so I'm looking at the case a little closer now and it would appear that whatever device was sent in to Apple's service center in Austin TX was "declined" and sent back to this person in CA. the repair case shows "original product returned". I'm wondering if this was a transcription error on the part of the AppleCare rep who took this information down and submitted this claim OR was this in fact a case where this individual has an iPhone 6s+ that has the same SN/IMEI as my activation-locked phone...? that remains to be seen. I'm hoping the advisor can shed a little light on that when he's back in the office on Sunday and returns my call. more to come I'm sure.
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Users Report Some iPhone 7 and 6s Models Activation Locked With Wrong Apple IDs
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Wow... I am hoping that was a transcription error on behalf of the rep.
Interestingly, I am just getting off the phone with AppleCare support as when I checked my 6s coverage online it says Repairs and Service coverage: Expired. The AC rep mentioned did you enter the serial # in right, yup I did. So he had no answer as to why the online system was showing this when he can see that my 6s is still covered and there have been no repair requests made.
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Some of these stories are shocking - can't wait until major media picks this up. Seems to be the only way to get apple to sort out major problems.
They need some other kind of unchangeable unique device identifier that is tied to the hardware. How that's done is beyond me, but clearly the method they have been using (the serial number/UDID/IMEI) is no longer good enough.
They need some other kind of unchangeable unique device identifier that is tied to the hardware. How that's done is beyond me, but clearly the method they have been using (the serial number/UDID/IMEI) is no longer good enough.
That wasn't my experience. I did have the activation lock return a second time, but it was because they told me to do something I think it was to lock it to my Apple ID before doing a factory reset again.
Anyhow, once I got it unlocked again, it never re-locked and I did many factory resets after that.
interesting...that's not something I've tried yet. I've always signed out of my AppleID each time I do a restore and/or erase/reset of the phone. maybe purposefully "locking" the phone to my icloud account is the key to break the cycle.
I'll definitely try this...after Apple unlocks it again lol
Funny, i was just around a certified apple vendor today planning on getting a 7+ , but i feel kind of worried to see this kind of things.
I decided not to get the 7+ , 1st is the 30 day order time and second is this crazy locking that can cause me 3-5 days without a phone.
It's sad really that that i am "afraid" to get a 1000eur phone.
If someone told me 2 years ago, i would never even imagined i would be in a situation like this.
Sad apple, sad ... let's not even talk that the 7 is dropping frames in all directions, the 6s is butter smooth compared to the 7
I decided not to get the 7+ , 1st is the 30 day order time and second is this crazy locking that can cause me 3-5 days without a phone.
It's sad really that that i am "afraid" to get a 1000eur phone.
If someone told me 2 years ago, i would never even imagined i would be in a situation like this.
Sad apple, sad ... let's not even talk that the 7 is dropping frames in all directions, the 6s is butter smooth compared to the 7
Are you saying that you normally don't sign of iCloud before doing a reset/restore and that you don't have any issues with activation lock when doing this? Just wondering if it's better to sign out of iCloud first or just do the reset/restore while signed in?
This is not good. I bought my 6s (6, 5s) from a non Apple store in Dubai. I knew at the time it was a US version (Verizon) but works just fine here in the UAE. So where does it say I need a valid (Apple) receipt to continue using my phone whenever I decide to wipe it? This is worse than the exploding Sammy Note 7 debacle! So now what?
What if the IMEI or serial is actually being used on two legit phones? Each person keeps calling Apple to reset in a never ending cycle? Or as mentioned criminals have figured out how to clone the necessary info and Apple cannot distinguish between the original and clone? And without a receipt (which everyone keeps from years ago that also states all this pertinent info) does nothing!?
Again, WHERE DOES APPLE SAY I MUST KEEP MY RECEIPT FROM A SOURCE THEY RECOGNIZE/APPROVE TO KEEP USING MY 800USD PHONE?
