Users Report Some iPhone 7 and 6s Models Activation Locked With Wrong Apple IDs

[MacRumors]

An increasing number of iPhone users are experiencing an Activation Lock issue in which the device is linked to an Apple ID email address that does not belong to them, according to crowdsourced information from MacRumors and Twitter.

MacRumors reader Balders, who recently purchased an iPhone 7 Plus, explained in our discussion forums:

Just received my brand new 256GB Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus. Looks immaculate, screen is perfect, machining all fine... Only problem is, it appears someone has already used it as the iPhone is asking for the account used to activate it -- o.....@icloud.com. Apple say it needs replacing [...] Now got to wait for an expedited replacement iPhone once I've returned this one.

With the wrong Apple ID being displayed, users cannot sign in and are therefore unable to proceed with setting up the iPhone. The issue has primarily affected new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models upon being turned on for the first time, and iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models upon being restored to default settings, although older models appear to be affected to a lesser extent.

MacRumors user TheKricket said his iPhone 6s suddenly became activation locked:

I purchased an iPhone 6s full-price and outright directly from an Apple Store in September 2015. The phone was unlocked (I switched from T-Mobile to Verizon after I purchased it without issue). I recently purchased an iPhone 7 Plus and after that phone was activated on Verizon's network, the iPhone 6s now indicates that it has an "Activation Lock." It is also linked to some unknown iCloud account (not the account I activated it with or have been using it with for close to a full year).

The discussion topics above and others have received multiple replies from other MacRumors readers experiencing the same issue, while several Twitter users have also shared similar complaints. It is unclear when the Apple ID mixups first began, but user reports have gained traction since at least September.

Got my brand new iPhone 7 Plus... with an activation lock on it... WTF? Anybody else with the same problem? - Manuel Aeberli (@the_street_ch) September 30, 2016

Got new iPhone, did reset of old one. Now old iPhone has activation lock with email I don't own. Not just me: https://t.co/wKlS3wuIhT - Mark Svendsen (@marksvend) September 17, 2016

Something weird is going on. Possible @apple security issue with iOS 10 & wiping an old iPhone, reboots to Activation Lock & unknown email - Rick Daino (@Metagamers) September 22, 2016

A number of affected users said Apple was able to remove the Activation Lock on their iPhones upon providing the company with proof of purchase. This process can seemingly be completed at an Apple retail store by scheduling a Genius Bar appointment, or remotely by calling Apple's support team at 1-800-MY-APPLE.

On rarer occasions, however, the Activation Lock screen linked to a wrong Apple ID email address reappears more than once. In these cases, some users report that Apple fully replaced their iPhones.

It remains unclear what is causing the Activation Lock issues. Apple has not publicly commented on the matter.

Article Link: Users Report Some iPhone 7 and 6s Models Activation Locked With Wrong Apple IDs

 

[Schwyz]

*starts laughing at the ridiculous story*
*notices iPhone 6s is also affected*
*stops laughing*
*instant straight face*

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Wouldn't happen if it had a headphone jack

 

[nepalisherpa]

"You're activating it wrong!"

 

[minik]

I experienced the same problem when doing an iPhone 6S to 7 Plus upgrade launch day at the Apple Store. Since I did not have the sales receipt with me, the Apple Store staff was able to look up the record and remove the iPhone 6S off the database.

It was so strange and a huge problem I believe.

 

[HyperliteG4]

I had something similar but with a 6S+ that I purchased last year. Last night, randomly, my iPhone started asking me to re-enter ALL my passwords and then kicked me to an activation lock screen. I went through and double-checked everything, re-entered passwords and it seemed to run fine. This morning, I had a springboard crash and repeated the process. Not sure what's going on...

 

[dwsolberg]

Super odd. I wonder whether the email address it's locked to is always the same, or if it's always different. I really hope this isn't a careless mistake on Apple's part like the iTunes password issue.

 

[iThingsGurl]

"You're unlocking it wrong!"

"You're buying it wrong"

 

[btrach144]

what a pain in the rear

 

[Hyperion0808]

ActivateGate............Sorry

 

[gabo864]

I work at Best Buy and I've seen many customers reporting this issue. It even happened to a customer I personally sold an iPhone 6s to, and we called Apple and they said the Apple ID on her iPhone was registered to someone in China :S . My customer had to send a picture of her receipt to have this fixed. I really wanna know whats going on.

BTW, this happened before the iPhone 7 was released! So I dont think this started recently.

 

[Sasparilla]

Have to relate, had this happen to a 6s that I sold in August. By the time it got to the customer (3 days via the USPS, which is 1 day longer than usual) it was locked to some other AppleID (not mine). Had to go through a good amount of trouble for Apple to unlock it so the person I sold it to could tie it to his ID.

This happened once out of 3 phones for me sold (6's) at the end of 2015 as well. Was wondering if someone at the USPS was doing this (the IMEI number is on the outside of the iphone box itself - they'd have to open the shipping box), but couldn't figure out what someone would gain by doing this. Obviously its happening alot and is a huge PIA for those affected.

 

[parapup]

Show some respect people - it's Jobs' 5th death anniversary. You and your activations.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Yeah, this has intermittently been happening for at least a few months — certainly, from what I remember reading. Could well be much longer. It's very odd and a little concerning, especially for brand-new phones.

Hopefully they'll get to the bottom of it.

 

[kirky29]

I had that with my old 6S Plus, only ever belonged to me but when I reset it, it came up with a random address...

 

[gaximus]

Wander if this is a bug or some kind of scam.

 

[asleep]

Better than exploding, I guess...

But I'm very curious to find out how/why this is happening.

 

[ilfn143]

yesterday i called with the activation problem, the lady on the phone sent me a link to submit proof of purchase. last night i submitted and call apple again, another lady on the phone said it's too blurry and said she'll send me the link to submit it again (the link only let you submit once.) it's been 2 hrs and still waiting for the email to submit.

 

[Theydonboi]

Thinking out loud: Just wondering if this is a case of the backup containing media (books, music, movies) that has been obtained in, er, less than legal ways. It still has vague links to the Apple account that downloaded it, so it's screwing up the account to authorise with iCloud and prompting for the one that originally downloaded the media.

 

[keysofanxiety]

I had that with my old 6S Plus, only ever belonged to me but when I reset it, it came up with a random address...

Lots and lots of people have mentioned the same thing happening. Brand-new phones, only belonging to them.

 

[RosebudYT]

I just bought my friend's iPhone6s, and this exact thing happened. He had to call Apple, send them a proof of purchase, and it took 2 days for Apple to unlock. It just unlocked about an hour ago!

-Eric

 

[smorrissey]

Better than exploding, I guess...

But getting close...

and not only that issue pretty much all the "news" listed in the macrumors news front page.

 

[keysofanxiety]

yesterday i called with the activation problem, the lady on the phone sent me a link to submit proof of purchase. last night i submitted and call apple again, another lady on the phone said it's too blurry and said she'll send me the link to submit it again (the link only let you submit once.) it's been 2 hrs and still waiting for the email to submit.

Don't worry buddy, they'll get it sorted for you. I know it's a pain waiting, but it'll all be fine before you know it.

 

[itr81]

This also impacted iPhone 5s users. Around 2am on Tues, I noticed my phone had an activation lock placed on it. I unlocked it, but I was worried it was some ransom crap I heard so much about..

 

[K.Haderach]

Hackers gotta hack...