Activation Code/Apple ID

[drdudj]

for the past 6 years or longer, my cousin has had an iMac, an iPad, and him and his wife both have iPhone 6's. a couple weeks ago he went to use his phone and it asked him for the Activation Code? He couldn't get in to his phone. he went to use his iPad, it too asked for the Activation Code? he then went to the iMac, and it too asked for the Activation Code? he then spent hours on the phone with tech support, and they tried to figure out why and how to solve this problem, to no avail. he is wanting to buy iPhone 13's, but support say that they won't be able to access his phone to transfer personal files over to the new phone. he also does not remember his Apple ID to get in to iCloud should he need to.

Curious if anyone here might have a work around for him, that support/tech might not be aware of?

 

[Apple_Robert]

I think your cousin is tech dead in the water, unless he can show proof of ownership of all the devices in question to an employee at the Apple Store. If he does have the original receipts, the Apple Store can unlock the devices for him. If he doesn't have them, he will have to set up a new Apple ID and set up the new phones as new when he gets them.

As to his current devices, the 6 digit activation code can trigger if someone else was repeatedly trying to access the account etc. I don't believe there is a way around it as the devices are now activation locked, outside of showing receipts.

I strongly encourage you to discuss the necessity of using a password manager with your cousin, so that he can keep important information about account logins and passwords safe and readily accessible.

 

[Fishrrman]

Better yet...
WRITE DOWN important passwords ON PAPER in a notebook or something like that.
Keep it stored in a safe place.

 

[drdudj]

thanks for the replies, all makes sense. been years since he purchased any of his "I" devices, pretty sure he doesn't have receipts now. as to passwords, he used various password managers to generate passwords for his various accounts, never wrote anything down. hard lesson to learn.

 

[chown33]

If he bought any of the devices from an Apple Store, they might have a record. I suggest taking one device in to an Apple Store, along with picture ID, and discuss with a Genius what pathways he might have to get rid of the activation lock.

If they don't have anything more to suggest than what's been posted here, and he has no backups of any kind, then he may well be stuck.

If he does have backups, then he might be able to get data off them using an Apple Store Mac.

 

[0128672]

I'm assuming he's also tried Apple's https://iforgot.apple.com/appleid utility to find his Apple ID.

 

[Boyd01]

I'm confused by exactly what "activation code" means. To me, that doesn't sound like an AppleID or a password, but the code that they send you via text message *after* you enter the AppleID and password.

 

[firedept]

Password Manager!!! I am also confused by activation code. Sounds like 2 step verification and the code you receive by text or email. Could you please verify what you mean by "activation code".

 

[drdudj]

he said that when he went to turn on his phone first thing that morning the screen said to enter Activation Code. he messed around with it for a while, no luck. then turned on his iPad, it too asked for Activation Code. then turned on his iMac, it too asked for Activation Code. he said he thought it was similar to when he added a new apple device and was sent an Activation Code via text?