Apple introduced Activation Lock in 2013, which uses iCloud to discourage thieves from stealing Apple products. When a device is activation locked, you need the previous owner’s iCloud password to set it up as your own.
Unfortunately, this also causes problems for people buying or inheriting second-hand devices. You often can’t get through the setup because Activation Lock still links it to the previous owner’s account.
Contents
Related:
- How Do I Change My Apple ID and Password on iPhone, iPad, or iPod?
- How to Prepare Before Selling or Buying a Used iPhone
- So You Found a Lost iPhone, Now What?
- How to Set Up a Used iPhone or iPad
How to Remove iCloud Activation Lock
The easiest way to remove iCloud Activation Lock from a used iPhone, iPad, or Mac is for the previous owner to enter their Apple ID details on the device. Failing that, they need to sign in to the iCloud website and remove that device from the Find My page.
What Is Activation Lock?
Activation Lock is a security measure Apple introduced to discourage theft. It turns on automatically when you enable Find My on your Apple device. Activation Lock is available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, AirPods, or Mac (if it has a T2 security chip).
With Activation Lock turned on, no-one can set up your device without your iCloud password. This means a thief can’t use your iPhone even if they erase it.
When you try to set up a device that is activation locked, a security screen asks you to enter the Apple ID details for the connected account. Apple doesn’t show you the full email address of the connected account, but that person gets an automated message saying that Activation Lock is still turned on.
All the Ways to Remove iCloud Activation Lock
There are a few different things you can do to remove Activation Lock. Most of them depend on the previous owner, so you may need to reach out to whoever you got the device from for their details.
1. Ask the Previous Owner to Enter Their Apple ID During Setup
If you’re still with the previous owner, ask them to enter their Apple ID details in the Activation Lock screen on the device. This screen appears during the initial setup.
When they enter their details and tap Next, it removes the device from their iCloud account and disables Activation Lock.
2. Ask the Previous Owner to Enter Their Old Passcode
If the device is running iOS 11 or later and the previous owner used Two-Factor Authentication with iCloud, you can use their previous passcode—instead of their Apple ID password—to remove Activation Lock.
From the Activation Lock screen, tap Unlock with Passcode? and enter the previous passcode for that device. You may also need to enter a two-factor authentication code sent to the previous owner.
3. Ask the Previous Owner to Remove the Device From iCloud
If you aren’t with the previous owner, the easiest way to disable Activation Lock is for them to remove the device from their iCloud account.
Here’s how they do that:
- Sign in to the iCloud website.
- Click the Find My button.
- Select the device from the All Devices dropdown menu.
- Click Erase [Device] and follow the prompts to erase the device.
- Then click Remove from Account.
After the previous owner removes the device from their iCloud account, you need to restart it before you can finish the setup.
How to Remove Activation Lock Without the Previous Owner
Sometimes you have no way of getting in touch with the previous owner of your device. It’s much harder to remove iCloud Activation Lock when this is the case.
Apple designed Activation Lock this way to make it equally difficult for people to unlock stolen devices without the lawful owner.
But you might legitimately find yourself in this situation if you inherited or bought a second-hand Apple device. The best thing to do in either of these circumstances is speak to Apple directly.
Ask Apple to Remove Activation Lock From Your Device
It’s possible for Apple to remove Activation Lock from devices without using the previous owner’s iCloud password. For Apple to do this, you need to show them proof that you legally purchased or inherited the device.
If you bought the device, show Apple your proof of purchase. This must contain the device’s serial number as well as your name.
The device might not have the same serial number anymore if it was replaced at the Genius bar. In this case, you also need a Service Confirmation that details the old and new serial numbers.
If you inherited the device, you need to show Apple a Death Certificate, proof of your relationship to the deceased, and possibly the original proof of purchase as well.
Visit the Apple Support website to speak to Apple about removing iCloud Activation Lock from your device. If Apple Support isn’t available in your country, reach out to Apple Support on Twitter instead.
About Third-Party Activation Lock Removal Services
If you search the Internet for “iCloud Activation Lock” you’re likely to find a lot of services offering to remove it for a small fee.
You should be very skeptical of these services. Most of them, if not all of them, are scams.
Typically, they claim to charge around $30 to remove Activation Lock. But after a couple of days, they ask for more money saying your device needs “Premium” treatment for them to successfully unlock it.
This often happens a couple of times before they tell you it’s not possible to unlock your device anymore. At which point, they offer a partial refund in the form of a voucher for their worthless services.
Don’t believe the reviews. If you’re determined to try one of these services, find a real person who used it successfully before you pay any money.
