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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.
Are the Chinese hacking Apple's servers?
 
+1
Happened to me on my iPhone 6s+ I sold to some random person across the country. I fully signed out / erased it all before shipping it, of course. Buyer had to mail it back to me, I had to go into an Apple store, and have them unlock it. Crappy experience for everyone.
 
My phone was delivered directly from the factory at launch. It makes no sense what so ever why or how this is happening.
Are people in the factory playing with them and then they boxed them up but forgot to wipe everything so they did a remote wipe? :eek:
 
Happened with my iPhone 6S+. Originally an ATT phone, I unlocked and gave it to my mom to use on Verizon. Verizon was clueless when she went to get SIM, but the Genius Bar fixed Looked up the purchase and fixed it in a few minutes.
 
What happens if you dont have the receipts? I bought my iphones 2nd hand but new. Dont have the receipts but phones are still under warranty and were not locked or blacklisted etc. Is apple sorting these out too? Or am I f****d if this happens ?
 
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What happens if you dont have the receipts? I bought my iphones 2nd hand but new. Dont have the receipts but phones are still under warranty and were not locked or blacklisted etc. Is apple sorting these out too? Or am I f****d if this happens ?

I would hope there's an audit log of what serial # is associated with what email address and how/why an address was updated. Might take longer, but I'd hope they can sort that out for you if it does happen.
 
Same issue o.....@icloud.com was the iCloud ID.
Happened with my old iPhone 6s+ when i went to sell it.
Took Apple 2 tries to unlock and 2 day wait each time. Very frustrating.




Activation_Lock.jpg
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
 
I'm about to wipe two phones and send them to Verizon as trade-ins. Any suggestions as to keep this from happening? If Verizon get's it activation locked, I don't get my money and I don't see how I could fix this very easily. One phone I purchased on eBay so what kind of proof of purchase are they looking for? I'm guessing the reseller on ebay bought it in some batch of phones. I don't see how you could easily find the original proof or purchase.
 
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. :)

It's NOT fine. My iPhone is for business and for family--I'm an independent contractor--and being down for two days would most certainly not be acceptable, so do not tell others what should be acceptable /rant

This is most disconcerting. Do we know anything specific about this? Is it related to iOS 10 only or does it also affect iOS 9? Is it happening only or primarily with a particular telecom (e.g., Verizon--just an example, not a claim)? Is it related to Find My iPhone? A different Apple security feature? Sounds like something has been compromised.
 
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Hopefully it's as simple as something on the system resetting itself.
However, I have to agree with some posts here, that it could be due to IMEI cloning, and it just happens there's a batch that are Apple's. Not cool.
 
Apple Pay, Apple home, Apple Car...

This is another one of those times where Apple software proves so unreliable that it makes me reluctant to use their services into the future.

I don't ever want to be locked out of my house, or my car, or be unable to pay for things, or be stranded overseas in a non-english speaking country without apple stores, and have this happen because I thought home automation, paying with a phone or an apple car sounded good.

Right now, losing access to messages or phone calls for a while is inconvenient - but apple is increasingly positioning the iPhone as the key to an automated lifestyle.

It might seem like a fairly minor first-world issue now, but I think Apple really needs to lift their game if they want to deliver on the automated future they keep alluding to.
 
This happened to me on my iPhone 6s 128 att phone. I took out the sim when I got my iPhone 7 and the phone stayed on in airplane mode for a coupe days. I removed and earased all the apps one by one and then logged out of iCloud, and find my phone, and erased all the contents. I sold the phone on eBay, thankfully locally. The new buyer couldn't log in and told me I didn't log out of iCloud, I told him I did and it's probably a different issue. We met up, I called apple and was on phone for 35 minutes. I had to provide proof of ownership, and proof of sale with serial, and imei numbers. A week went by and no unlocking. I called Apple on Monday and spent another 45 minutes on the phone, by Tuesday evening they unlocked the phone.
 
This happened to my work 5S this morning. I noticed that iMessages won't send so I rebooted my phone. Upon reboot, it prompted me with the Activation Lock screen. Luckily, it was my iCloud login so I was able to unlock it. I've literally owned the phone for over 2.5 years so how is that even possible to have that prompt come up?