What if the IMEI or serial is actually being used on two legit phones? Each person keeps calling Apple to reset in a never ending cycle? Or as mentioned criminals have figured out how to clone the necessary info and Apple cannot distinguish between the original and clone? And without a receipt (which everyone keeps from years ago that also states all this pertinent info) does nothing!?
Again, WHERE DOES APPLE SAY I MUST KEEP MY RECEIPT FROM A SOURCE THEY RECOGNIZE/APPROVE TO KEEP USING MY 800USD PHONE?
Welcome to 'our' world. I have just submitted an online letter to the BBC consumer programme 'you and yours' hoping they will take this up. It almost seems too good for them to pass on. Fingers crossed because it seems many of us are running out of options. I still find it hard to grasp that I am being prevented from using a £470 ipad that has been on my account since September of 2013!!!!!!!
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This also applies to Ipads. Wait until you provide your proof of purchase and are told your serial number does not match the supplier and your Ipad won't be unlocked!!
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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: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: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.
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
This also applies to Ipads. Wait until you provide your proof of purchase and are told your serial number does not match the supplier and your Ipad won't be unlocked!!
As folks have already mentioned, but thanks for the reply.
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I did a second factory restore last week and it was fine, so I wonder if I already did this? Not wanting to test it out though as I am on call at the job and can't lose access. Thanks for the tips.
Okay, I got the e-mail that my phone has been unlocked and it is already locked again. And it's with a different iCloud ID now. What's the next step? No way I can sell this phone since it will just get locked again in transit.
Wow...is the problem that bad?
After wiping my old 6s Plus, it is working fine, but I had a weird message while I was activating my iPhone 7 Plus, it was not activation locked but it told me that in order to complete the activation I need to call T-Mobile (I bought the iPhone full price from Apple and I'm not on contract with T-Mobile and I never financed any device from them) but the phone worked after that and I never called T-Mobile...
I don't know if it's related....
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I'm just amazed, surprised, flabbergasted, and horrified by the weirdness of all that has happened to her. It shouldn't be that bad to change your Apple ID! It just shouldn't...
Yeah, I made an appointment. Earliest appointment they had is Monday night.
I also called again to have it unlocked. 58 minutes later with Apple and i still have to wait for them to unlock again. Apparently no-one who can unlock works on the weekend. If this was my main iPhone, i would be absolutely livid. I'm fairly certain it will get locked again by someone else within minutes of Apple unlocking it. Only thing i think will fix it is to get a new phone with new serial number.
Apple needs to figure this out. At a minimum, they need to acknowledge it as an issue and put steps in place so their 1st level support team can unlock while user proves it is their phone, Apple unlocks, and user registers phone.
Even that does not fix the resale issue, but at least we are not waiting for days why Apple gets to the right engineer and verifies unlock again.
As an update: Today I went to turn in my 6s to Apple as I'm on the IUP. When the associate was attempting to upgrade my 6s to the 7, it was locked to this mysterious email that is not associated with my Apple ID (same email address that popped up when my 6s was activation locked). The associate had to use some back door method to remove 'Find my iPhone' from the other iCloud account. I was upfront with the associate and told him that I experienced issues with the device a month ago when I went to downgrade from iOS 10 PB back to iOS 9.
What should have been a 15 minute process took about 45 minutes to resolve and finally get my iPhone 7.
What should have been a 15 minute process took about 45 minutes to resolve and finally get my iPhone 7.
It would be EXTREMELY helpful to a lot of us I think to understand what backdoor method was used to remove the 'Find my Iphone' from the erroneous account. It is this, and only this, which is preventing access to my Ipad! Any idea please?
brief update as to the whole mysterious "accidental damage" claim that popped up on my support profile last week. I talked to the senior advisor this morning who has been helping me with this and what I was told was that someone had apparently transcribed a digit of the SN incorrectly (a O instead of zero type of thing I'm guessing as my SN has a couple of zeroes and o's in it).
