iPhone 4 Reset?

[AvaAI]

I have an iphone 4 nobody has used for years. Want to reset it to let my kids play with it as they keep wanting to play with my phone, so may as well let them play with this that has been sitting unused in a box. But it keeps asking for an icloud password for an email address and nobody remembers any password.

How do I reset this to factory default, preferably without using a computer, but will if necessary.

I thought this should be simple but somehow it's complicated as I already played around in the menus and googled and confused by results.

 

[eyoungren]

Someone needs to remember the password. This is iCloud Activation Lock. It's an anti-theft measure and unlike the PIN code on your lockscreen there is no way around it.

 

[AvaAI]

you're kidding me. can i turn off icloud or something?

I guess I'll have to take it to apple store. There's no theft, its my wifes old phone. That icloud is just registered to an email address she hasn't used in years and doesn't exist anymore.

 

[eyoungren]

you're kidding me. can i turn off icloud or something?

I guess I'll have to take it to apple store. There's no theft, its my wifes old phone. That icloud is just registered to an email address she hasn't used in years and doesn't exist anymore.

You can turn off iCloud. As soon as you enter the email and password. Then go into Settings and turn off Find My iPhone. It'll want the email and password again.

Bring proof to Apple that you bought the phone. They won't help you without it.

BTW, it's always a good idea to turn off Find My iPhone when you are done using an iPhone as your primary. That way this kind of thing won't happen again.

It's an anti-theft measure for a reason. If someone else had this phone without your permission and you wanted it back would you want them having a way to bypass iCloud?