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I have repaired about 5 company owned and purchased iPhone 5s's.
I cannot unlock them becuase they were activated with ex-employee's personal iCloud accounts.
How does Apple resolve this. We own the phones, not the icloud account.
If you purchased the devices and are the original owners, you can bring the devices and the original purchase receipts to a physical Apple Store and they should be able to help you.
But, as Kappy said, you need to develop a protocol/policy that prevents this from happening again. If you do a search of the forum, you should find similar postings and some businesses have posted some sample information on how they regulate their employees, up to and including the requirement to cover the purchase of a new device if they do not unlock the original device.
If you purchased the devices and are the original owners, you can bring the devices and the original purchase receipts to a physical Apple Store and they should be able to help you.
But, as Kappy said, you need to develop a protocol/policy that prevents this from happening again. If you do a search of the forum, you should find similar postings and some businesses have posted some sample information on how they regulate their employees, up to and including the requirement to cover the purchase of a new device if they do not unlock the original device.
Your post is not related to this thread in any way. If your device is disabled, follow the instructions in this support article that best apply to your situation: If you forgot the passcode for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, or your device is disabled - Apple Support
You should also be able to erase your device via the Find My iPhone app in iCloud.com if you have set up Find My iPhone on your device, and you know your Apple ID and Passcode: Find My iPhone: Erase your device
Cheers,
GB
Thanks for the advice, I sure hope so or I won't be able to consider purchasing any more iPhones if I can pay for them, but cannot unlock them.
"Setting up a protocol" is not something our half a billion dollar company is interested in or have time to do. That would be like FedEx not being able to use their trucks ever again if the employee went home with the keys.
Apple doesn't resolve it. You will need to get the Apple IDs and passwords for those employees or follow the information below so they can release the devices from the activation lock: Find My iPhone Activation Lock.
This is something your company needs to develop a protocol for when releasing employees who have company iDevices they will leave behind.
It requires the Apple ID and password of the previous owner. If you don't have it and cannot get it, then the device is useless to you. In the future check first: How to check for Activation Lock before buying a used iPhone.
It doesn't matter what you accept in this instance. The reality is that any device or Mac signed onto Find My iPhone via an iCloud account is locked by an Activation Lock to that account.
You can do as Chris suggested, as long as you have the proof of original purchase.
Going forward, you can continue to take time out of your busy schedule to make trips to the Apple Store with proof of purchase paperwork to get your devices unlocked, or you can figure out how to institute a policy to prevent it from continuing to happen. If you allow people to use their personal iCloud accounts, then you will continue to run into this issue.
If you want to provide feedback to Apple about your displeasure, please do so here: Apple - Feedback
As previously stated, we are just users like you, so we are not presenting a "business case" we are just presenting facts and the solutions that go with them.
Cheers,
GB
The thing is you did not lock anything. Your employee did because you had no protocols in place to consider what happens when said employee leaves. Instead you should have them already pre-locked to your company.
Apple Deployment Programs- Upgrade account to access all programs
About Mobile Device Management
"This document offers guidance on some important considerations for getting the most out of your iOS deployment." Covers: Prepare your infrastructure. Set up devices. Configure and manage devices. Deploy apps and content. Plan for support.
Quick overview of zero-touch MDM enrollment, DEP.
Consider DEP, Device Enrollment Program. Use VPP, Volume Purchase Program. Select an MDM, Mobile Device Management. Read the Google doc below and nsdjoey write up.
IT Resources -- ios & OS X -- This is a fantastic web page. I like the education site over the business site.
View documentation, video tutorials, and web pages to help IT professionals develop and deploy education solutions.
scroll down after all the pretty picture. Click on the words "For It".
Business site is:
If necessary, scroll down until you see the Browse IT Resources button. Click on button.
