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Just bought an iPhone 5 in second hand and it seems that i need to have the Apple ID from the first owner to use it… Any advice?

I bought an iphone 5 in second hand and therefore performed a factory hard resert. When I tryed to turn it on again, after going trough all the steps, I was asked to fill in the Apple ID and password from the first owner who now doesnt pick up the phone… So now there's no way I can turn it on because I always get stuck in that part where I need to fill in the Apple ID and Password! Does anyone know how can I solve this problem?? Because I'm pretty sure the guy who sold it to me is not going to pick up the phone ever again...

Posted on Nov 17, 2013 1:45 PM

Reply
79 replies

Feb 5, 2014 12:49 PM in response to KiltedTim

Dude! we are talking about iPhones that are registered to Apple with an email linked to an Apple account. How clear of a chain of custody do you need? What good does it do to only accept a receipt from the original owner?That makes no sense. We are talking about phones that are second, third , forth ...who knows how many hands have owned these phones? Apple most likely knows cause they activate every phone bu IMEI. Dont tell me that Apple cant help. They control everything about iPhones. Apple easily knows if an iPhone is stolen or not. Dont tell me that they dont know. Dont understimate Apple. Apple CEO Tim Cook can and has unlocked users iPhones even when the carrier would not. So dont say that Apple cant do something about this problem. You just dont understand the problem.

Feb 5, 2014 1:05 PM in response to trajan1

Dude. Get over it. The original purchaser got a receipt. Now let's say they get robbed by their drunken bum of a brother in law, who sells the phone to his heroine dealer, who sells it to a pawn shop, who sells it to some greasy scumbag who sells phones on craigslist. You call the craigslister, meet him in the parking lot of your local Wally World, and buy the phone, for which he gives you a receipt.


You take your receipt to Apple along with the activation locked phone. They laugh at you and tell you to go away.


You've been trying to argue this for weeks. Your arguments are just as ridiculous now as they were when you started. More so actually, since the "unlocking" you're referring to is carrier locked phones and has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with the topic at hand.


Apple won't do anything about it. It's not their problem.


It's only a problem if the buyer and/or seller are a) criminals, or b) ignorant/incompetent. Usually, it's a combination of seller=a and buyer=b.

Feb 5, 2014 2:18 PM in response to KiltedTim

Ok here you go propping up the same old tired criminal/drug dealer/pusher argument. In your mind everyone that buys a second hand iPhone is either a crook or an idiot for making a mistake. We all have heard that before.. Obviously you have no solution to the problem and dont you know that there is a database of stolen phones? Apple knows what phones were stolen or not. Find My iPhone will not get you your stolen phone back. it is up to the thief wether or not you get your phone back. Find My iPhone is trying to deter the phones from being stolen in the first place but along the way it is snagging legitimate buyers in a big way and bricking perfectly good iPhones in an evironmentally irresponsible way when there is a simple solution to the problem. Its akin to blowing up your car if it gets stolen as a theft prevention measure. Thats whats stupid and ridiculous!


Apple already knows the IMEI number of stolen phones and can blacklist them. If you go on ebay to buy an iPhone you know a phone is stolen because the seller will say that the IMEI number is bad.

Anyway im tired of talking about stolen phones. What is Apple going to do about people that are legitimately locked out of using their iPhones? Blow them up and have them buy new ones.. or help? Apple's response to this issue will say a lot about the direction that their customer service is headed.

Feb 5, 2014 2:22 PM in response to trajan1

The "solution" is buy a phone from a legitimate source, or at least have the basic common sense to check and make sure that Find my iPhone is turned off on the phone BEFORE you buy it.


Apple can NOT blacklist phones. You have no idea what you're talking about. CARRIERS blacklist phones.


If you are an example of the kind of customer Apple is going to lose, then I don't think they'll be to upset.


Just so you point out, if you buy a used iPhone, you are NOT an Apple customer. The person who bought the phone originally was. You are just buying a used phone.

Feb 5, 2014 2:25 PM in response to AAnjos

If you are trying to activate an iPad or iPhone and it is asking for the original owners Apple ID and password, you have encountered the Activation Lock. This is a security feature that prevents thieves from setting up and using a stolen or lost iPad or iPhone. You have no alternative. No must contact the original owner to get permission to use the device. If you cannot contact the original owner return the device to where you bought it and get a refund. You will never be able to activate the device and no one can help you do it.

Feb 5, 2014 2:42 PM in response to trajan1

There is no problem. Activation Lock is working just like it was intended to. Just because you don't like the answer doesn't mean it needs another "solution".

trajan1 wrote:


Ok so what is the point of activation lock ? And while you are at it can you tell me why Apple sends me an email everytime something changes on my Apple account? Why does Apple do that?

Ya know... I thought we were talking about solving a problem. Do you have a solution to the problem or not?

Feb 5, 2014 4:25 PM in response to Johnathan Burger

So if i buy Apps and accessories from Apple for my second hand iPhone that i own im not a customer.. right? If i take the iPhone into the Apple store i cant see a Genius.. right? Or i could not trade it in for some credit to buy a new iPhone.. right? Or i cannot get it to update from the Apple servers thru iTunes cause im not a customer.. right? I cant get an Apple account or pay iCloud services cause im not a customer.. right? Only the original owner can do anything with the iPhone.. right? I cant believe how wrong some of you people think. Sheesh!

Feb 5, 2014 7:05 PM in response to trajan1

There is NO PROBLEM. It's called an anti-theft feature and it's doing exactly what was meant to. There's no "solution" because there isn't any problem. Obviously, it's working perfectly to defeat theives.

trajan1 wrote:


If you dont have a solution to the problem or anything relevant to add to the discussion what are you doing here? What are you contributing?

Just bought an iPhone 5 in second hand and it seems that i need to have the Apple ID from the first owner to use it… Any advice?

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