A Couple of Questions Regarding Activation Lock & Apple ID

[Scoot65]

Hi, here's some background info :- Phone in question is an iPhone 12 Pro Max. The phone belonged to my wife's sister who unfortunately has died suddenly. Wife would like to gift the iPhone her sister's neice. The phone is currently signed into the deceased's Apple ID (password is unknown).

The SIM appears carrier locked (AT&T). However before I knew this, the neice put another carrier's SIM into the phone which triggered the Activation Lock. The AT&T SIM card was re-installed and the Activation Lock remained in place. When I removed the AT&T SIM for the second time, iPhone connected to my home wifi and the Activation Lock deactivated and we're able to access the phone again. Currenly no SIM in the phone

I haven't tried again for fear of triggering the Activation Lock again, but it appears that if the original AT&T SIM card is put in the phone, the Activation Lock is deactivated, does this sound right?

Also, would an Apple store remove / sign out the deceased's details / Apple ID?
We have the original AT&T sales receipt for the iPhone.
Original AT&T letterheaded paper showing contract details and costings
Original retail box with serial numbers matching the iPhone
Death certificate for my wife's sister.

One last question, can the AT&T SIM lock be removed making the phone unlocked to any network?

Many thanks

 

[VineRider]

If you can get into the phone, you should be able to change the Apple ID password from there.

Change your Apple Account password - Apple Support

Follow these steps to change your Apple Account password.

support.apple.com

Once you have changed the password, you should be able to log out from there.

Put one of your own phone numbers as a trusted number so that you can access the account in the event you cannot get the phone to work. Be sure you can sign in to that account from a browser before you sign out on the phone.

Couple thoughts. If you can successfully change the password, you should check into deleting the account once you are sure that you have everything the family might need from the account.

Not sure about why activation lock is triggering with the SIM

I am sorry for your loss.

 

[BigBlur]

If you're unable to get into the phone to remove the activation lock yourself. You can work with Apple to get it removed by showing proof of ownership. The original sales receipt from AT&T should work fine. I'm not sure if they do it in the stores anymore. They might direct you to their online form.

Activation Lock - Support

al-support.apple.com

One last question, can the AT&T SIM lock be removed making the phone unlocked to any network?

I'm surprised it's still SIM locked. AT&T automatically unlocks 60 days after activation, whether it's paid off or not. Maybe there was some other agreement. You would have to work with them to see what it takes to get it unlocked.

 

[jetsam]

AT&T automatically unlocks 60 days after activation, whether it's paid off or not.

That's not true. If a phone is on a payment plan with AT&T, the phone must be paid in full before it can be unlocked.

Learn How to Unlock AT&T Phones or Devices

Review the AT&T unlock policies for your account and device.

www.att.com

Your installment balance must be zero before unlocking.

 

[BigBlur]

That's not true. If a phone is on a payment plan with AT&T, the phone must be paid in full before it can be unlocked.

Learn How to Unlock AT&T Phones or Devices

Review the AT&T unlock policies for your account and device.

www.att.com

You're right, I was thinking of Verizon. I thought AT&T had a similar policy, but apparently not.

 

[Scoot65]

Many thanks for the replies and the links.

I'll have a read through the info and will discuss with my wife BEFORE I do anything with the phone (if I were to make the Activation Lack trigger again, I'd be in the dog house).

We're not 100% sure which email address is used on the Apple ID / iCloud account, we have a couple of possibilities. There was also a couple of passwords written down in the phone box, but these didn't appear to work to get into the iCloud / ID account.

At the moment we have full access to the phone via the PIN code (which we know).
The SIM is definitely locked settings > general > about > carrier lock > SIM Locked.
VINERIDER "Not sure about why activation lock is triggering with the SIM"

To be honest I'm not sure what made the Activation Lock disable itself. all I know I took the SIM card out and maybe I touched something on the screen, but the next thing was the lock was deactivated.

The good thing is that my wife was able to retreive pictures and videos of her deceased sister which are now are very sentimental to her, So that's good.

JETSAM "If a phone is on a payment plan with AT&T, the phone must be paid in full before it can be unlocked."
That could be a problem if the plan wasn't cancelled as the phone was definitely on a payment plan. We did go into the local AT&T store to inform them of the death and they recorded the death on their system which I'm assuming then cancelled the plan.

I'm actually in the UK and we had to fly to the US (Poplar Bluff MO) in August to deal with everything......

 

[jetsam]

JETSAM "If a phone is on a payment plan with AT&T, the phone must be paid in full before it can be unlocked."
That could be a problem if the plan wasn't cancelled as the phone was definitely on a payment plan. We did go into the local AT&T store to inform them of the death and they recorded the death on their system which I'm assuming then cancelled the plan.

I'm actually in the UK and we had to fly to the US (Poplar Bluff MO) in August to deal with everything......

If the account was cancelled, there should have been a final bill requiring immediate full payment of the remaining balance. Is there any way you can check on this?

IIRC, AT&T doesn't automatically unlock phones when they are eligible to be unlocked. You might try requesting an unlock via the AT&T Unlock portal. This supposedly will work even if the phone is not currently on an AT&T account.