Reader Tip: Bypass Activation Lock With a Different DNS
Some of our readers suggested this tip to temporarily bypass Activation Lock. It involves connecting your device to Wi-Fi using a special DNS that tricks the device into thinking it’s unlocked.
This isn’t a very effective method since it depends on the device running an older version of iOS. It also only works for a short period of time.
Follow these steps to try bypassing Activation Lock using a different DNS:
- Follow the setup prompts on your device until you get to the Wi-Fi page.
- Select your Wi-Fi network and tap the i button.
- Change the DNS servers to one of these options, based on your region:
- North America: 104.154.51.7
- South America: 35.199.88.219
- Europe: 104.155.28.90
- Asia: 104.155.220.58
- Australia and Oceania: 35.189.47.23
- Finish setting up your device.
Avoid Buying an iPhone With iCloud Activation Lock
If you’re in the market for a used iPhone, here are the best practices to avoid getting stuck behind Activation Lock:
- Go through the entire setup process with the previous owner so they can turn off Activation Lock if it appears. To save time, don’t recover any data yet.
- Only buy second-hand devices from authorized resellers.
- Get proof of purchase with your name and the device serial number.
- Test the contact details work for whoever you buy the device from, so you can reach them if you need to.
Always consider the possibility you might be buying a stolen device, which the seller can’t unlock either. Whether you buy it or not, report stolen devices to the police.
All of this makes it a little bit unnerving if you’re about to buy a used iPhone or any other second-hand Apple product. But if you follow the advice above, you shouldn’t have any problems with Activation Lock.
Dan is a freelance writer based in South West England.
He spent two years supervising repairs as a Genius Admin for Apple Retail and uses that knowledge to keep our troubleshooting guides up to date.
Long before that, Dan turned to Apple products from a musical background. Having owned iPods for years, he bought a MacBook to learn sound recording and production. It was using those skills that he gained a first-class Bachelor of Science in Sound Technology.
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Hi. So I’m in limbo here. I purchase an iPhone XR a few wks ago on letgo. And it’s been a nightmare for me.
I have an iCloud activation lock and the owner or if he was the owner I can’t seem to reach him. So now I’m stuck with a phone I can’t use.
I even brought one of those IMEI unlock services and they also told me exactly what you said above. So I got scammed out of 30 dollars. I don’t know what to do anymore.
Please help I’m just thinking of going to the apple store and return this phone.
Hi Alejandro,
Sorry to hear about this terrible experience purchasing an iPhone XR. How did you pay for the device on Letgo? If you used PayPal or a credit card, contact their service department and file a claim.
There’s a chance the device you purchased was a stolen or lost device that someone then sold to you. In that case, your only recourse is to reach out to the company that serviced your payment and see if you can recover your funds through them.
Since you did not purchase this iPhone from Apple or its authorized dealers and it is listed under another person’s Apple ID, it’s unlikely that the Apple Store will accept a return.
Contact your payment method and see how they can help.
Good luck,
Liz
hello
my son forget appleid&password from ipod touch
i can not bypass appleid
please help me
HI Ghobad,
If you or your son has access to the email account he associated with his Apple ID, then you can use this information to recover your Apple ID.
On a computer, go to Apple’s ID site.
Choose the option below the login credential boxes, Forgot Apple ID or password?
On the next page, tap If you forgot your Apple ID, you can look it up.
Then enter first name, last name, and email address
If it finds the Apple ID, write down the ID, then go through the steps again but this time choosing forgot password
Use Eelphone iPhone Unlock, easy and quick.
Recently I bought a Iphone x, and it seems to be cloudlocked. The only proof of purchase I have is from the text messages I sent to the seller, and the ones he sent to me. What should I do?
Hi Richard,
Text the seller and ask him/her to remove the iPhone X from their Apple ID account. This can be done remotely (you don’t need to have the device on-hand) via iCloud’s website.
The seller (or previous owner) must do these steps–you cannot do it for them.
In Settings on iCloud’s website, look at the My Devices section
In the list of devices, click the device to remove (your iPhone X)
Click the Delete button next to that device. If there is no Delete button, click Remove Device that’s listed below the device’s serial or IMEI number.
i have my dad old iphone 4 and he passed away and it has a activation lock and i cant get in to his email or icloud
what do i do
Hi Morgan,
We are very sorry for the loss of your father.
We wish Apple made it easier for the family to access loved one’s devices, but it is sadly not the case.
You need proof of your legal relationship with your father as well as a death certificate (and possibly other court documents.) Then contact Apple Support and explain the circumstances.
Again, we are very sorry for your loss.
Liz
Hey,
My father also passed away about a year ago, don’t worry, you can get the device unlocked!
