iPhone XR Deceased Aunt’s iPhone

[Olympic1L19]

Long story. My XR was recently destroyed in a wreck and I had two step verification enabled, so I haven’t been able to access my iCloud. My aunt passed away about a month ago so my mom gave me her iPhone 11, which Im typing from now. Luckily she didn’t have a password. I believe my mother is power of attorney and she had to got to AT&T with a death certificate to get the payments waived, so all is well there. (Im with Metro T-Mobile and I was going to carrier unlock but if its too difficult im going to just port to AT&T).

I spoke with Apple about 36 hours ago and explained the situation, so they sent my mom and email asking for things. I had to send a picture if the serial number IMEI etc and they are reviewing the request. How likely are they to allow us to wipe the device? (I was able to guess 1/2 security questions) not a privacy issue, we’re in the phone and I was able to send pics, videos and other memories to my mom and aunt so were afraid of losing anything. Apple can see just by the photos that we have access to her data (I can get on her Facebook and read iMessages but I wouldn’t dare) so they shouldn’t be concerned on that front. Is it just a matter of proof at this point? How likely are they to approve it and about how long does it take? I have some important emails to get to and some contacts whose numbers I don’t remember by heart. Im tempted to just go out an buy another XR, but, the price is going to drop in a few weeks. If they can allow me to wipe the 11 soon then thats great, if not, should I buy a XR now? Would you wait to save $100?

Ahhh

Thoughts?

 

[0128672]

Long story. My XR was recently destroyed in a wreck and I had two step verification enabled, so I haven’t been able to access my iCloud. My aunt passed away about a month ago so my mom gave me her iPhone 11, which Im typing from now. Luckily she didn’t have a password. I believe my mother is power of attorney and she had to got to AT&T with a death certificate to get the payments waived, so all is well there. (Im with Metro T-Mobile and I was going to carrier unlock but if its too difficult im going to just port to AT&T).

I spoke with Apple about 36 hours ago and explained the situation, so they sent my mom and email asking for things. I had to send a picture if the serial number IMEI etc and they are reviewing the request. How likely are they to allow us to wipe the device? (I was able to guess 1/2 security questions) not a privacy issue, we’re in the phone and I was able to send pics, videos and other memories to my mom and aunt so were afraid of losing anything. Apple can see just by the photos that we have access to her data (I can get on her Facebook and read iMessages but I wouldn’t dare) so they shouldn’t be concerned on that front. Is it just a matter of proof at this point? How likely are they to approve it and about how long does it take? I have some important emails to get to and some contacts whose numbers I don’t remember by heart. Im tempted to just go out an buy another XR, but, the price is going to drop in a few weeks. If they can allow me to wipe the 11 soon then thats great, if not, should I buy a XR now? Would you wait to save $100?

Ahhh

Thoughts?

It can take a few days. No one here can tell you exactly. It seems possibly worth it to wait to hear the outcome before buying a new phone.

 

[mknelson]

You should be able to sign in to your iCloud account on the new phone as long as you have your SIM card installed with your old phone # attached. Just select that you didn't get the code for 2FA and it will likely give you an SMS option.

As for your Aunt's phone - Apple traditionally wants a proof of purchase for the original owner before they remove the Find my iPhone/Activation lock. Your mom may be able to get that from AT&T.