That’s what happened in my case, when I tried to activate a phone that I had recently erased because I wanted to sell it. What many people don’t know is that Apple can accidentally lock your iPhone to someone else’s Apple ID, even if you’ve been the only owner of the device. When you purchase a locked iPhone, you won’t be able to activate and use it until either Apple or the previous owner removes the iCloud lock. Most users run into iCloud activation lock issues when purchasing a used iPhone or iPad that’s locked to the previous owner’s iCloud account. An iPhone can only be associated to one iCloud account, meaning that, in order to sell it to someone else (or in order for a stolen phone to be used by someone new) that account needs to be removed from the phone altogether. In 2013, Apple introduced a security feature designed to make iPhones less valuable targets to would-be thieves. If you’re not familiar with the Find My iPhone app and its activation lock feature, check out this knowledge base article on. In most cases, Apple’s tool won’t be helpful and you’ll need to try some of the techniques outlined in this article. However, this is only useful in a limited number of cases, such as if you sold a device and forgot to remove your iCloud information, or if you purchased a locked device from a reputable source and have proof of purchase. This tool walks you through the standard troubleshooting steps and allows you to submit an unlock request to Apple without having to contact customer support. However, keep in mind that Apple introduced the iCloud activation lock for a reason - to prevent anyone else from using your Apple device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) or Apple Watch if it’s ever lost or stolen.Īs a result, circumventing that security is not always easy.įirst off, it’s important to note that Apple has released a self-service tool for turning off the activation lock.
In this article, I’ll explain how to get past the “Apple ID cannot be used to unlock this iPhone” error message, and talk about a few circumstances that might prevent you from getting past the iCloud activation lock status.Īdditionally, I’ll share my second-hand experience with activation lock removal services, such as DoctorUnlock*.
A while ago, while restoring an old iPhone, I realized that it was locked to someone else’s Apple ID via the iPhone/iCloud activation lock.