Question about iPhone

[Meowster]

Today I bought an iPhone 5c for my younger sister as her old phone broke down but I have noticed that there is still someone's iCloud account linked to it. I asked the old owner for the password but he can't remember it. All of his data is still there. But the thing I'm worried about most is that when I reset it, the account will be there. And it might give me an activation lock screen. Is there a way I can prevent this from happening? I don't really want to jailbreak it but if its necessary, I will have to.

 

Please help

[Lord Vile]

Just now, Meowster said:

Today I bought an iPhone 5c for my younger sister as her old phone broke down but I have noticed that there is still someone's iCloud account linked to it. I asked the old owner for the password but he can't remember it. All of his data is still there. But the thing I'm worried about most is that when I reset it, the account will be there. And it might give me an activation lock screen. Is there a way I can prevent this from happening? I don't really want to jailbreak it but if its necessary, I will have to.

 

Please help

Speak to apple see if they can help you out or get the owner to recover their password through email. 

[Zando_]

3 minutes ago, Lord Vile said:

Speak to apple see if they can help you out or get the owner to recover their password through email. 

^^^ If the former owner can confirm it's now yours, Apple should be able to remove activation lock for you. 

[Meowster]

2 minutes ago, Lord Vile said:

Speak to apple see if they can help you out or get the owner to recover their password through email. 

I tried booking a Genius Bar appointment literally 10 minutes ago but they got back with an email saying: Real quote "Hello Frank, unfortunately we couldn't proceed with your appointment for Monday 20th July at 11:50 due to COVID-19.

We are really sorry for any inconveniences"

Looks like apple isnt an option

[Meowster]

1 minute ago, Zando Bob said:

^^^ If the former owner can confirm it's now yours, Apple should be able to remove activation lock for you. 

I could send an email and ask I guess... unfortunately my nearest Apple store is now closed due to the virus. My best option is probably email

[dalekphalm]

14 minutes ago, Meowster said:

Today I bought an iPhone 5c for my younger sister as her old phone broke down but I have noticed that there is still someone's iCloud account linked to it. I asked the old owner for the password but he can't remember it. All of his data is still there. But the thing I'm worried about most is that when I reset it, the account will be there. And it might give me an activation lock screen. Is there a way I can prevent this from happening? I don't really want to jailbreak it but if its necessary, I will have to.

 

Please help

The previous owner needs to totally sign out of iCloud on the iPhone. If he hasn’t, when you factory reset it WILL give you an activation lock. 
 

If he didn’t reset the device when he sold it to you (that was bad of him), you might simply be able to sign out - I don’t recall if it asks for a password to sign out. 
 

If he can’t remember the password, he needs to reset it. 
 

You can try talking to Apple but since you’re not the original owner, they may not be able to help. 

[dalekphalm]

9 minutes ago, Meowster said:

I tried booking a Genius Bar appointment literally 10 minutes ago but they got back with an email saying: Real quote "Hello Frank, unfortunately we couldn't proceed with your appointment for Monday 20th July at 11:50 due to COVID-19.

We are really sorry for any inconveniences"

Looks like apple isnt an option

Call the Apple support line. Just because the Genius Bar can’t help you does not mean Apple in general cannot. 

[captain_to_fire]

looks like you really need to ask the person to sign in to appleid.apple.com and unlink the device from the previous owner’s iCloud account. If you decided to reset without the previous owner unlinking the device, it will enforce the activation lock as if it was stolen and not even Apple can unlock it as encryption keys stays locally. https://support.apple.com/en-ph/HT201365

 

The best thing you can do right now is tell the previous owner to try remembering his/her Apple ID password or reset the password.

[dalekphalm]

34 minutes ago, Benji said:

Well, from what I've read about such cases, the owner of the currently used account is the ONLY PERSON who can remove the iCloud lock on the devices, even Apple won't do that even if you can prove that you own the device. If the original owner will not/can not remove the device from his account (which should be sufficient to remove the iCloud lock), nobody can. There have been multiple cases over the years where a wife/husband inherited their partners iPhone and thus are the legal owners, Apple wouldn't remove the lock. And IIRC that is still the case and always will be.

