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Other Turns out Apple CAN remove activation lock

mildocjr said:
Guess what, if I don't have a phone and I need to be on a conference call for my job. I use the phone at my desk.
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What an ignorant statement. Not everyone works at a desk. Duh.
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mildocjr said:
Get over yourself the person who set the activation lock on your phone, was probably the person who put it together to ensure that you could use it.
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WFT? No, this isn't a factory issue. It is an Apple activation server issue. You don't know what you are talking about.
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AppleFan360 said:
A few days later something weird happened. I turned on the iPhone 6S after being off for 2 days. I plugged it into iTunes to do a full restore and at the same time unlock the phone (after contacting AT&T). After the restore I was greeted with the activation lock screen with a completely different e-mail address associated with the phone. This did not make any sense. The phone was turned off and my screen lock code was still active so nobody would have been able to pick up the phone and get into it. Besides, the phone was in a safe place and nobody even touched it for 2 days.
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This has happened to quite a few of us:

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/05/iphone-activation-lock-wrong-apple-id-issues/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/unlocked-iphone-6s-suddenly-became-locked.2003974/
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mildocjr said:
This person probably only makes 50 cents an hour and dreams of even owning an iPhone.
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Well then I think you need to send them all your extra money so that they can buy one. That comment has NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH THE TOPIC UNDER DISCUSSION.
 
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mildocjr said:
OK let me tell you what's real. I had an issue with my device, Apple sent me a replacement device, took a whopping day to get my new phone 7 plus replacement. Next time you talk to Apple ask them the steps you need to take to ensure it doesn't lock again. After two weeks and you still don't have a resolution, heck I'd take it back to an apple store with a receipt saying "look I opened up the box, the phone is locked, apple phone support has already unlocked it once, but it just keeps going back to activation locked. I need help."

I'm just curious how you haven't tried to figure out another step, if it takes them 2 days to reset the activation lock and you've had the device 2 weeks with it locked, that means you've asked them to reset the activation lock 7 times, after the 2nd time I'd ask if there was anything else.
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I've been traveling domestically and internationally for work the last two weeks so I figured why not let them try to help me handle this remotely. I told Apple today that I want the phone replaced. we're there. the Senior Adviser I'm working with agrees with me. He has his channels he has to go through though and them simply replacing my phone doesn't do the rest of people with this problem any good. I was trying to work with the teams at Apple in hopes of getting them data/hardware/observations to hopefully fix the larger issue here.

my phone has been unlocked twice, not seven times. the only reason I didn't put up a larger fight after it relocked the first time was because they were having me do a DFU restore immediately following the unlock notice #2 from Apple. Now that this hasn't worked I will not even entertain the idea of just a 3rd unlock.... the whole try, try, try again philosphy isn't one I subscribe to when it comes to technology. I'm willing to cooperate to a certain point but it's gotten ridiculous now.

think about the ramifications if unique identifiers of the phone were stolen and cloned to other devices... should there be ANY reason for a BRAND NEW 7/7+ to be locked out of the box? no. My 6s+ still shouldn't be affected as I am the sole owner and original purchaser. It was NEVER used on any other iCloud account than my personal one, which doesn't match the generic z****@icloud.com account that it is currently locked to.
 
chabig said:
I understand your point but I still disagree. An after purchase sale or gift matters to me. I wouldn't want Apple giving you access to my phone just because you were the original buyer.
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I really don't think this would come up all that often. About the only times I can think of it being applicable would be if a spouse or parent gets access to the phone, and those situations are going to be rare. I mean, let's say I sell you a phone and I live across the country from you - why would I want to remove the activation lock on your device? In the vast majority of cases defaulting to the proof of purchase is going to be the safest way to protect against loss and theft and offer users security.
 
I'm having the same issue with a 6s Plus I bought new a year ago. I have the feeling hackers have figured out how to clone the SN / IMEI of "clean" iPhones and use them to register stolen devices. Question for all those experiencing this problem: Did you post a picture of your IMEI in your "for sale" ad, or did a potential buyer ask for it?
 