Similar thing happened to my iPhone 6 which I bought new 2 years ago. Somehow got signed out of my iMessage account, then couldn't log back in no matter what I tried. Finally had to wipe the phone and restore from backup. Upon setup, it was activation locked but also thankfully to my own account.
 
Mine was showing a completely different iCloud account and the apple tech said it appeared someone trying to connect phone on a Asian cell network.... hmmmm
 
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there is one explanation for this problem. iPhone 7 and 6 are obviously recycled from iPhone 6 using the new recycling robot that apple created "Liam". So I assume the affected phones have missed replacing some of the parts and used old ones from broken phones. This is why Apple did not change the whole design of iPhone 7. to use the broken phones and unsold iPhone 6 and 6s.
 
HOLY COW!!!

My mom has had her iPhone repeatedly ask for her original Apple ID, one she hasn't used in like 4 years! It will come out of a reset, and occasionally ask for verification, and even though setup with her current Apple ID, it will eventually popup demanding that she verify with her old, and inoperative, Apple ID. I wonder if this is related. We have a case open with Apple support and they just appear to blow us off. Which sucks for my mom... She thinks that I should have some pull over Apple for all the years I've supported computers in general, and Apple users in the are in particular.

Nope. They still think I'm a nobody. Like everyone else...
[doublepost=1475714484][/doublepost]
Mine was showing a completely different iCloud account and the apple tech said it appeared someone trying to connect phone on a Asian cell network.... hmmmm

So Apple cellular chips have been hacked? DAMN...
 
IMG_1244.JPG
I am pissed off at Apple!!! Their making me do all these tedious work to prove them that the iPhone I bought is mine. They expect me to find / go all the way to the store / get an appointment to get a proof of purchase. And they have only given me 7 days to prove it or else my case is cancelled. WTF I'm so busy with school and work right now and my device doesn't work.

APPLES SYSTEM IS COMPROMISED AND HACKED. AND THEIR SHOVING THIS INCONVENIENCE INTO MY FACE

@yahoo.com??? WTF, I only use @me.com, and according to Apple, the Activation Lock came from CHINA. KSKAACSKALALAWPEPTPEXM WTF!!
 
More likely Chinese workers are copying the MEID # and whatever other information is needed for activation to activate stolen or knock-off phones.

Either them, or the Chinese version of the CIA ;)

Hmm. Come to think of it, even my oldest iPads have been asking for my Apple account info a lot lately. Seemed pretty strange. Started about a month ago, maybe? But iPads wouldn't be on a phone list, so...weird.
 



Activation_Lock.jpg
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
[doublepost=1475715961][/doublepost]I had the same problem and the account was a from the apple support computer used to setup at Apple Store so I went back and had them remove it
 
I'm willing to bet that some sort of scam is going on at foxcon assembly line where these phones are being manufactured which apple obviously isint aware of.

If this is the case, then the issue is tied to the hardware and it would be impossible for apple to fix it though a mass update.
 
This is VERY scary. I'm a trucker and if this happens to my 6plus ill be screwed. There is like no way that I could get to an Apple Store for days or possibly a couple of weeks.
Questions, does this problem only seem to come up if the phone is wiped or if logged out of Apple ID?
Or, is it happening when the phone it just turned on? Any answers welcome.
 
This is VERY scary. I'm a trucker and if this happens to my 6plus ill be screwed. There is like no way that I could get to an Apple Store for days or possibly a couple of weeks.
Questions, does this problem only seem to come up if the phone is wiped or if logged out of Apple ID?
Or, is it happening when the phone it just turned on? Any answers welcome.

I believe it's only when the phone is restored. This happened to mine after I erased all settings. Very odd.
 
WILL APPLE REPLACE MY IPHONE???? BECAUSE SCREW ALL THE WORK THEIR ASKING ME TO DO. OR ~~I SWEAR~~ I'M SOOOOO TOTALLY GONNA GO TO AN APPLE STORE WITH A STEEL BALL. I TOTES SWEAR
 
I'm about to wipe two phones and send them to Verizon as trade-ins. Any suggestions as to keep this from happening? If Verizon get's it activation locked, I don't get my money and I don't see how I could fix this very easily. One phone I purchased on eBay so what kind of proof of purchase are they looking for? I'm guessing the reseller on ebay bought it in some batch of phones. I don't see how you could easily find the original proof or purchase.

After wiping, try setting them up as new without logging in to an Apple ID and double check here: https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/
 
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