iCloud won't let me delete old phone

[Janey_G]

Odd problem here. I recently went from a 4s to a 5s. I noticed that I have a back up of my old phone on this new one. I tried to delete it, but it says that it's in use and can't be deleted. What does that mean?! My old phone is off and deactivated. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Just_Me_D]

Go to Settings->General->Reset and then select "Reset All Contents and Settings". That will put your device in its native state giving you the opportunity to set it up as a new device or from a backup.

 

[Janey_G]

I called Apple before I saw your post, D. They said (after much research on their end) that because the phone is new and I was coming from another iPhone, they have a failsafe in place in case the wrong backup is deleted. I will be able to delete my old phone tomorrow afternoon. I've never heard of this, but I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow.

Thanks for the help, D. Enjoy your weekend!

 

[Just_Me_D]

I called Apple before I saw your post, D. They said (after much research on their end) that because the phone is new and I was coming from another iPhone, they have a failsafe in place in case the wrong backup is deleted. I will be able to delete my old phone tomorrow afternoon. I've never heard of this, but I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow.

Thanks for the help, D. Enjoy your weekend!

You're very welcome, my friend. In regard to what the Apple people stated, the only failsafe I'm aware of is disabling the "Find My iPhone" feature. You cannot restore a device until it is disabled. That was introduced with iOS 7. But hey, as long as they get you taken care of that's all that matters, right?..