iPhone linked to account but iCloud removed from device.

emohelsing · Sep 2, 2014

Hello. I have a strange situation. I recently purchased a used iPhone. I checked it and Find my iPhone was apparently off (there is no iCloud account on it, I managed to erase it without it asking me for an ID or password). When I connect it to iTunes it says the "This iPhone is still linked to...." thing and it shows me an email address (i*****@gmail.com) that is not mine and won't activate. When I try to make an iCloud registration from the phone itself, it says "The maximum number of free accounts have been activated on this device."

When I bought the iPhone I followed all of Apple's tips on what to check and to ask the previous owner to erase the device. Doesn't erasing it remove it from their Apple Account and if not how can I find the previous owner's email in order to contact them and ask them to remove it? The device was erased, so it won't show me their email anywhere (e.g. FaceTime).

It's not the typical Activation Lock situation, so I hope someone can provide me with a solution. Thanks

Mickey330 · Sep 2, 2014

Sorry, but the only way to use that phone is to get ahold of the person who's got it locked with their ID. I see you don't have the person's e-mail ... but don't you have their phone numbers? All they have to do is go onto their iCloud account (via any computer) and remove that phone from their account.

Good luck.

Marilyn

emohelsing · Sep 2, 2014

No, I don't. The phone was used as an iPod by, I guess, a lot of people buying and selling it afterwards, so the only way I can contact the original owner is via email. Isn't there some sort of tool to see their full email?

Mickey330 · Sep 2, 2014

Sorry, but no. You need to take it back to the person you got it from and get your money back - if there was money involved.

The odds are pretty good that the phone was stolen from the original owner; if it was legitimately sold/passed on, the owner would have removed his/her ID. So really, you don't want anything to do with it...

emohelsing · Sep 2, 2014

well I checked in the police records and they said the serial No. was not reported stolen. same for the online blacklist checks. it's more likely that the first owner was unaware they have to remove the device from their apple ID as well, since they clearly logged out of iCloud (with their password) when they sold the phone. i don't know why apple won't show the full email address of the owner. it's kinda silly.

scifan57 · Sep 2, 2014

emohelsing said:
well I checked in the police records and they said the serial No. was not reported stolen. same for the online blacklist checks. it's more likely that the first owner was unaware they have to remove the device from their apple ID as well, since they clearly logged out of iCloud (with their password) when they sold the phone. i don't know why apple won't show the full email address of the owner. it's kinda silly.

It's not silly to refuse to disclose the full email address of the previous owner, it's a security issue. BTW, not all stolen/lost property is actually reported to the police so a negative report from them is no assurance that you did not unintentionally buy a stolen iPhone.
Apple will not help anyone who is not the original owner of the iPhone access it. I'm afraid that you have little more than a brick on your hands and your only practical recourse is to get a refund from the person who sold it to you, as previously mentioned by Mickey 330.

emohelsing · Sep 3, 2014

no I don't, I have an iPod

I was told it was carrier locked when I bought it, so I never actually planned to use it as a phone (and I got it for 50$, locked phones come at these prices in Bulgaria). Later I found out it was indeed carrier locked... to my own carrier. So I decided to try and activate it with my SIM, but the account thing stopped me. I'm pretty sure the device wasn't stolen, the original owner probably just didn't know they had to remove it from their account as well. After all, Apple says an erase is all they have to do before selling it, but it seems that it's not.