Endless "Verification Code" loop while creating new Apple ID; code is verified, then resets and asks again

Well, here was the "solution" to my problem:

I finally gave in and called Apple, and the person on the Support line basically didn't know the answer as to why this problem was happening. The only suggestion was that perhaps the email address I chose for the account was frozen out for 24 hours because too many attempts with the wrong code had been tried. But that didn't explain why the issue happened the FIRST time I tried it, or the second, etc. -- so I'm not convinced that was the reason. Also, she insisted that it was not possible to set up an Apple ID without a payment method, and when I informed her that it was indeed possible, she checked with her supervisor and he too insisted that it was not possible -- even when I explained to them the technique. Not sure how they could be so uninformed when their whole specialty is being Tech Support for Apple IDs.

Anyway, I asked her if it was possible to create an Apple ID with a different email address and then later, after it had been set up, change the address to the correct email address that I originally wanted. She said "Yes." So that's what I did -- went through the same steps described above for setting up an Apple ID with no payment method, this time with a different email address, and mysteriously this time it WORKED! But of course now I'm currently stuck with an ID with an email address I don't want. BUT, I will wait 24 hours (so as to not unwittingly once again re-trigger the 24-hour ban cycle) and later try to change the ID's email address to the address I want it to be.

I hope that works. If so, it will have been a successful workaround solution to the problem. But the original question remains (and will probably always remain) unanswered -- as to why I got sent into an endless loop when I tried to create an Apple ID with my chosen email address.

There is nothing wrong with the phone itself. In every other way it works perfectly. The problem is with Apple's servers somehow not finalizing the ID creation. Also, it's not a new phone -- it's a refurbished phone, not bought directly from Apple, but from a reputable third-party reseller. There's no need to return a perfectly good phone -- the problem must lie elsewhere.

Thanks, but -- the first link is just to the backlog of pre-existing help topics, which I've already scoured and could find no reference to this problem. The second link is just a roundabout way to get the phone number for Apple Support, which I already had and which I'm trying to avoid. The third link is purportedly a way to start a "Chat" with Apple, but when I follow all the steps correctly, I get to a Web page that says "You’re all set. Your chat session will begin shortly.

We’ll be with you in about 2 minutes." -- and then nothing happens. No new window for chatting ever opens, and the page just sits there. I've tried the link several times now, and waited for nearly an hour -- no chat.

I was hoping to find an answer here.

Well, as I suspected, the physical condition of the phone itself was irrelevant to the issue, so it's a moot point whether or not it counts as being "refurbished." The phone is fine -- the problem had something to do with the email address being temporarily blocked for some reason. I don't remember if it was was advertised as officially being "refurbished" or not -- basically, it's a "used" phone in like-new condition with no locks or accounts on it. But that's not anything to do with the problem.

There was no chat box. Just a Web page announcing that in two minutes, a chat would begin. There was no box on the page. And the chat never began, as far as I could tell. But, as mentioned above, this is all a moot point by now. Thx!

The phone had no Apple ID in it. It was successfully wiped clean of any trace of the previous owner. Of that I am absolutely sure.