buyers a liar, then they provide them the information from Apple that I provided you which demonstrates it is a legitimate lock and they need to handle it. I do not profess to have all of the answers, but good luck.

Yes, 4 devices in a row. You are proof that can happen.

Sorry, my experience with pawn shops does not match with what you are saying. My research says they do knowingly take in stolen property from know thieves. And don't even get me started on Gold and Silver shops.

You need to get your 9,000 members together and go public and get the public to get behind you in your fight. I'm sure they will see your plight and decide that antitheft tactics are unimportant we need to insure that pawnshops and used phone traders don't lose money.

I've been in an AT&T store when someone is trading in their iPhone. Before they can do so the employee has the "seller" turn off Find My iPhone, iMessage, iCloud, and remove their email account. They do seem to be knowledgable in this regard. Not surprising really.

You could call Apple and plead your case with them. Call AppleCare and ask to be transferred to Customer Service. Keep going up in the chain until you reach some sort of accommodation.

I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience with pawn shops and Gold and Silver shops. BOTH, in which I've owned (and have an outstanding customer following). Please remember that not all are the same. I was raised to work hard and work honest. Yes. Even in a pawn shop. If you ever want to see how a pawn shop is run with integrity and honesty, feel free to come visit me. It may just change your mind. Even a pawn shop can be an honest place to work/own. It's the same old concept. Buy for x and sell for XX. Every retailer does it (it's the basics in profiting). So can we. Either sell it to a pawn shop for cash and take less or sell it yourself on the streets for more. It's that simple and we tell every customer that. But we try and make sure as best as we can that everything we deal in is legal and not stolen. Thanks.

I encourage you to call and talk to Customer Service. Be sure to remain calm and have in mind what would be a reasonable accommodation.

You might want to sign up with techcrunch to get information as it develops.

deggie wrote:

Texas has no such law against withholding funds from an employee for failing to return information, documents, etc. and the Texas Workforce Commission has nothing to do with it. There are restrictions, as there are in every state, as to the process for doing so, which funds can be tapped, and the process used for reacquiring property.

I don't know of any government or corporate entity that I have worked for or been associated with in Texas that issues equipment, policies manuals, etc. to employees that does not have a standardized form clearly stating the allowed usage and the terms for return of the material and what happens if they fail to do so. The employee must sign this document before receiving the equipment. You are correct that in some cases an employee may not refuse to sign the document but then they will no longer work for that firm and it is a non-issue.

You can actually file a claim for any found property in any state. The law in Texas even allows claiming an abandoned building in Texas although that has recently been vastly restricted. I have actually acquired a car through the process but not to actually drive the car (long legal story). But the process to do so is not trivial and is not free. I would think the time and money it would involve with a found phone would not be worth the effort. If you do not follow this process you have no legal right to the property.

Your boy meets girl analogy is nice and brief but I doubt any company is basing their policies on that scenario. If they are their board needs to start looking for new executives. They won't get to consider the scenario much longer anyway as states are beginning to require locks. Samsung actually volunteered to build a hardware lock switch but the cell carriers said they would not off a phone with that capability.