[Ansell Halim]

Hi guys, i'm new here.. I just want to ask you guys about what i should do now, or what can i do now, given my conditions as follows:

I just bought an used iphone 5 (ios 7)from some internet forum in my country, apparently, the phone was a missing iphone. And i was too late to recognize it ( after i got home and use my wifi), there was a message from the owner regarding the information of his address and phone number, i tried to contact him, and he already doesn't want his cellphone back (1 month old lost). The seller(maybe the thief) also nowhere to be found and cannot be contacted anymore.

I'm very new to apple products and doesn't know anything about activation locks, iclouds, find my iphones and such, so i just bought the cellphone without adequate knowledge. I know there was fault at my hand also because i was careless.

So i want to ask you guys, is there any way that i could claim the phone to Apple? Will my reason acceptable? Or do anyone knows how to deal with this situation? Because i cannot use it, and my money already gone

Thank you so much guys

[rdiddy_25]

Welcome to iMore and there's Nothing you can do if the owner reported it stolen/lost. U bought a brick. Apple won't do anything for you either. Sorry

[Just_Me_D]

Hi guys, i'm new here.. I just want to ask you guys about what i should do now, or what can i do now, given my conditions as follows:

Okay, and welcome to iMore.

I just bought an used iphone 5 (ios 7)from some internet forum in my country, apparently, the phone was a missing iphone. And i was too late to recognize it ( after i got home and use my wifi), there was a message from the owner regarding the information of his address and phone number, i tried to contact him, and he already doesn't want his cellphone back (1 month old lost).

If you "tried to contact him", I am assuming you were unable to, and if so, how do you know that he doesn't want his phone back? How do you know the phone has been lost for a month?

The seller(maybe the thief) also nowhere to be found and cannot be contacted anymore.

Not surprising.

I'm very new to apple products and doesn't know anything about activation locks, iclouds, find my iphones and such, so i just bought the cellphone without adequate knowledge.

Explain how you are familiar with those terms.

I know there was fault at my hand also because i was careless.

Careless? Maybe. Eager to buy? Possibly.

So i want to ask you guys, is there any way that i could claim the phone to Apple?

What do you mean when you say "claim the phone to Apple"?

Will my reason acceptable? Or do anyone knows how to deal with this situation? Because i cannot use it, and my money already gone

Thank you so much guys

you stated that information about the owner's address was on the screen. Why don't you just mail the package back to the owner and chalk this sale up as a loss? You're not going to be able to use the phone.

[Ansell Halim]

Welcome to iMore and there's Nothing you can do if the owner reported it stolen/lost. U bought a brick. Apple won't do anything for you either. Sorry

thank you for the answer..
oh i see..

Okay, and welcome to iMore.

If you "tried to contact him", I am assuming you were unable to, and if so, how do you know that he doesn't want his phone back? How do you know the phone has been lost for a month?

the owner left a phone number and i tried contacting him, apparently he already willing to let the phone go and doesn't need the phone anymore.
in the message he said that he lost it in some expo, that expo happened a month ago in Dec 2013

Explain how you are familiar with those terms.

i just learned about those terms yesterday, after the incident. i maybe new to apple products but i'm familiar with other system especially Blackberry (crackberry abuser).

Careless? Maybe. Eager to buy? Possibly.

Yes, both. Because it was below market price and i can afford it. Sorry that i cannot afford buying the new one, it cost 800usd in my country

What do you mean when you say "claim the phone to Apple"? you stated that information about the owner's address was on the screen. Why don't you just mail the package back to the owner and chalk this sale up as a loss? You're not going to be able to use the phone.

if the owner doesn't want it back, and the seller is gone for good, then my money is gone.
i just wanted to know whether there is a way that i could use this phone, knowing that both 2 people casted it away.

Thank you very much for the answer though..

[warcraftWidow]

If the owner reported it stolen to their carrier then you are probably out of luck.
If not then you could check to see if the owner is willing to log into their iCloud account and remove the phone from their account and this would remove the activation lock. The phone needs to be powered off when this is done.

[Ansell Halim]

yes i thought about that too..i tried asking but unfortunately, the owner is unwilling to do that
so yeah, I'm in a pinch :/
many thanks for the input

[DroidArmy]

yes i thought about that too..i tried asking but unfortunately, the owner is unwilling to do that
so yeah, I'm in a pinch :/
many thanks for the input

I can help you get the phone itself running, but if the phone is banned from the network then you're in a pretty tough situation. You can technically force a restore on the iPhone if needed. Can you get the imei? I would check and see if it got banned from the network


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[Fausty82]

I can help you get the phone itself running, but if the phone is banned from the network then you're in a pretty tough situation. You can technically force a restore on the iPhone if needed. Can you get the imei? I would check and see if it got banned from the network

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

Wrong. IF the phone is blocked out with the Activation Lock, you cannot bypass it. Period. I got a c-note that says you can’t.

[DroidArmy]

Wrong. IF the phone is blocked out with the Activation Lock, you cannot bypass it. Period.

