iPhone Activation Lock

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markfa1983 Author

Level 1

4 points

iPhone Activation Lock

Hi,

Probably a simple one that I'm hoping somebody can help me with.

A friend has an iPhone and when we turn it on and enter the PIN, it has the message, "Activate iPhone. This phone is currently linked to an apple ID *******@*******.com. Sign in with the Apple ID that was used to set up this phone.

We know the PIN to the phone as it was legitimately given to us but due to reasons I won't go into here, another person changed the itunes account password.

We probably could contact this person but we are trying to establish what has happened. We know that find my iphone has the activation lock built in but we are wondering what this person has done at the other end. Has it been erased? Just put in lost mode? What does somebody need to do via the icloud control panel to make this particular message appear? There are many web pages out there that talk about activation lock but they don't really explain how it works. I was expecting to see a button in the icloud control panel that allows me to activation lock but all I see is "play sound", "erase iPhone" and "Lost mode".

Is anybody able to explain what has happened to make this message appear?

Thanks

iPhone 6s, iOS 11.2.6

Posted on Mar 14, 2018 4:28 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

gail from maine

Level 9

52,575 points

Mar 16, 2018 9:14 AM in response to markfa1983

markfa1983 wrote:

Thanks for the reply, Gail.

I thought this might be the case - was hoping not due to the content on the phone being sentimental.

Last question on this then (purely for my info) - if the phone was erased, why isn't the passcode removed too? Is it by design that the passcode will remain on the handset?

Thanks

Hi markfa,

Yes - Activation Lock will remain in place even when the device has been erased because Find My iPhone is still turned on for that device. That is so the owner can remove their personal information, but still prevent a thief from using the device. Here are a couple of articles that might help explain the process:

ACTIVATION LOCK

Turn off Find My iPhone Activation Lock

Prepare your device to sell or give away

However, if you have any way to physically contact the person, they could type in their iCloud ID and Password (or provide you with the password), and then go to Settings>name>, scroll to the bottom of that screen and sign that iCloud account out of the device. When you sign it out, it will ask you to provide the passcode again to sign out Find My iPhone. Then you wouldn't lose anything, and you would then be able to sign into iCloud with your own ID and turn on Find My iPhone under that ID.

Best of luck,

GB

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Answer 2

javaliga

Level 10

119,409 points

Mar 14, 2018 7:33 AM in response to markfa1983

I'm not sure I have all the answers to your questions, but I'll take a stab.

Last question first, if the phone is asking for a passcode, then it probably was not erased. (I'm not sure wgat you mean by "the same" passcode. Same as what?

Most of your questions about lost mode can be answered by the "If your device is lost or stolen" section in:

Find My iPhone Activation Lock - Apple Support

or

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

If the iPhone is currently "linked" to a previous owner's Apple ID, then only that owner can remove the activation lock and he can do it remotely. If the previous owner isn't present, they can remove the device from their account by signing in to icloud.com/find.

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Answer 3

Mar 15, 2018 9:03 AM in response to markfa1983

markfa1983 wrote:

Now when we turn it on, it asks for the passcode (which we enter OK) and then we see "Activate iPhone. This phone is currently linked to an apple ID *******@*******.com. Sign in with the Apple ID that was used to set up this phone.". (This is her partners apple ID that has been changed).

I assumed the phone had been wiped and just not removed from the icloud account but then that wouldn't explain why the passcode on the phone is what it always was.

Thanks

Your assumption in paragraph 2 is correct. The person erased the device, but did not remove it from the iCloud account it was linked to, so the Activation Lock remains in place. They need to simply go back to that iCloud account, select the device, then click on "Remove From Account" at the bottom (they may need to erase the phone again, and you will need to be connected to Wifi or the internet):

Best of luck,

GB

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Answer 4

markfa1983 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 15, 2018 5:35 AM in response to javaliga

Thanks for taking the time to reply to me.

To answer your question about the passcode - it's the same passcode that has always been on the phone when it was the previous owner.

Basically, the phone was her late partners. Another family member has changed the itunes password and appears to have done something to the phone via icloud. We turned it on last week and were able to access the phone with the passcode and view all pictures/videos etc. Now when we turn it on, it asks for the passcode (which we enter OK) and then we see "Activate iPhone. This phone is currently linked to an apple ID *******@*******.com. Sign in with the Apple ID that was used to set up this phone.". (This is her partners apple ID that has been changed).

Like I said, all I see in my icloud control panel (used for reference purposes) is "play sound", "erase iPhone" and "Lost mode". None of these would appear to cause the phone to display the message above.

I assumed the phone had been wiped and just not removed from the icloud account but then that wouldn't explain why the passcode on the phone is what it always was.

How would this person remove an activation lock?

We are trying to establish if the phone has been wiped - or what this person has actually done via the icloud control panel to cause this behaviour.

Thanks

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Answer 5

markfa1983 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 16, 2018 2:58 AM in response to gail from maine

Thanks for the reply, Gail.

I thought this might be the case - was hoping not due to the content on the phone being sentimental.

Last question on this then (purely for my info) - if the phone was erased, why isn't the passcode removed too? Is it by design that the passcode will remain on the handset?

Thanks

Reply