Hi I recently saved up enough money and bought an iPhone finally but my parents told me to find one cheap first. So i found someone online who was selling their iPhone 5 for $300 and it looked brand new. I got in touch with the person and bought it. I was so happy to come home and turn on my iPhone and found that the person I bought it from had already restored the phone to it's original settings. Less work for me! So i turn on my phone and started a couple of steps on the phone to set it up and a message on the screen popped up that said "Activate iPhone: This phone is currently linked to an Apple ID ([email protected]) Sign in with the Apple ID that was used to set up this iPhone". I've tried getting in touch with the person I bought it from but no such luck. Please help me. I've wanted an iPhone for so long and now that I have one it's completely useless without the Apple ID and password. Is there a way around this?
Please help me :(
- Thread starter Krissy92
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Please help me :(
- Thread starter Krissy92
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I'm sorry but there is now way around this, you need the original owners Apple ID and password or the original owner to remove this device from iCloud.
I'm afraid that there's no way around the activation lock on your phone. The only way to activate the phone is with the original owner's Apple ID and password.
The reason that you have this problem is that the original owner did not delete the phone from his Apple account in iCloud.
If the device was purchased through a certified and guaranteed medium such as eBay and Amazon, you can send it back to eBay or Amazon and they'll reimburse you with the purchased amount. Then they'll chase after the seller for the amount owed and possibly additional on top.
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The OP says she bought it from someone online so i don't think she has any recourse there unfortunately.
Yeah.... That's the thing with a lot of sellers. Most of them are just scum that cheats as many pennies as they can. Can't go about their lives doing honest business.
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We see so much of it on here..... maybe we should have a thread on buying advice and sticky it.
I thought we had one here as well? Or was that only on iPad
That's what I was afraid of. The phone was probably stolen. The best I can do is sell it right? And I don't wanna do that if the same thing will happen to another person. I'm super sad about this this was my first official purchase since I got my job and it sucks. But thank you all so much I appreciate the help.
Selling the iPhone to someone else would give them the same problem you have, an iPhone that can't be activated.
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We're so sorry that we can't help, for anyone else thinking of buying a secondhand phone please read our guide here -
Before buying a new/second hand device online
Before buying a new/second hand device online
Agreed. I've seen quite a few devices posted up on listings for a substantially low amount of money, and they are more than likely stolen/lost devices. If not, they're extremely cosmetically abused or non-functional in some way. Particularly outside the US or North America where contracts do more equivalate to a lower cost for the device, users are more proned to these types of transactions. Often times if it's too good to be true, it probably is :/
But karma is a 2-way train. He'll get his share of it eventually.
Claire101
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Aww! I am sorry to hear about your problem. How about calling apple's customer support? You can also look for a technician who can reboot the phone to it's original setting. Good luck!
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