how do i delete the previous owners phone number on iMessage on my iPhone 5?

You did NOT erase all content in the phone if the previous owner's phone number is still associated with iMessage. Erasing all content will put the phone in an as new state, requiring activation, which you can NOT do without a SIM card. If the original owner did not remove their iCloud account and they had find my iPhone turned on, you would not be able to activate it at all without the credentials for the original owners iCloud account.

Can you still contact whoever you got it from?

If so, have them go through this process on the phone: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5661

If not... you may have been scammed.

zachr095 wrote:

also i have no sim card in my iphone 5 right now so? im confused

Then you did not wipe the phone clean. It can't be activated at all without a SIM.

I hope the "original owner" removed their iCloud account from the phone, or you can get hold of them and have them do so, because if they don't, you could end up with a brick on your hands thanks to activation lock.

if you truly did settings - general - reset - erase all contents and settings, then none of the previous owners info would be on the phone, it would be brand new like out of the box.

You wouldn't receive any imessage, because there is no sim to activate the 5S.

You should probably wipe the phone clean.

settings - general - reset- erase all contents and settings.

YOu can't activate an iphone without a sim card.

You should've added this to your original post, that way there is no confusion as to what exact help you need.

Set , messages

Send and receive - tap email and sign out

Then turn iMessage off then back on when new sim has arrived

If the original owner didn't follow the instructions in the link I provided, you won't be using your new phone at all.