I've done it before, there is a way. It's hard though if you can't do it quick. Here's a video (sorry for the different language)


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[Ansell Halim]

I can help you get the phone itself running, but if the phone is banned from the network then you're in a pretty tough situation. You can technically force a restore on the iPhone if needed. Can you get the imei? I would check and see if it got banned from the network


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

that's okay man, right now I'm willing to try any method just to make this phone works

I'll send you the IMEI

[DroidArmy]

that's okay man, right now I'm willing to try any method just to make this phone works

I'll send you the IMEI

That's not a good idea man, never send an imei to a random person on the internet. Here, use this service to check it http://swappa.com/esn?ref=mobilenati...mUvbUpU2164386

Since you sent it to me anyway, I checked it. It's clean so it can be activated


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[Ansell Halim]

That's not a good idea man, never send an imei to a random person on the internet. Here, use this service to check it ESN / IMEI / MEID Check (Free) > Swappa

Since you sent it to me anyway, I checked it. It's clean so it can be activated


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

sorry, i already sent it to you,,

and after checked from the website you gave me,, it says the ESN is not blacklisted

[Ansell Halim]

That's not a good idea man, never send an imei to a random person on the internet. Here, use this service to check it http://swappa.com/esn?ref=mobilenati...mUvbUpU2164401

Since you sent it to me anyway, I checked it. It's clean so it can be activated


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

so what should I do now ?
should we talk in private? or it's okay to talk here.. sorry i don't know the courtesy

[DroidArmy]

so what should I do now ?
should we talk in private? or it's okay to talk here.. sorry i don't know the courtesy

I'm working on trying to get the phone to work. The video in my previous post was wrong because the apps won't open. Give me some time and I'll try to find a way


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[DroidArmy]

You need to get that guy to remove it from his account. All of the previous tricks I used have been patched by Apple. I thought I had something that worked but it got patched. I'm sorry man


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[Ansell Halim]

You need to get that guy to remove it from his account. All of the previous tricks I used have been patched by Apple. I thought I had something that worked but it got patched. I'm sorry man


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

apparently so.. I've tried numerous times asking but no luck..

I also already tried bypassing the lock screen from videos, it works until the home screen, but the icons doesn't work. Only facetime works
I think it's the most current bypassing method to date, but still no luck in working apps.

[DroidArmy]

Do you know the Apple ID of the person? You can enter it with a fake password until it locks you out and sends an email for the person to change it. After that, you should be able to use your own Apple ID to get into the phone from what I've read. That may have been patched as well though but it's worth a shot


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[vn906c]

If the original owner doesn't want it anymore, why are they unwilling to take the phone off their icloud? I'm just curious.

[Ansell Halim]

Do you know the Apple ID of the person? You can enter it with a fake password until it locks you out and sends an email for the person to change it. After that, you should be able to use your own Apple ID to get into the phone from what I've read. That may have been patched as well though but it's worth a shot


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

I've heard about it but never tried. because i don't know the email of that person
but if I ever found it, I'll try that method.
thanks for the bother man.

[Fausty82]

You need to get that guy to remove it from his account. All of the previous tricks I used have been patched by Apple. I thought I had something that worked but it got patched. I'm sorry man

The patch is called "Activation Lock" - it came with iOS 7. Rock solid. No way around it. Period.

If the original owner doesn't want it anymore, why are they unwilling to take the phone off their icloud? I'm just curious.

I’m calling 'BS' on the whole story/thread. It just doesn’t add up.

[Peligro911]

Call the owner again explain yourself and if he doesn't want it back maybe he will give you his iCloud so u can unlock the phone and turn off find my iPhone so you can set it up as new

[Ansell Halim]

If the original owner doesn't want it anymore, why are they unwilling to take the phone off their icloud? I'm just curious.

Call the owner again explain yourself and if he doesn't want it back maybe he will give you his iCloud so u can unlock the phone and turn off find my iPhone so you can set it up as new

well.. i wonder the same my friend..
he's willing to let go..but want to punish whoever has it..maybe.. i don't know the real reason but that's the logic i have
I'm telling you guys the truth..

ok the point is, there is no way around the icloud activation. i understand, thank you guys

[Massie]

Call the owner again explain yourself and if he doesn't want it back maybe he will give you his iCloud so u can unlock the phone and turn off find my iPhone so you can set it up as new

No WAY should anyone ever give out their iCloud info to a new owner.

My guess is that the old owner doesn't fully understand what is being asked--most people don't understand that you can go to a web portal and remove a device from your account without having the device in your possession. He probably thinks someone is trying to hack him. And who can blame him?? Someone he's never met is contacting him saying "I have the phone you lost, can you enter your password somewhere so I can use it?" Apple made a great system security-wise, but it's really not at all friendly to aftermarket buyers.

[4rtic80]

OK, this is rich. My office has had this IPAD2 for 3 years and it goes around to whoever needs it. The last user upgrade it to iOS7 and BAM!!! The next user unable to use it again. The last user says he does not use his iCloud account and even if he accidentally use it, it won't accept his password. None of the previous user remember whether they use their iCloud and personally I don't think so.

Can we fix this?

[Just_Me_D]

OK, this is rich. My office has had this IPAD2 for 3 years and it goes around to whoever needs it. The last user upgrade it to iOS7 and BAM!!! The next user unable to use it again. The last user says he does not use his iCloud account and even if he accidentally use it, it won't accept his password. None of the previous user remember whether they use their iCloud and personally I don't think so.

Can we fix this?

If the activation lock has been enabled, and no one remembers the necessary credentials to turn it off then the answer is no.