iPhone 8/Plus Dealing with bereavement,,,,

[muzbaz]

Good morning,

in January 2022 my partner lost her daughter of 29 years to suicide, it has been a tough year but she is now getting her head around this awful bereavement, and the police released all Apple products back to her but they are still all locked with passcodes, she knows her daughter used to write journals specifically on her MacBook and would dearly love to recover those in particular, there is also an iPad that we can wipe and reset so at least she could use her daughters iPad for personal use but again there may be information that could help give light to how her daughter was feeling and maybe help her understand why her daughter went down the root of suicide, it happens completely out of the blue, nobody saw any sign of problems, she was a very happy healthy lively and lovely young lady so it is somewhat a mystery. Also there is an iPhone which I believe is an iPhone 8, could anybody point me/us into the best way of dealing with gaining access to these items without wiping them to factory settings which is of course the final course of action should we not be able to retrieve any data. My partner is very happy in herself and has three other wonderful children, the youngest being 22, this year we went on a short break to commemorate the anniversary of her daughter's passing and it was a lovely time of a lovely family bonding as they always have, but now I want to see if the above is possible, thank you for reading
And thank you in anticipation of any help, suggestions, etc that you may have.

Barry and Hazel

 

[Apple_Robert]

If your partner doesn't know the sign in information, there is no hope, unless she was made a Legacy Contact
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360. If she wasn't made a Legacy Contact, her final chance is showing actual receipts for the items to Apple Store employees, noting she was the owner of the devices.

 

[muzbaz]

Wow, this is a very disappointing cul-de-sac, I thought there may be some software that would enable the possibility of hacking into one of the devices, I guess thieves have their ways but can only assume they wipe the item back to factory settings,,, it seems like first-class security but would have thought that Apple might have a more sympathetic approach when it comes to a suicidal case with the immediate relative having all the information that would be required to support this. I'm sure her daughter did not have the thought to create a legacy contact when she was in a suicidal state. Very much appreciate your reply and hope that maybe there is a way

 

[akash.nu]

Wow, this is a very disappointing cul-de-sac, I thought there may be some software that would enable the possibility of hacking into one of the devices, I guess thieves have their ways but can only assume they wipe the item back to factory settings,,, it seems like first-class security but would have thought that Apple might have a more sympathetic approach when it comes to a suicidal case with the immediate relative having all the information that would be required to support this. I'm sure her daughter did not have the thought to create a legacy contact when she was in a suicidal state. Very much appreciate your reply and hope that maybe there is a way

The thing is, any back door access to a system for whatever reason creates an open vulnerability and the chances of getting hacked for nefarious purposes.

For a few personal edge cases we can’t make an entire system vulnerable.

In fact Apple has been fighting with various governments entities in different countries who want to exploit such vulnerabilities in the name of “national security”.

This is one of the reasons why corporations use iOS devices for their employees because it’s super hard to break into.

 

[muzbaz]

There are various software companies that want to sell you their software that will do various things but ultimately you still need your passcode,,, on the iPhone for example it is only four digits but we have tried so many but now it is hours before you can try again each time you try and get it wrong,,,
Thank you Akash and Robert

 

[Puonti]

Depending on the settings on the device, 10 incorrect passcode entries might wipe all data on the device.

 

[muzbaz]

Depending on the settings on the device, 10 incorrect passcode entries might wipe all data on the device.

This is very true, such a dilemma

 

[Fred Zed]

If your partner doesn't know the sign in information, there is no hope, unless she was made a Legacy Contact
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360. If she wasn't made a Legacy Contact, her final chance is showing actual receipts for the items to Apple Store employees, noting she was the owner of the devices.

Regarding the access key. Does one have to print it off and hand it over to legacy contact before passing ?

 

[Bigwaff]

Regarding the access key. Does one have to print it off and hand it over to legacy contact before passing ?

Yes.

 

[Fruit Stand]

This might be a stretch but if you go into an Apple Store or Call Apple support they can generally see the last time a device was able to perform a back up to iCloud. If it did, you might be able leverage legal documents such as death certificate and a proof next of kin to get Apple to help you gain access to the Apple ID she had and once you do you might able to restore those back ups to either her devices or other devices and gain access to the actual data.

