iPhone XR Dad Died - Unlock Phone?

[Nacho98]

Will Apple unlock/remove a passcode on a phone of a deceased person if you go to the store with the phone and a death certificate?

Would ideally like to unlock first vs. reformat, but will settle for the latter.

If it matters, we know the Apple ID but not the Apple ID password, so iCloud options are probably out.

Thanks.

 

[Elitegate]

Yes. First of all, sorry for your loss and my condolences to you and your family.

As long as you have the death certificate, an Apple Store should be able to remove the Activation Lock for you if you don't know the Apple ID and/or the password.

 

[FlippyGonnaSnap]

Contacting Apple directly is the best route to take.

Sorry for your loss, wish you, your family and loved ones the best.

 

[m0sher]

Sorry about your loss

Some helpful sites.

How to access iPhone content when someone passes away

If someone you know has recently passed away, here’s how you might be able to access content from their iPhone if you need to.

www.imore.com

If you forgot your iPhone passcode or your iPhone is disabled - Apple Support

Locked out of your iPhone and forgot your passcode? Use a computer to put your iPhone into recovery mode so you can erase your phone and set it up again.

support.apple.com

You didn’t say if you were trying to save the information / pictures from the phone.

 

[Nacho98]

If you forgot your iPhone passcode or your iPhone is disabled - Apple Support

Locked out of your iPhone and forgot your passcode? Use a computer to put your iPhone into recovery mode so you can erase your phone and set it up again.

support.apple.com

Thanks, I'm doing the recovery mode/restore right now - I noticed that link from Apple doesn't say anything about signing out of iCloud or turning off Find My.

Are these still items I need to be concerned about or does this restore wipe all that out so the phone can be sold? I know I've typically signed out of iCloud, turned off Find My, and then erased all content and settings in the past before selling a phone, whereas this process in the link is really just the third step of those.

Thanks,

 

[Nacho98]

Restore completed to the initial Hello screen, I walked through it and went to Settings and it says "Sign in to your iPhone" where you are normally signed in to iCloud.

I also opened the Find My app and it says I have to go to settings and sign in to my Apple ID.

Am I good then? Ready to sell?

 

[Nacho98]

welp apparently i need a court order to even find out if the phone is now ready to be sold and have apple verify it's dissociated from iCloud accounts or to dissociate it and verify that its ready for selling.

Probably not even worth the effort to sell a phone for what, $350-400 and split it three ways? May as well just recycle it for "free".

 

[sparkofthecreator]

Restore completed to the initial Hello screen, I walked through it and went to Settings and it says "Sign in to your iPhone" where you are normally signed in to iCloud.

I also opened the Find My app and it says I have to go to settings and sign in to my Apple ID.

Am I good then? Ready to sell?

iCloud Activation Lock appears immediately after you connect the iPhone to a network during the setup process. If you did not see this, the device is not locked with iCloud.

After restoring the iPhone, if you were able complete the setup and navigate to the home screen, and you're able to launch apps, such as the Find My app, then this means the device is ready to be sold.



Hope this clears things up for you.

 

[Nacho98]

this is what i see in settings and when i open the find my app:

i did not see any type of activation lock message, i was able to reactivate the phone on his account with his normal sim card as usual, but i dont think id expect to see an activation lock problem anyway if its just being reactivated with his account vs someone trying it with a new account? Maybe the next person would have a problem?

 

[ApfelKuchen]

You're fine. If Activation Lock was present, you would not have been able to set up the phone at all following the erasure. You'd have seen an Activation Lock screen that demanded the password for your dad's Apple ID.

 

[now i see it]

You can test it by setting it up as your iPhone with all of your iCloud login info. If you can do it and all is well, then it's possible. Wipe the phone again, then sell it

 

[Nacho98]

You can test it by setting it up as your iPhone with all of your iCloud login info. If you can do it and all is well, then it's possible. Wipe the phone again, then sell it

So if I am able to do that, does that automatically mean by default that it's been removed from my dad's iCloud device list?

 

[Ifti]

So if I am able to do that, does that automatically mean by default that it's been removed from my dad's iCloud device list?

