Q: what does icloud locked mean?

There are non-theft related ways that a device becomes iCloud locked. I once bought a used iPad, only to find when I bought it that it was registered to another person's apple ID. Luckily, that apple ID was a full email address, which I used to contact the previous owner. They were surprised it had not been wiped, and explained they had traded it in to a vendor who upgraded them to a brand new (ipad Air) device, and gave them a discount for the trade. They were actually kind enough to give me their apple ID password, however it DIDN'T WORK! The previos owner apologized and said that her daugher had set it up when she bought it new in 2012, and now could not remember her password. They said they still had the original sales reciept, which they offered to send me if that might help, but I decided I wasn't messing with that any more, and returned it to the vendor. What he did with it... I'm pretty sure he just sold it on eBay as an "iCloud-Locked" device.

Everyone automatically assumes an iCloud locked device is stolen (as seen in the comments above). While that's probably true too frequently, there are likely far more exceptions to that than apple would care to admit. That being said, as an owner of an 1 iPhone, 1 iPad, and 3 iPod touches (for my sons), I am VERY glad to have the iCloud theft-deterrent.

Great info, I goggled the question what is iCloud Lock and got this. My question is if a phone is brand new in a sealed box (never used) could it still be iCloud locked?

If it is purchased from Apple or an authorized reseller it will not be iCloud locked. If you buy it from eBay, Amazon, or an unauthorized reseller you are taking your chances. You can check it here: https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

pctechtv wrote:

 

Great info, I goggled the question what is iCloud Lock and got this. My question is if a phone is brand new in a sealed box (never used) could it still be iCloud locked?

Boxes can be resealed. So a sealed box is no guarantee that the product inside is new (this applies to all products, not just iPhones).

My friend here at work just ask another interesting question, He says that he stopped paying his bill but never used iCloud, did not ever have an apple ID attached to iPhone, and only used the phone to make phone calls. Would this iPhone eventually get iCloud locked? Thanks

No, if he never turned on Find My iPhone then it would not be activation locked and could be used by someone else.

No, but it might be blacklisted by the carrier, which means no participating carrier will allow the phone to be activated. This is not iCloud lock, it is IMEI blacklisting.

I am taking from this that if you buy an iPhone from eBay or Craig's List, it is hard to know what you will wind up with, correct? But supper great info! Thanks

Craig's list is very risky. eBay is a little better, because of eBay's buyer protection. For either, however, a common scam is to sell a phone on one of the sites, then report it stolen to collect the insurance. This results in the phone being IMEI blacklisted. As @deggie pointed out, you can check the iCloud lock status here: https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/. But that still doesn't guarantee that the phone will be unlocked when you get it, only that it was when you checked.

I am the original owner of my iPhone, and it suffered water damage. I already sent it off to a trusted person to try fixing the damage, but there was no positive result. It is now a password protected paperweight.

Since the phone cannot turn on to remove the lock, would I be able to sell the phone for parts and not worry about my information?

The parts aren't worth anything if the phone has suffered water damage, so unless you lie about it's history no one will buy it.

You can unlock it by logging in to https://apple.com/find and removing it from your account. But that will not erase the information on the phone if it is non-responsive.

not like that

Can you please explain your response to the 18 month old post you just answered?

I had lost my phone and got a phone, to use temporarily, from a family member.

1) I got a phone and is now selling the temporary phone.  The person is asking if it is icloud locked.  After reading this post, it would appear that it is not as it does not show in my iCloud account.  Is that correct?

2) They are also asking for the IMEI but I no longer have the SIM card so I can't get that info or is there another way?  Although I did see somewhere where they said that this information should not be given out.

Thanks in advance.

Apple2Day wrote:

 

I had lost my phone and got a phone, to use temporarily, from a family member.

 

1) I got a phone and is now selling the temporary phone.  The person is asking if it is icloud locked.  After reading this post, it would appear that it is not as it does not show in my iCloud account.  Is that correct?

 

2) They are also asking for the IMEI but I no longer have the SIM card so I can't get that info or is there another way?  Although I did see somewhere where they said that this information should not be given out.

 

Thanks in advance.

You can check the Activation Lock status here: https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

You can get the IMEI by going to Settings/General/About on the phone. The IMEI is not on the SIM. Other ways to find it:  iPhone: Locating the serial number, IMEI, ICCID or MEID

If you are selling the phone it's probably OK to give out the IMEI, as the buyer will want to check if it is blacklisted. There is some risk, but not a major one.