Q: how can I activate iphone5c firware9.2.1, on itunes, cannot get to activate bought from previous owner
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May 16, 2016 11:25 PMby chess010,The message I get on the iphone when connected to itunes and trying to activate is Your Iphone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable.Try connecting your iphone to itunes to activate it,or try again in a few minutes.
if this problem persists contact apple support at apple.com/support.
and the message I get on itunes on pc is
were sorry we are unable to continue with your activation at this time.
Please help
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May 17, 2016 12:36 AMby Courcoul,If the phone was properly wiped clean and disassociated from the AppleID of the previous owner, it should activate thru the cellular network provided it has a valid and active SIM chip. It can't do it via Wi-Fi since it doesn't have a network config. yet and I've never seen activation thru iTunes in all the iPhones I've owned or helped set up.
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May 17, 2016 12:47 AMby Briansyddall,Hi
Has the last owner removed find my iPhone ?
Ask him to go to find my iphone on his apple device click on left hand corner devices if the iPhone he sold you
Is still on his list he needs to delete this iPhone .
Then you need to restore iPhone back to factory settings .
Then iPhone is ready for new owner .
Cheers
Brian
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May 17, 2016 5:28 AMby chess010,I did the wipe clean and deleted and setup as new iphone so now back to factory settings.Have been on phone to apple and they got m downloading the iphone softwareby pressing the two buttons top and bottom together for 30 sec approx and then showed the appple logo and the cable when conncted on pc and itunes started.this then lead to downloading which took 30 min approx but at ensd of this got error message 1671 .have still to get back to apple support but the iphone is temperamental in that sometimes does not start up properly. Once started it is fine except for doin this update which still cannot get to work
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May 17, 2016 6:05 AMby Lawrence Finch,From: Get help with iOS update and restore errors - Apple Support
Check for communication issues
If you see error 1671, iTunes is downloading necessary software. Wait for the download to finish and try again. To see how long the download should take, you can click the down arrow in the upper-right corner of iTunes.
If you see one of the issues below, your computer might not be able to connect to Apple servers or your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
- 17, 1638, 3014, 3194, 3000, 3002, 3004, 3013, 3014, 3015, 3194, 3200
- "There was a problem downloading the software."
- "The device isn't eligible for the requested build."
Check for communication issues between iTunes and Apple software-update servers. If you still see the error message, check for issues with third-party security software.
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That's the official explanation. In simple terms, Here are the reasons you might get the message that the Activation Server is unavailable:
- It really is unavailable. Rare, but it happens. You can check its status here: https://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/
- Your antivirus or firewall is blocking access to gs.apple.com. Try disabling it.
- Your router's firewall is blocking access to gs.apple.com or to a port that it requires (443).
- Your phone is jailbroken, or it was at some time in the past.
- Your computer was used to hack or jailbreak some iOS device in the past (not necessarily the device with the current problem), and its network database was corrupted. Hacking includes using some questionable apps such as recboot, reiboot, Tinyumbrella, redsn0w, etc.
For the last possibility inspect your computer's hosts file. If there are any lines in the file that reference gs.apple.com that is the explanation. You will need to rebuild the hosts file.
If you have never jailbroken a phone using your computer, about all that's left is that the phone you bought was jailbroken. Sometimes this cannot be fixed and the phone will never work, but usually a DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) restore will fix it. Follow these instructions exactly:
- Install the latest version of iTunes on your computer if it isn't there already ( (you must have Windows 7 or later or OS X 10.8.5 or later)
- Reboot your computer
- Disable any antivirus and firewalls
- Launch iTunes
- Connect the device cable to a USB port on the computer (not to a USB hub), but DO NOT CONNECT TO THE DEVICE YET
- Press and hold the HOME and SLEEP buttons at the same time for exactly 8 seconds, until the screen turns black, then release the SLEEP button but continue holding the HOME button. If an Apple logo appears while holding both buttons you held for too long; start over.
- While still holding the HOME button connect the other end of the cable to the device
- You should see a message in iTunes saying a phone in Recovery mode has been detected (it may take up to a minute for the message to appear). When you see that message release the HOME button and the device should restore. When asked DO NOT restore a backup; set up as a new phone.
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May 17, 2016 8:42 AMby Courcoul,HelpfulIt also goes without saying that the device cable (Lightning to USB in this case) must be good. My first such cable, from my old iPhone 5, seemed good until it wasn't: caught it having false contacts at the USB end, fortunately prior to an iOS update, and tossed it away.
As for what the previous owner should have done before handing the device over, not just wiping it clean but also turning Find My iPhone off and deleting it from his list of owned devices. See: What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support and possibly Turn off Find My iPhone Activation Lock - Apple Support