Sadly, the devices themselves might not be accessible at all. Unless you know someone and have the money to pay an Israeli company to brute force the iPhone for you.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

@Fruit Stand has it exactly right. Apple will grant next-of-kin access to iCloud data. They may also remove Activation Lock from the device but then the device must be erased to complete that, so anything stored SOLELY on the phone will be lost.

 

[hushblade]

Contact phone support, and be prepared to have someone provide them the death certificate.

Once you have gained access to the account (this may take days or weeks), my recommendation is to go to https://privacy.apple.com and request a copy of all data on iCloud for that Apple ID. Any photos, text messages, notes, etc. on iCloud will be downloadable.

 

[akash.nu]

This might be a stretch but if you go into an Apple Store or Call Apple support they can generally see the last time a device was able to perform a back up to iCloud. If it did, you might be able leverage legal documents such as death certificate and a proof next of kin to get Apple to help you gain access to the Apple ID she had and once you do you might able to restore those back ups to either her devices or other devices and gain access to the actual data.

Sadly, the devices themselves might not be accessible at all. Unless you know someone and have the money to pay an Israeli company to brute force the iPhone for you.

Yes! I forgot about it, this is actually a very good idea indeed.

 

[Fred Zed]

This might be a stretch but if you go into an Apple Store or Call Apple support they can generally see the last time a device was able to perform a back up to iCloud. If it did, you might be able leverage legal documents such as death certificate and a proof next of kin to get Apple to help you gain access to the Apple ID she had and once you do you might able to restore those back ups to either her devices or other devices and gain access to the actual data.

Sadly, the devices themselves might not be accessible at all. Unless you know someone and have the money to pay an Israeli company to brute force the iPhone for you.

So the next of kin regardless of what their capacity was with the deceased can gain access to one’s iCloud data after one’s death ? 😳

 

[Apple_Robert]

So the next of kin regardless of what their capacity was with the deceased can gain access to one’s iCloud data after one’s death ? 😳

I believe FS was stating an idea to try not necessarily written in stone Apple policy. Asking as suggested might work even if it isn't policy but, the legacy contact link I posted is policy. I think Apple will be very strict in this area as deviating from it could open them up to a potential lawsuit.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

So the next of kin regardless of what their capacity was with the deceased can gain access to one’s iCloud data after one’s death ? 😳

Unless you specify a “Legacy Contact” then yes, if they request it.

 

[Fred Zed]

Unless you specify a “Legacy Contact” then yes, if they request it.

Wow so much for privacy I guess. 🤣 I’m sure there are a few people in the world that particular don’t want their family members gaining access and browsing their iCloud files.

 

[Bigwaff]

I’m sure there are a few people in the world that particular don’t want their family members gaining access and browsing their iCloud files

I don’t think there are any dead people in the world who care about privacy.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Even a death certificate should not be good enough. I think you should need the deceased person’s written and notarized permission, possible in your will, to recover one‘s phone data.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Wow so much for privacy I guess. 🤣 I’m sure there are a few people in the world that particular don’t want their family members gaining access and browsing their iCloud files.

Haven't heard any complaints from dead people about their privacy, tbh.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Even a death certificate should not be good enough. I think you should need the deceased person’s written and notarized permission, possible in your will, to recover one‘s phone data.

Phone data isn't at issue. The only way to get your phone data, is to have your passcode - which Apple doesn't have so can't provide. What they will give is iCloud data - which might include contacts, calendars, photos, iMessages - but not passwords or certain other end-to-end secured data. This article explains how to make the request if there's no "Legacy Contact" designated. And this article explains how to set up your own legacy contact.

 

[Fred Zed]

Phone data isn't at issue. The only way to get your phone data, is to have your passcode - which Apple doesn't have so can't provide. What they will give is iCloud data - which might include contacts, calendars, photos, iMessages - but not passwords or certain other end-to-end secured data. This article explains how to make the request if there's no "Legacy Contact" designated. And this article explains how to set up your own legacy contact.

Good gawd. Not the photos 🤣

 

[mebehere]

I wouldn’t know how to get what‘s on the phone, but I’m sorry for your loss.

 

[hushblade]

Even a death certificate should not be good enough. I think you should need the deceased person’s written and notarized permission, possible in your will, to recover one‘s phone data.

A court order may also be required.

 

[Jackbequickly]

A court order may also be required.

‘It is a new world and looks like there needs to be some new legislation written to deal with this.