All his data should be on his icloud account anyway, what you need is his sim card, i did the following, i called the operator of my dad’s sim card,
i told them that i whas my dad and i forgot my pin code, they wher happy to give me the puk code, put the sim in a different phone, tap the pin 3 times and you will get the puk prompt, input the puck that the phone company gave you, now you go to iforgot.apple.com,
you can ask for a reset password on your dad’s apple id, because his simcard has the trusted phone number on it, you can get a confirmation code on that,
i hope you have another ios device that is completely empty, you will have to wait 30 days until you can reset your dads icloud password, don’t lose that trusted phone number though!
You will have to make sure that your dads phone number is still reachable after those 30 days pass, than you take the other ios device, and you set it up with your dads icloud, because now you “own” his icloud, you can restore all of his icloud data back into the fresh ios device, even his mails, pictures, video’s, everything that whas on your dads icloud will download,
lets say that you have a spare ipod touch laying around, you can use that, erase it back to factory settings and set it up once you have reset his password with the method i gave you, make sure his iphone is connected to a wifi network that he already set up on his phone in the past so that all of his data is synced with icloud, once you have the password, you could than (if you want), erase the phone through itunes and set it up as new, but use your dads icloud credentials since now you are able to acces his icloud,
thats what i did!
And it worked like a charm! I could see the last pictures he took with his iphone from my mom and sisters right before he whas gone!
It works!
Someone gave me an iPhone XR , I’ve tried many ways to get into it but the activation lock won’t allow me , I have no way to get in touch with the owner , I would like to know that if I bring it to apple can they unlock it ?
Hi Dez,
Unfortunately, they cannot do that. Only the previous owner can remove the activation lock.
well, it’s not like they can’t… they won’t. If you don’t have proof of purchase and the lock is on you basically spent money on a phone that is impossible to use.
That is deliberate and a choice by apple to destroy the theft market. A lot of end-users aren’t aware of it at a level of skill that matters so a lot of phones get sold by well-meaning but clueless people who left it locked.
I bought an iPhone5 but not sure if it’s iPhone 5/5s or 5c and it’s on Activation Lock.. Really in dire need to unlock it.. Please help..
Thank you!!!..
Hi Gabriel,
If the iPhone has activation lock enabled, you must contact the person you purchased it from and ask them to remove Find My iPhone from it. They can do this remotely by logging into their Apple ID and removing the device there.
Unfortunately, this is really the only way around iCloud Activation Lock these days. Most third-party products don’t work and the previous workarounds have all be eliminated by Apple.
The right way to get lock removal is….
Contact Apple! Customer service will walk you through the steps to get device unlock.
Don’t go to malicious websites that ask you a bunch of info about you and your device.
The right way is the original Apple ID and Apple ID password, ask the owner or the seller to provide the iCloud account and password.
Some time ago I deleted my other icloud account and didn’t go out in settings.
Now this account staying with me and I can’t get out of him because he’s been deleted.
What can I do?
Can you remove my old icloud from phone settings?
Hi Inese,
If your old Apple ID is still showing up in your device’s settings, try deactivating Find My first.
Go to Settings > Apple ID (at the top) > iCloud > scroll down to Find My and tap it. Toggle both Send the Last Location and Find My off. Enter in that old Apple ID’s password and it should turn off.
After turning off Find My, you should be able to remove your Apple ID completely from your device.
Go to Settings > Apple ID > scroll down and tap Sign Out.
After signing out from this section, go to iMessage, FaceTime, and iTunes & App Store and sign out there as well.
Once you are totally signed out of your Apple ID from all services, restart your device and sign in with that new Apple ID.
Liz
Apple products are BS. If this continue, I predict the death of Apple.
paid for Doctor Unlock Premium iCloud lock removal service in MAY it’s now mid-August and NOT DONE.
Perhaps they know that a single mother on disability pension won’t raise a storm since she already has enough to deal with….
I’d like to upload screenshots of repeated order status tracking.
I was so happy to tell my 15yo daughter that I saved up to pay for the unlock – it’s been over THREE months… it just breaks my heart.
You can’t exactly contact the previous owner because their email address is covered by apple. I recently contacted apple to help me remove the lock and despite providing proof of purchase from ebay and the seller, they said they only accept from authorized resellers. They also refused to communicate with the previous owner about the lock, so if anyone has any suggestions on how to get the previous owners contact details, it would be very helpful.
They have a simple rule that they want an authorization or proof of purchase from the 1st owner.
Hey I bought a iPhone 6 and it’s activated locked to previous owner and not able to get ahold of them wat the fastest way to get it activated
Hi Susan,
Unfortunately, the workarounds for removing activation lock don’t work anymore. Getting a hold of the previous owner is the best way to get that activation lock removed.
Remember, a previous owner can remove this activation lock remotely by logging into their Apple ID–they don’t need to have the device with them.
