iPhone 5 or earlier Apple ID verification failed?

Hello:

I am setting up one of my unused iPhone 5C and will give it o my dad as he need a spare phone for calling and texting. He will use his iPhone 6S with Fido’s tablet plan.

So I am setting this iPhone 5C and I cannot pass the Apple ID Verfication page. It keeps saying the Apple ID is locked and ask me to enter phone number associate with the number. After I enter the phone number and verfication code, it proceed with activating the Apple ID. After about a minute of waiting, it tells me Apple ID verfication failed. Then unknown error pops up. Then the setup process kicks me back to the enter Apple ID page. So I skipped the Apple ID part and continued for the setup.

After setup, I went to settings -> iCloud trying to setup father’s Apple ID. Same thing again.

I have never seen setup such complicated. I haven’t used iPhone for about 2 years now, all my Android devices have been easy to setup.

What should I do now? It just keeps looping around.

P.S. The phone is on iOS 9. I aboustely refuse updating to iOS 10. iOS 10 has been terrible on my iPhone 5. I do not want pass an unusable iPhone to my dad.

 

1) Purchased directly from Apple few years ago.

2) Yes. Using Wifi.

3) Problem solved now after 15 tries.

4) iOS setup process is lot more difficult than Android setup. Never had issue with Android. No need go through activiatio process, no need insert SIM card...Sign...

 

At 10th try... I almost give up. He does not need iCloud for making occasional phone calls. But then his contact lists are stored in iCloud. So I have to get this stupid things working.

Apple with its billions of dollars, can't get their server handle iPhone activation.

 

Still do not understand why.... Why SIM card is needed for activation is needed. I mean, there aren’t any Android phones require SIM card for activation.

 

Regardless Android and iPhone. All smartphone. One without need to insert SIM card, one with requirement of insert SIM. I see the one without is easier to setup and make more sense. I am activating a iPhone does not mean I am using it as a phone, if not, why need SIM card?

--- Post Merged, Mar 22, 2018 ---

I never liked two factor verification in beginning with. But my father did enroll. Pain in the butt to be honest