Can the iCloud activation lock be overridden?

[iMore Question]

I bought an iPhone 5 on eBay and it is iCloud activation locked. Kinda got the shaft from eBay. I am new to iPhone. I am pretty well versed in anfroid and have fxz back to stock firmware erasing any problems. Basically out of the box. I was wondering if this is possible on iPhone. Thank you

 

[Peligro911]

I bought an iPhone 5 on eBay and it is iCloud activation locked. Kinda got the shaft from eBay. I am new to iPhone. I am pretty well versed in anfroid and have fxz back to stock firmware erasing any problems. Basically out of the box. I was wondering if this is possible on iPhone. Thank you

Nope no way around it .. It's kinda the point I would open a item not as described case on eBay

 

[kataran]

Apple states it's not possible and I haven't heard anyone that was able to do it

Assuming that the seller forgot to turn off the find my phone feature you should contact him and the seller can do it remotely




Sent from my iPhone 5s Gold 64GB

 

[kataran]

Also if you paid by PayPal and the seller mis labeled the product you have avenues to get your money back I just bought my 5s on eBay and if it happened to me I wouldn't give up so easy


Sent from my iPhone 5s Gold 64GB

 

[EmceeGeek]

When it comes to eBay, they will get your money back to you. File a claim, don't settle for a more than likely stolen phone.


Sent from my iPhone 5S using Tapatalk

 

[Rhonda Gray]

It can be icloud locked for a few reasons. I'm looking on eBay now for 1 just to use at home with Wi-Fi so I'm.checking the phones that has bad esn & several of those say icloud locked too. I've been told to stay away from the phones with icloud locked but that since I'm not wanting to activate the phone on carrier the bad esn won't be a problem, hope they r right lol. If auction didn't say icloud.locked then I'd open a claim with eBay/PayPal

 

[anon(5719825)]

It can't be done. Ignore the post above.

 

[Jaguarr40]

This is an old thread from 2013 and for the most part should be ignored by this long of time.

 

[RaBurdine]

What happens if the phone remains off and the original owner eventually removes the device from their icloud acct. would the lock become unreversible or would the lock then be released. I had mine stolen and after about 5mos I got tired of seeing it listed so I deleted the device from my icloud so Im just looking for clarity?

 

[kataran]

Welcome to iMore RaBurdine

This is an old thread that seems to crop back up a lot

You have brought up an interesting Question. My opinion is just removing the device from the list will not do it but if you signed out of Find My Phone which is a separate app in the cloud you will be giving the thief access to the device which I wouldn't recommend

 

[Ledsteplin]

If it's been a long time, the thief has most likely given up and discarded the phone or sold it for parts. They'll do what they have to do to convert it to cash ASAP. Even if it's just $10 bucks.

 

[iBright]

If it's been a long time, the thief has most likely given up and discarded the phone or sold it for parts. They'll do what they have to do to convert it to cash ASAP. Even if it's just $10 bucks.

Lol. So my question is what if he puts in a new hard drive or something ? He still will see the activation lock?



Sent from my iPhone 5S Gold

 

[Ledsteplin]

Lol. So my question is what if he puts in a new hard drive or something ? He still will see the activation lock?



Sent from my iPhone 5S Gold

I've never heard of anyone doing that. The benefit/cost ratio is probably not on the thief's side. I have no clue about your last question.

 

[iBright]

No I meant even if you change the hard drive, will the icloud activation lock display still show on the stolen device?


Sent from my iPhone 5S Gold

 

[louise Farrow]

I bought this I phone on ebay it is icloud locked would like to use it what can I do

 

[Just_Me_D]

I bought this I phone on ebay it is icloud locked would like to use it what can I do

There's nothing you can do, especially if you do NOT know or cannot contact the person whose iCloud account is tied to the device.

 

[Honey Beagle]

I bought an iPhone 5 on eBay and it is iCloud activation locked. Kinda got the shaft from eBay. I am new to iPhone. I am pretty well versed in anfroid and have fxz back to stock firmware erasing any problems. Basically out of the box. I was wondering if this is possible on iPhone. Thank you

I have the same thing. I even rang up the carrier gave the person there the phone number. The phone was not listed as stolen. I can not figure how to bypass that as well.

purchased mine on eBay as well. I have purchased 5 iPhones on eBay so far. I had only one that. An. It be activated. I have purchased 4 iPads on eBay have had not any problems with any of those.

 

[HankAZ]

I have the same thing. I even rang up the carrier gave the person there the phone number. The phone was not listed as stolen. I can not figure how to bypass that as well.

purchased mine on eBay as well. I have purchased 5 iPhones on eBay so far. I had only one that. An. It be activated. I have purchased 4 iPads on eBay have had not any problems with any of those.

Apple added the Activation Lock to iOS 7 to combat the rampant unauthorized reselling of lost/stolen devices. There is no way around this lockout? your only options are to contact the person you bought it from and get (1) the Apple ID login credentials, or (2) your money back. If you bought it from an honest/legitimate seller, they?ll help you out. If you bought a stolen device from a scumbag, you are simply SOL, and you now own a pretty, albeit expensive, paperweight.

So there it is. If it's your device, use the link (https://iforgot.apple.com/password/verify/appleid) to reset the login. If you purchased the device from someone on eBay or CraigsList or a similar site, take whatever recourse you have against the seller to recover your cash.

In the future, Before you buy a used iOS device make sure there is no active Activation Lock enabled that device. Just get either the serial number or IMEI and enter it here. Apple will report the status of the device.
https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

 

[Honey Beagle]

Apple added the Activation Lock to iOS 7 to combat the rampant unauthorized reselling of lost/stolen devices. There is no way around this lockout? your only options are to contact the person you bought it from and get (1) the Apple ID login credentials, or (2) your money back. If you bought it from an honest/legitimate seller, they?ll help you out. If you bought a stolen device from a scumbag, you are simply SOL, and you now own a pretty, albeit expensive, paperweight.

So there it is. If it's your device, use the link (https://iforgot.apple.com/password/verify/appleid) to reset the login. If you purchased the device from someone on eBay or CraigsList or a similar site, take whatever recourse you have against the seller to recover your cash.

In the future, Before you buy a used iOS device make sure there is no active Activation Lock enabled that device. Just get either the serial number or IMEI and enter it here. Apple will report the status of the device.
https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

That will not work. Part of the Apple ID is like stars. I purchased this album hone like quite awhile ago. I do not think that eBay handles cases that are more than a certain months old.

 

[FamousW1Z]

yeah it would be released. and they can use it. the accounts are linked to the imei so if they change the motherboard its usable again