id icloud can not be create because maximum number of free accounts have been activated on this phone?

On a different device

How many Apple IDs do you require?

Pete

Ah, I see. And you cannot activate it because it is already tied to someone else's Apple ID? And it is asking for that password?

Pete

You cannot solve it. You have hit Activation Lock, an anti-theft measure. The device is of absolutely no use to you unless the original owner uses their password to unlock it and remove it from FindMyPhone in iCloud. If you cannot contact the seller to do this or to get a refund, then there is nothing you can do.

Sorry

Pete

petermac87 wrote:

You have hit Activation Lock, an anti-theft measure.

Actually I don't think from what the OP says this is the case. Activation Lock produces the message that an ID - given incomplete - is required to Activate the phone. The 'maximum number of free accounts' means that the phone has already created three iCloud accounts.

@mr rosli: you cannot create an iCloud account using this phone. You can sign into an existing iCloud account if you already have one (there is in that case no need to create a new account as you would want to use the existing one to sync your data); or if you don't already have one you can create one on a Mac or another iOS device (not a Windows PC) then sign into it on your phone.

I created the icloud account for my aunt on the computer and then just tried to sign in this hand-me-down phone using the new account. It still says that "cannont sign in the maximum number of free accounts have been activated on this iPhone". Does it mean that apple lets the phone be used by only 3 users? The phone is still in good condition!

3 accounts can be created on an IOS device, no more. You can sign into any number of accounts but you can't create more than 3 new accounts. So create the account on something else and then sign into it.

Thank you! Roger Wilmut1 and you are right! The phone can be signed in with more than 3 accounts but can create only 3. I need to create the icloud account in another idevice and not the pc. I've just done that on another iphone which I know has only one account on it. Now I can sign in with the new account on the first phone. The error message should have included this info -- create/activate a new icloud account on another idevice. Thanks again!