Your only way is for the other party to reset his/her password and to remove the device from their account.

This is why people need to check phones before handing over the money. 
 

It’s a good system that protects against stolen devices but there are specific steps you need to follow when selling an iPhone. 

[Mooshi]

Why a 5C? Support for 3G phones will end in 2020. Apple is also a pain in the ass if they get locked down. I'd ask for a refund and get a 2020 SE if you're going cheap.

[Lord Vile]

1 hour ago, Meowster said:

I tried booking a Genius Bar appointment literally 10 minutes ago but they got back with an email saying: Real quote "Hello Frank, unfortunately we couldn't proceed with your appointment for Monday 20th July at 11:50 due to COVID-19.

We are really sorry for any inconveniences"

Looks like apple isnt an option

Message support on twitter

[captain_to_fire]

3 minutes ago, Mooshi said:

Why a 5C? Support for 3G phones will end in 2020

The iPhone 5c is not a 3G phone. The iPhone 5c supports LTE/CDMA/GSM networks. The last 3G phone from Apple was the iPhone 4S. 

[Nine Tailed Fox]

You bought a stolen phone

[Mooshi]

9 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

The iPhone 5c is not a 3G phone. The iPhone 5c supports LTE/CDMA/GSM networks. The last 3G phone from Apple was the iPhone 4S. 

 I work with a major US carrier and the 5 series will no longer be supported by the end of the year. Trying to activate one now will give an error that the device is no longer compatible. (unless you activate just the sim, but that's a bandage fix)

 

Dunno about OP since location is the UK, but based on what's going on with the 5 series and older here, I wouldn't even bother with them in 2020.

[Meowster]

1 hour ago, Benji said:

That's the issue with websites like eBay where you have no opportunity to check the device beforehand. So you'll either have to hope that the seller actually removed it from their account or that they were so smart to do so beforehand and state in the article description that they did so. But occurrences like this seem to commonly occur on really cheap iPhones that are too low in price to be without flaw. A relative of mine ordered an old iPhone 5(s) (not sure which one, but doesn't matter anyway) as some sort of testing device. And not only was it connected to the old account and not even reset properly, it even still contained the predecessors SIM card (yes, unlike older iPhones in the US, European iPhones always required a SIM and not just some sort of eSIM like it was standard in the US before).

Looks like I will have to demand the seller for a refund as he claimed that the device had no activation lock in the description! This is clearly not acceptable and I'm also worried that this might be a stolen device because I got no box or anything with it, just the phone

[Meowster]

14 minutes ago, Mooshi said:

 I work with a major US carrier and the 5 series will no longer be supported by the end of the year. Trying to activate one now will give an error that the device is no longer compatible. (unless you activate just the sim, but that's a bandage fix)

 

Dunno about OP since location is the UK, but based on what's going on with the 5 series and older here, I wouldn't even bother with them in 2020.

All she needs to do is just make some phone calls until she gets her Note 9 repaired

[dalekphalm]

6 minutes ago, Meowster said:

Looks like I will have to demand the seller for a refund as he claimed that the device had no activation lock in the description! This is clearly not acceptable and I'm also worried that this might be a stolen device because I got no box or anything with it, just the phone

If you bought this on eBay, open a case immediately and request a refund. 
 

Get yourself a different one (even if you choose the same model again). 

[Meowster]

29 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

If you bought this on eBay, open a case immediately and request a refund. 
 

Get yourself a different one (even if you choose the same model again). 

I sure will, just left negative feedback on his profile. Didn't even look from who I was buying

[Donut417]

8 hours ago, Meowster said:

All of his data is still there.

What an idiot. Who sells a phone or computer and leaves all of their data on it? No wonder fraud is a problem.