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kerrikins said:
I really don't think this would come up all that often. About the only times I can think of it being applicable would be if a spouse or parent gets access to the phone, and those situations are going to be rare. I mean, let's say I sell you a phone and I live across the country from you - why would I want to remove the activation lock on your device? In the vast majority of cases defaulting to the proof of purchase is going to be the safest way to protect against loss and theft and offer users security.
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Some have mentioned simply giving to relatives which would lead me to believe IMEI has never been made public?
 
WOW. I had the exact same issue with my 6s Plus. I got my 7 Plus, sold the 6s Plus to a friend, after following the EXACT instructions from Apple to remove my data and undo Find My Phone, so that there would be no Activation Lock. He called me the next day, it was locked, and the Apple ID it wanted started with a letter that I have NEVER used for my ID. We finally sent proof of purchase to Apple, and they unlocked it after two days.

During that time, we were Googling, and there is mention of some of the phones' MEI's having been stolen, and used for counterfeit phones. Since the ID that came up was NOT mine, I'm thinking that was the issue. I hope Apple can resolve this issue!
 
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Gmouse said:
WOW. I had the exact same issue with my 6s Plus. I got my 7 Plus, sold the 6s Plus to a friend, after following the EXACT instructions from Apple to remove my data and undo Find My Phone, so that there would be no Activation Lock. He called me the next day, it was locked, and the Apple ID it wanted started with a letter that I have NEVER used for my ID. We finally sent proof of purchase to Apple, and they unlocked it after two days.

During that time, we were Googling, and there is mention of some of the phones' MEI's having been stolen, and used for counterfeit phones. Since the ID that came up was NOT mine, I'm thinking that was the issue. I hope Apple can resolve this issue!
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Well first Apple needs to admit the issue even exists. They won't admit it. This has happened to far too many people for Apple to deny it is a problem but yet they do.

The reps insist that it is physically impossible for this to happen b/c they say you must have possession of a phone to lock it to an Apple ID. That is false - Apple engineers can both lock and unlock an iPhone to an Apple ID without ever touching the phone. So it is possible that a glitch in the Apple activation servers can cause this.


Mashuri said:
Did you post a picture of your IMEI in your "for sale" ad, or did a potential buyer ask for it?
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No, of course not. That isn't what is going on here. My phone was brand new when it happened to me, it wasn't even for sale.

The way it happens is you turn off Find My iPhone, log out of the iCloud account and then do a factory reset. When you go to activate the phone after doing that, it prompts you for the password for an Apple ID that you have never heard of it.
 
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irod87 said:
I had it removed from a couple of company owned iPads. We the company had purchased them directly from Apple. After confirming and filling out a form of who I was and why we could not remove the lock they removed it within 48hrs. It was so easy after the fact I had wished I had done it sooner.
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Do you still have the form? Or know where one can find it?
 
AppleFan360 said:
So I had an interesting situation occur when I was preparing to sell my iPhone 6S.

When I received my new iPhone 7, I followed the usual procedure to switch from the iPhone 6S to the iPhone 7:

1. Backup iPhone 6S to iTunes
2. Turn off find my iPhone (this removes the activation lock)
3. Place the in Airplane mode and turn the power off.

After following this procedure, I set the iPhone 6S aside and migrated to the iPhone 7. I do this every year so I'm very diligent and knowledgeable about the process.

A few days later something weird happened. I turned on the iPhone 6S after being off for 2 days. I plugged it into iTunes to do a full restore and at the same time unlock the phone (after contacting AT&T). After the restore I was greeted with the activation lock screen with a completely different e-mail address associated with the phone. This did not make any sense. The phone was turned off and my screen lock code was still active so nobody would have been able to pick up the phone and get into it. Besides, the phone was in a safe place and nobody even touched it for 2 days.

I immediately contacted Apple and explained the situation. I provided proof that I purchased the phone from them. They were very nice about it and said they would elevate the ticket up to higher management.

A few days later they contacted me and said that after reviewing the documentation, they (Apple) removed the activation lock so I was now free to sell the phone.

I don't really know what happened but my guess is that someone at Apple was messing with activating someone else and "fat fingered" the IMEI. Either that or there was a hack at some point. Who knows.