At this point the plan is to get the phone unlocked again, do a DFU restore and see if that takes care of it. I'm growing a bit more impatient as time passes though as it's now been over a week and I'm still unable to sell this "brick" to someone as was the initial plan. If this next unlock + DFU restore of the phone doesn't resolve the issue I'm going to push harder for a replacement through whatever channels necessary.
At this point the plan is to get the phone unlocked again, do a DFU restore and see if that takes care of it. I'm growing a bit more impatient as time passes though as it's now been over a week and I'm still unable to sell this "brick" to someone as was the initial plan. If this next unlock + DFU restore of the phone doesn't resolve the issue I'm going to push harder for a replacement through whatever channels necessary.
It shouldn't, but if there is a large scale organized effort to steal serial numbers and reprogram stolen and lost phones with rom flashers with other serial numbers, the foundation of which phone ownership is based on, this is a huge issue for the phone industry not apple specifically.
I just received word from Apple that my 6s+ has now been unlocked for the second time (yay!-if it lasts....). The apple advisor I've been working with advised me to do a fresh DFU restore on the phone before doing anything else. I just completed that and I'm waiting to get word on whether or not he wants me to set the phone up and log in to my iCloud account or if there is something else he wants to take a look at first.
I told him when I was talking to him earlier that I won't feel confident the problem is resolved until I'm able to set up, login to my iCloud account, erase and/or restore the phone multiple times without the lock reappearing. hopefully more details to come later.
PM update: walked through the set up of the phone again, signed in to my icloud account, verified it showed up in findmyiphone app on icloud.com and that FindMyIphone was in fact turned on. I then signed out of FindMyIphone on the iPhone itself, did an erase all content and settings on the phone and it appears the activation lock stayed OFF as I was able to set it up two more times doing the same thing. Either first activation lock didn't take, DFU restore was a crucial part of this process OR there is something else I wasn't privy to in the background. either way, it would appear I now have a lock-free phone that I can move forward with plan to sell. Going to give it a day or two and setup/restore a couple more times to ensure it isn't a timing thing somehow and the lock will just come back later.
I told him when I was talking to him earlier that I won't feel confident the problem is resolved until I'm able to set up, login to my iCloud account, erase and/or restore the phone multiple times without the lock reappearing. hopefully more details to come later.
PM update: walked through the set up of the phone again, signed in to my icloud account, verified it showed up in findmyiphone app on icloud.com and that FindMyIphone was in fact turned on. I then signed out of FindMyIphone on the iPhone itself, did an erase all content and settings on the phone and it appears the activation lock stayed OFF as I was able to set it up two more times doing the same thing. Either first activation lock didn't take, DFU restore was a crucial part of this process OR there is something else I wasn't privy to in the background. either way, it would appear I now have a lock-free phone that I can move forward with plan to sell. Going to give it a day or two and setup/restore a couple more times to ensure it isn't a timing thing somehow and the lock will just come back later.
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What about creating a new iCloud account and attaching it to that account... then back to yours... to see how it behaves?
I am going to try that next. I have an iPhone for work that I use a separate apple ID for (you know, to keep some semblance of separation between the two
).if it's still good after that I will feel OK to sell it tomorrow to the buyer I have lined up.
I'm seriously annoyed by this issue. Not that I'm experiencing this but it's halting me to sell my 6 Plus.
I've got my 7 Plus now, and I want to sell my 6 Plus. However, I don't have the receipt from 2 years ago.
So now, I can't wipe the phone and sign out. Considering the risk that if it gets locked, I don't have proof of purchase to show Apple. And the value of the phone drops more the longer I keep it.
With no official comment on this matter from Apple, how long do I have to wait before I can sell my phone?
I've got my 7 Plus now, and I want to sell my 6 Plus. However, I don't have the receipt from 2 years ago.
So now, I can't wipe the phone and sign out. Considering the risk that if it gets locked, I don't have proof of purchase to show Apple. And the value of the phone drops more the longer I keep it.
With no official comment on this matter from Apple, how long do I have to wait before I can sell my phone?