MDM -- Mobile Device Management
VPP -- Volume Purchase Program
Joe Rowe's Excellent guides:
IT managers who are new to configurator and managing a cart of ios devices:
ThisThingSucks wrote:
OK now I am openly just trolling this forum for fun, waiting to see how long it takes for you to figure it out.The replies are way too spiteful for this to be an official forum, hence proving my point about not being an enterprise class device.
Where did you get the idea it was an 'Official Forum'? We are only other users. Did you not read the Terms Of Use that you agreed to when you joined this site? I am starting to believe that yes, you are trolling and have nothing whatsoever to do with a 'half billion dollar company' and may well be trying to just bypass Activation Lock on a stolen product, which you cannot.
So good luck, as there is nothing else you can do that has not been suggested here already. So troll on. 🙂
Cheers and Good Luck
Pete
If you mean your device is locked to someone else's iCloud account, then only you can resolve that issue by going to the person who put the lock on and by asking them to remove it.
If you mean you forgot your own iCloud ID and password, then start here:
If you forgot your Apple ID - Apple Support
If you forgot your Apple ID password - Apple Support
GB
The decision as to whether to set up policy is up to you. I'm just saying that Activation Lock, which is what you have encountered, is an anti-theft device and is being mandated on all US phones in the near future. Given that, any phone you purchase is going to have something substantially similar on it and you will be experiencing the same thing. I would hope that an employee disabling company property would be a little more liable than just ignoring them because of the amount of money your company makes. I would think your IT department would be responsible for those types of things.
Right, and I would think we would be able to unlock something we paid quite a bit of money for. Looks like this product does not work for us.
Apple can't seriously be suggesting I create a 'protocol/policy' where as I track and document my employee's personal email logins and passwords. I do not accept this as a business case solution.
ThisThingSucks wrote:
Right, and I would think we would be able to unlock something we paid quite a bit of money for. Looks like this product does not work for us.
Apple can't seriously be suggesting I create a 'protocol/policy' where as I track and document my employee's personal email logins and passwords. I do not accept this as a business case solution.
No one said you could not unlock it. I provided you with the method to see about getting it done. Apple did not suggest anything as far as protocol. This is a user to user support forum, and I am a user just like you. Apple does not participate in the forum. The suggestion for a policy is not to track their personal email logins and passwords. You are misunderstanding most of what I have told you. Allowing these users to activate these devices with their personal iCloud accounts and then not requiring them to unlock them so you can wipe them for the next user is the policy that needs changing. I'm just telling you what many IT departments are discovering, and what is going to be changing in the very near future, and that is the locking of devices. Controlling activation and access of the devices is a business solution, since, as you stated, you purchased the device. It is yours, not the employees. They are only using it, and have to held responsible.
You can get it unlocked. Apple made it difficult to prevent the theft of iPhones. Rather than blame Apple for your shortsightedness, you need to accept responsibility. Withholding the final paycheck, until the iPhone is unlocked and Apple ID is changed, has been suggested many times.
ThisThingSucks wrote:
"Setting up a protocol" is not something our half a billion dollar company is interested in or have time to do. That would be like FedEx not being able to use their trucks ever again if the employee went home with the keys.
Obviously FEDEX has a protocol in place so when a driver leaves he returns the keys, don't you think? If your company cannot bother so set up a simple employee exit protocol which might include a clause which obliges them to return the iPhone (amongst other things) with activation lock disabled, leads me to believe your company has NO protocols in place and it will probably be a 50 million dollar company very soon.
Thank you for the information.
It has become our decision not to pursue these consumer level devices for our enterprise, any longer.
All it would require is for Apple to implement a 'master' icloud account system.
ThisThingSucks wrote:
All it would require is for Apple to implement a 'master' icloud account system.
How do you know that's all it would take for Apple to do?
Your issue could been solved with a few mouse clicks should your company enroll all devices in an MDM. We have hundreds of iOS devices managed by our Casper server and have no issues removing iCloud activation lock from those devices.
Unlock company owned iPhone, locked/activated with a former employees personal iCloud account.