Yes thats correct - but if you have restored it already and managed to get through the initial setup then you are good to go.
Personally I would test with your own iCloud account.
After logging in OK and verifying all is working, log out of iCloud on the phone and perform another restore. It is then ready to be sold if thats what you wish to do.

 

[Nacho98]

OK thanks guys. I was able to sign in to my iCloud account on his phone, then while signed in to my account I did the usual steps of turning off Find My iPhone, signing out of iCloud, and then doing another Erase All Content and Settings.

Hopefully that takes care of it. Didn't seem right that I'd need a court order just to reformat a decedent's phone to sell it. To get the data, sure, but just to wipe the phone without getting the data to make it safe to sell? Didn't seem right.

Wasn't sure if the recovery mode route of reformatting was a strong enough method to sign someone out of iCloud, turn off Find My, get rid of potential for Activation Lock, etc., but I guess it is.

 

[Wide opeN]

Sorry for your loss 🙏🏾

 

[Bandaman]

You don't need a court order. Given your circumstance ... Apple will be able to do whatever you need them to do. I had them disassociate an old Apple ID from an iPhone and I had nowhere near the circumstances that you're dealing with. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[vemac575]

1. I am so sorry for your loss.

2. Don't believe anyone in here who tells you "yes". They WILL NOT.

 

[donawalt]

This is interesting...so Activation Lock was not present because the iPhone was apparently never associated with Find My Phone, is that correct? With activation lock on, this would not have been possible, is that also correct?

Sorry for your loss of your dad @Nacho98

 

[Nacho98]

This is interesting...so Activation Lock was not present because the iPhone was apparently never associated with Find My Phone, is that correct? With activation lock on, this would not have been possible, is that also correct?

No idea if he was using Find My, or iCloud for that matter.

Sorry for your loss of your dad @Nacho98

Thank you.

 

[QbeeD]

We are dealing with this exact issue and it's frustrating. We don't even want access to his phone. My dad bought an Iphone 11 on December 27 and died on December 31. The phone is in my mom's name. We don't know his passcode, *think* we know the apple ID (but they are making us wait ten days to see if we can reset the password). My mom doesn't want to pay $30 a month for a phone that's not even usable. We wanted to return it, but until we can get into it, Verizon can't return it. (although they said there is no time limit) It seems crazy to me that the phone was purchased in my mom's name and we can't do anything because it's under my dad's apple ID.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

We are dealing with this exact issue and it's frustrating. We don't even want access to his phone. My dad bought an Iphone 11 on December 27 and died on December 31. The phone is in my mom's name. We don't know his passcode, *think* we know the apple ID (but they are making us wait ten days to see if we can reset the password). My mom doesn't want to pay $30 a month for a phone that's not even usable. We wanted to return it, but until we can get into it, Verizon can't return it. (although they said there is no time limit) It seems crazy to me that the phone was purchased in my mom's name and we can't do anything because it's under my dad's apple ID.

Call it "crazy" or call it "a sign of the times." The iPhone is "activation locked" due to Find My iPhone. That's what's preventing it from being erased. Activation Lock was introduced because there were loud demands from politicians and others to introduce an anti-theft deterrent. If a stolen iPhone can't be erased/reused, then the market value of stolen iPhones falls - less reason to assault people.

So as usual, whatever you do to deter theft makes life harder for everyone else. We need to lock the doors to our homes; what happens if a family member is home alone, falls, and can't get up, and assuming they have a way to make the emergency call... If a provision hasn't been made in advance (emergency key, etc.), then how do emergency services get into the house to provide aid without breaking the door/lock?

As with all other matters relating to the affairs of our relatives - if other family members don't have a set of house keys, provisions for power of attorney, a record of all account logins and passwords, signature authority on bank accounts and safe deposit boxes... gaining access to assets of all sorts following a death or incapacity becomes much more complicated. Whether it's Apple or a bank, the institution has to be extremely careful about giving access to someone other than the registered account owner, as fraud is a constant concern.

 

[techiegirl]

If you have family sharing on, you can wipe the phone from one of the other shared devices (i.e. your mom’s).