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Questions tagged [activation-lock]

Activation Lock is a feature that was added in iOS 7 which is intended to prevent unauthorized users from restoring the phone to factory settings to bypass any other security means that were configured on the device.

Activation Lock is aimed at preventing theft of iOS 7, or later, devices by rendering the device useless, unless the user can enter correct Apple ID credentials. After restoring the device, if iCloud (in particular, Find My iPhone), has previously been enabled it will prompt for the login information of the Apple ID that had been activated on the device previously. This should prevent malicious users from wiping the contents of the phone and then using it.

For more information, refer the Apple Support document on the working of Activation Lock:

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How can I bypass Activation Lock?

I bought a used iPhone 4. The previous owner re-set the phone, but did not remove the device from their iCloud. It is asking me for their iCloud information when I try to set-up the phone. I don't have contact with the previous owner anymore. Is…
Leanna Gray
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How secure is Activation Lock on iOS 7 (and later)?

Apple showed this new feature in iOS 7 called Activation Lock, that if you enable "Find My iPhone" on a device that is lost or stolen, a person that finds/gets the iPhone will not be able to wipe it or reset it. I'm curious whether the lock is…
MikeF
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Activate M1 MBP without contacting Apple servers

I'd like to have an airgapped M1 macbook, with some form of backup/disk cloning in case of hardware failures. Is there a way I can completely wipe/restore an M1 MacBook Pro without an internet connection? disk cloning seems very hard, since several…
chronospoon
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How do I return a lost de-activated phone to the owner?

I found an iPhone 5s in the back of a taxi and kept it with the hope of returning it to the owner (this happened to me). By the time I woke up the next morning the owner had obviously deactivated the phone. Is there anyway of returning it to the…
user77417
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iPhone 4s asking for old Apple ID but nowhere to type code

My phone was disabled so I connected it with iTunes. We unlocked it and now it is requesting the old Apple ID. I don't know the old one but my brother made a password reset, and now it gave us a code but there is nowhere to type it in on the phone.…
rebekah
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Activation lock MacBook to Apple ID?

Is it possible to lock my MacBook to my Apple ID so that if it gets stolen (macOS) is useless when someone tries to reinstall it?
Hedge
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Did Apple shut down the Activation Lock checker? Why?

I have an used iPhone 6s that is pin locked and I wanted to check whether it was locked to iCloud or not. I opened icloud.com/activationlock to find out that the service is no longer available. Is there any reason Apple decided to disable this…
esQmo_
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Activation lock when I'm the only owner that my iPhone ever had, asking for my AppleID

iPhone 5C, iOS 9. Was bought in the Apple Store and activated by me with my Apple ID a few years ago. Today, on 10:00 pm, when I was riding a subway train, connected to its free wi-fi, black screen with white apple appeared suddenly, when I was…
Melody Nelson
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Is my iPhone locked with iCloud or not? I don't have SIM Card yet

I bought an iPhone 5C from a friend and I'm not sure if it's Activation Locked or not and I don't have a SIM card yet. He hasn't used it and didn't know anything about that, he got it second hand. When I got the phone it was stuck at the lock…
user76931
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Prompted to enter system lock PIN code to unlock Mac

A former terminated employee Fedex'ed us his company Macbook Air. When we turn it on we get this screen you see in the photo below. We do not have this 6 digit "system pin", never set it up, and are unsure how to re-format it. I've never seen this…
JasonGenX
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Understanding Activation Lock

My father in law has recenly bought himself an iPad Pro and an iPhone X. He would like to give his grandsons his old iPad 3 which he hasn't used for over a year. Wanting to wipe it, I came up across the Activation Lock. Try as we might we can't work…
Rich
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Can I use any Sim to activate/set up iPhone 5s

I recently ordered a straight talk iPhone 5s from swappa. I plan to just use it as a wifi device but my question is, can I use any sim card for the initial set up or does it have to be specifically straight talk sim. Also does the sim have to be…
brad
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Activation lock problem

I've recently dug out an old iPhone to sell. It has activation lock on it which is pretty normal. However, it's linked to an Apple account which has had its password changed since then. I've also removed it from the iCloud interface. It now refuses…
Snoopy1212
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How do I turn off Activation Lock on Apple Watch?

With watchOS 2 it looks like Activation Lock is enabled by default. How do I turn off Activation Lock on Apple Watch? I want to know for when the time comes to sell my watch or have it serviced.
Steve Moser
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Is there any way to find the Apple ID of the activation lock?

I understand it is impossible to find the password, but is it possible to find the apple ID so I can email the guy this phone was obviously stolen off? I've lost several hundred pounds on this stupid purchase, but at the very least I can give this…
dubhlainn
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