Liz
Yea sure, and how can you contact the prev. owner, since the e-mail details are hidden?
how do you contact the owner since the email is covered?
Hi Omari,
Check your invoice for any contact information or if you purchased online, on your order information.
Hi guys, iPhone is just a waste of time. online unlock websites don’t work.
If your iPhone is locked, just do away with iPhone and go ahead with any android phones….after all it is just the same.
Apparently Apple has these methods shut down now. I’ve tried removing the activation lock on an iPad Air.
Tried the restore six times using various methods and it’s still locked. There’s never any i by the WiFi networks, nothing I can see to change the DNS.
How “green” of Apple to be making more of their products into useless garbage. Yesterday I easily restored a locked Acer Chromebook to usefulness. How? Looked up how to do it, pressed the 4 keys it said then clicked the “Powerwash” button. In a couple of minutes it was clean and ready to setup for its new owner.
WELL, after reading all comments here, I’m hopeless that I can unlock my iphone 7+, such a waste of my time and energy, I wish to donate for doulci but then how many of genuine users will use it… ah, but still i make open announcement whoever unlock my phone will be given 50 bucks.. no scam no con, but genuine offer.
can i do this wihout any cost remove this activastion lock in iphone .
Hi Ashok,
The only way cost free is to access the previous owner and have them remove this device from Find My iPhone and their Apple ID account.
At this time, we suggest this is the only consistent way that works–other methods, like unlocking sites, cost money and work sometimes, and don’t work most times.
Liz
Most iCloud unlock sites are fake and just gather your info. None work that I know of
Ok
it has not worked on my iPhone 4 please help me to unlock the iPhone
You guys are absolutely out of your mind if you think that this is going to work. If there was a way around FMIP Activation Lock, then Apple would constantly be under serious scrutiny from it’s customers and media. Don’t waste your time, just buy an apple product like the rest of us from a legitimate ARS/AASP
Really so having a family member pass and receiving the phone from family member’s spouse, I am now supposed to just toss it out like it wasn’t a legit or legal transaction. the lady just lost her husband and doesn’t remember the password to apple account.
Hi Mark,
Apple may be able to assist with proof of relationship (marriage to the deceased, Power of Attorney documents, or other legal documents) as well as a death certificate.
It’s not an easy process and takes time, but some people had success.
iphone is rubish you’re just wasting time and your money
don’t waste your money on those online services–most do not work
First, it’s only cost a bit and then after 2 days, they came back with, CONGRATULATION! YOU PHONE HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR TO BE UNLOCKED.
Please make final payment of a larger amount, so we can release these unlocked to you over the air or plug your phone iTunes.
After 2 days, they said sorry your phone not be able to be unlocked.
This require our PREMIUM TOOLS, which is coming soon, you will be the first to be noticed.
Ya, I’m just looking for a service that ACTUALLY checks the FMI status (clean/lost). Is that something that your ‘PREMIUM TOOLS’ will do? If so, how much?
Yes I went to buy iCloud unlocked removal and it’s cost me $70 and after waiting for freaking 5 days and I receive email that they can’t unloced cost the phone is lost , whatever u said Ken same thing they told me and they can’t refund my $ . I get my iCloud unlocked in IPHONEIMEI.NET AND NOW MY $70 is in the drain and gone coz they said they can unlocked it..what a waste of time and specially my $ this all scammer
they are a scam, I made the first payment then recieved a email saying the wanted the rest of the money. so I paid $70 and the next day i got another email saying they couldn’t take the activation lock off because my iphone 7 plus was on the black list. I emailed back and told them thats not true that i just got off the phone with apple and they said different. well we need proof they said and i sent it. waiting for answer. over a month ago
Sir my phone is ituen software upload my activet id in password has lost it is how open my iPhone
PLZ unlock my apple id
Hi Waris,
Unfortunately, we cannot unlock iCloud Activation or Apple IDs. If you are having trouble with your Apple ID or your iCloud Activation, please contact Apple Customer Support in your home country and speak with a representative directly.
SK
But we should have the apple id and password to bypass apple id, or you can try Eelphone iPhone Unlock to remove aplle id from locked iPhone, I have used it, successfully, but lost all data in iPhone.
I have already submitted my idevice IMEI and made a payment against that. No use in final portal it’s showing OFFLINE EM
Hab eine Apple 4 gekauft aber es braucht eine icloud paswort
Guten Tag Nikola,
Können Sie den ursprünglichen Besitzer kontaktieren?
Sie können abschalten Find My iPhone über iCloud.com – solange sie sich an ihre Apple ID und Passwort erinnern, können sie das iPhone aus ihrem Konto entfernen.
Danka, SK