Unlock Your Phone or Device - AT&T Device Unlock

Review the eligibility requirements and submit a request to unlock your phone or device.

www.att.com

 

[chown33]

The following might be useful:

How to request access to a deceased family member’s Apple Account - Apple Support

This article explains how to request access to or delete someone’s Apple Account and the data stored with it after they have passed away.

support.apple.com

 

[Scoot65]

If the account was cancelled, there should have been a final bill requiring immediate full payment of the remaining balance. Is there any way you can check on this?

All we did was walk into the local AT&T store informed a staff member of the death of the account holder, gave the guy the latest monthly bill showing the account number, deceased account holder's details etc and also gave him the death certificate.
The staff member did something on the computer and that was that. He said that's done and there was nothing else to do. No mention of any remaining payments being required............. I suppose maybe the phone was already paid off. There wasn't even an outstanding balance for the month we informed of the death. It was as if AT&T simply wrote off any outstanding balances. At least in our circumstances.

I suppose I could find the local store details and phone them, but it get a bit expensive international calls from UK to US.

Thanks again for the links.

 

[Scoot65]

The following might be useful:

How to request access to a deceased family member’s Apple Account - Apple Support

This article explains how to request access to or delete someone’s Apple Account and the data stored with it after they have passed away.

support.apple.com

Many thanks, that's looks quite useful info too. Looks like Apple will possibly help under these circumstances.

My wife and I are actually going to our local Apple store tomorrow so we'll take all the iPhone documentation, death certificate etc and we'll see what the staff say......

 

[jetsam]

All we did was walk into the local AT&T store informed a staff member of the death of the account holder, gave the guy the latest monthly bill showing the account number, deceased account holder's details etc and also gave him the death certificate.
The staff member did something on the computer and that was that. He said that's done and there was nothing else to do. No mention of any remaining payments being required............. I suppose maybe the phone was already paid off. There wasn't even an outstanding balance for the month we informed of the death. It was as if AT&T simply wrote off any outstanding balances. At least in our circumstances.

I suppose I could find the local store details and phone them, but it get a bit expensive international calls from UK to US.

Thanks again for the links.

Have you tried the AT&T Unlock portal I linked? Instead of a phone number, you can use the IMEI of the phone to apply for an unlock. This might just be a shot in the dark, but worth a try.

 

[Scoot65]

Have you tried the AT&T Unlock portal I linked? Instead of a phone number, you can use the IMEI of the phone to apply for an unlock. This might just be a shot in the dark, but worth a try.

Actually we've not tried that yet. Wife was more concerned about getting her sister's Apple ID account removed. We'll take a look at the portal and see if we can have some success.

Regarding getting the deceased's Apple ID removed. The staff at the Aple Store said that they can't do it in-store. He gave me the number for Apple Support. Wife's working until the weekend so we'll try Apple Support then.

 

[goldmac2006]

If you can get into the phone, you should be able to change the Apple ID password from there.

Change your Apple Account password - Apple Support

Follow these steps to change your Apple Account password.

support.apple.com

Once you have changed the password, you should be able to log out from there.

Put one of your own phone numbers as a trusted number so that you can access the account in the event you cannot get the phone to work. Be sure you can sign in to that account from a browser before you sign out on the phone.

Couple thoughts. If you can successfully change the password, you should check into deleting the account once you are sure that you have everything the family might need from the account.

Not sure about why activation lock is triggering with the SIM

I am sorry for your loss.

Hey OP, if the Apple account was set up with a legacy contact from the past, you can use the website linked below in this  article to get the Apple ID accessed of the deceased family member and turn off Find My or remove the linked iPhones and other devices from their Apple account.

Request access to an Apple Account as a Legacy Contact - Apple Support

If a loved one who added you as a Legacy Contact passes away, learn how to request access to data stored in their Apple Account.

support.apple.com

You’ll need the access key that the decedent texted you via iMessage when they were alive, when they set it up for you to be their legacy contact on your iPhone (after you approve it, it gets saved in the Apple account settings). You can also use the paper or if they sent you a file of the information with the legacy contact key in your archives or important documents 📃, and the death certificate/obituary. You’ll need to enter the special code and scan the documents on the website (https://digital-legacy.apple.com/) or on the settings on your iPhone to request access to their iCloud account. The settings will be accessed on the iCloud website, and you can reset the password on the account you’re interested in.

OP, I’m so sorry for your loss. Please take care of yourself, and I’m sending prayers and condolences 💐.

 

[goldmac2006]

Actually we've not tried that yet. Wife was more concerned about getting her sister's Apple ID account removed. We'll take a look at the portal and see if we can have some success.

Regarding getting the deceased's Apple ID removed. The staff at the Aple Store said that they can't do it in-store. He gave me the number for Apple Support. Wife's working until the weekend so we'll try Apple Support then.

AppleCare and Apple Store Genius Bar staff are unable to assist you with legacy contacts because they require a special key and documentation. They can help you find the settings or resources on your iPhone but they are not permitted to look up or reset passwords for security reasons.