I have read numerous times on this forum and other places on the web that Apple is unable to remove the activation lock on any iPhone. Well my friends, this simply is not true. Apple can do it and this is proof.
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There's a scam going on where people reflash the memory on the iPhone or iPad to change the serial number from one that is locked to one that is unlocked (in this case, yours).

Then they turn on Find my iPhone and your serial number becomes locked. That's why this tends to happen to devices that are sitting inside a drawer for a few months; there's a nice open window for the hacker to use your serial number.

For this reason, Apple has removed the web page that allows you to check a serial number for activation lock. However, the hackers can still obtain fresh serial numbers for this hack. For this reason:

1) If you have an iOS device you're not using, keep it logged into your iCloud account with "Find my iPhone" turned on. This prevents your serial number from being used for this hack.
2) Don't post your serial number online anywhere, especially when selling your device. I bet hackers are googling things like "iphone for sale serial number" to find fresh serials for this hack.

I'm sure Apple will change the next generation of hardware so the serial number cannot be reflashed, but until then we need to be careful.
 
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Hi guys,
About 6 months ago I bought and activated an iphone 7 in Iran and now it's stuck in activation lock,if I send it to one of the apple stores in Europe,are they able to remove the activation lock?
You know there aren't any apple stores in Iran so I don't have valid receipt,I just have the iphone and it's box.
Please help me.
 
Rezaaaaa said:
Hi guys,
About 6 months ago I bought and activated an iphone 7 in Iran and now it's stuck in activation lock,if I send it to one of the apple stores in Europe,are they able to remove the activation lock?
You know there aren't any apple stores in Iran so I don't have valid receipt,I just have the iphone and it's box.
Please help me.
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Waiting:cool:
 
Donfor39 said:
Ive been through something similar recently though not with an Apple device.

Have you considered which payment method you used at purchase?

I found the card I used for my purchase -sent info to manufacturers and got a sales receipt with the info.
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I paid for it in cash but the problem is that I didn't buy it in apple store because there isn't apple store in my country,so how should I provide proof?I just have the iphone and the box.
 
Rezaaaaa said:
I paid for it in cash but the problem is that I didn't buy it in apple store because there isn't apple store in my country,so how should I provide proof?I just have the iphone and the box.
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If possible call or e-mail the place of purchase in Iran.

Request a sales order receipt...which will be your proof of purchase.
 
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Rezaaaaa said:
Are you sure apple accept that kind of receipt?
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A sales order receipt is proof of purchase if you don’t have the till receipt.

I cannot say if Apple will accept it though I do know of other tech companies and retailers who agree a sales order receipt can be produced on request when the purchaser can prove the payment details.
 
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Donfor39 said:
A sales order receipt is proof of purchase if you don’t have the till receipt.

I cannot say if Apple will accept it though I do know of other tech companies and retailers who agree a sales order receipt can be produced on request when the purchaser can prove the payment details.
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Thank you for helping out.
 
Apple should accept any kind of proof of purchase for the phone. As long as you provide proof that you did in fact purchase the device, they'll file the form and the lock will be lifted, usually in about 48hrs.
 
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The email that I used as an apple ID to set up my iphone is exactly my name,surname and the year of my birthday,can it be a proof to unlock my iphone?
I also have the password of that email which is gmail.
 
Rezaaaaa said:
The email that I used as an apple ID to set up my iphone is exactly my name,surname and the year of my birthday,can it be a proof to unlock my iphone?
I also have the password of that email which is gmail.
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You need a receipt for the phone. Nothing else will work. It seems you've already gotten this answer.
 
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I'm really happy to see this issue getting more attention. Everyone told me I was crazy and that an iPhone could 100% NOT be locked to another iCloud account if it never left your possession. I sold my phone on Swappa, unlocked and reset it for the buyer, and by the time he received it, it showed up as locked to an iCloud account with some random email address I had never seen before. Luckily the buyer was patient and waited while I went through the process with Apple to remove the activation lock.

Apple said it was impossible. People online it was impossible. But as time went on, I began seeing more and more of these stories. I really hope Apple fixes this vulnerability because it made selling my phone such a time-wasting nightmare.
 
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