iPad I bought an iPad Mini at City Auction for $100, But Locked w/ iOS 7; Owner in Jail

[harmless42]

How do I examine a used iPhone before purchasing to know if the Activation Lock is off and clear?

Goto Settings, iCloud

If Find My iPhone is switched on then Activation Lock is ON. This is explained in the text under that setting.

 

[fredylee]

Hey all, so I'm in an interesting predicament. I hope off the bat no one thinks I'm trolling seeing as I've been a member for years but my situation goes like this:

A buddy told me to tag along a public auction in the city of Los Angeles and to my surprise many interesting items were being sold. As luck would have it an iPad mini 1st gen was on the list and seeing as perhaps it was a slow Tuesday I managed to get it for $100. The issue though is that it was password protected. I then thought (considering I've done the following with previous iOS devices) to simply restore the iPad and set it up that way, but of course with iOS 7 the device is locked. I can't go to the owner considering I don't even know who the guy is, all I know is the crime he committed was some battery assault charge and the dude was already on probation and will be there for at least two years.

I don't want to admit I have a bricked iPad mini. Such a shame too cause I was so happy to get this item.

Any help in the right direction is heavily appreciated.

any update on this story? Would love to know how you get this resolved. Thx.

 

[racer1441]

Exactly what I was thinking. How does the LAPD know it wasn't stolen?

That said, Apple clearly must have a way to unlock iOS7 devices because I returned a pass code locked iPad Mini last week and forgot to wipe it. They will obviously resell it somehow.

Most police i have dealt with treat seized property as department property after the trial. They don't even try and track down the original owner. They auction it off and away they go with the money.

 

[KhunJay]

Go see the guy in jail....hand him the mini and ask him to key in the password.

 

[HappyDude20]

any update on this story? Would love to know how you get this resolved. Thx.

Yeah I sold it online stating the circumstances.. Someone bought it and used the money to get a 3rd gen 64gb ipad in white which im really happy with.

 

[piriawan]

How much did you get from selling a device with such circumstance?