I bought a new iPhone 16e from Best Buy for my mother and still have the receipt, box, and proof of purchase. I restored her old iPhone X backup to the new phone, which also carried over an Apple Account she can no longer access.
She does not remember the Apple Account password, the password for the associated Gmail address, or the passcode for an older trusted iPhone. Apple sends a verification code during account recovery, but after it is entered, the process asks for the forgotten trusted-device passcode. As a result, we cannot reset the password, sign out, disable Find My, or erase the phone for return.
The old iPhone X and its Mac backup are still available and have not been erased. I have tried account recovery through Settings, contacted Apple Support several times, visited an Apple Store, submitted two Activation Lock requests with proof of purchase, sent a written escalation, and asked Best Buy to accept the return.
Apple said its system did not show Activation Lock, but Find My remains enabled and the phone still requests the old account credentials. Best Buy says it cannot accept the return until the device is erased and the personal account is removed. Apple has ultimately suggested that there may be nothing more it can do.
What is the correct next step? Is Best Buy or Apple responsible for handling the return? Would restoring the phone through Finder or iTunes help, or could that leave it Activation Locked? Is there another official account-recovery or escalation process, and what documentation or wording might help if both companies continue directing me to the other?
2 Answers
A restore through Finder on a Mac or iTunes on Windows can erase the phone and let you test setup as a new device, rather than restoring the old backup again. Do not expect this to bypass Activation Lock, though. If the phone is still associated with your mother’s Apple Account on Apple’s activation servers, a restore will simply bring up the same account requirement. The old phone and backup should be preserved while you continue account recovery.
There is no legitimate reset or encrypted-data option that bypasses the trusted-device requirement or removes Find My without access to the Apple Account. A DFU restore only wipes the local software; it does not defeat server-side Activation Lock. Since the phone was bought from Best Buy, keep working with the retailer for the return or replacement while separately pursuing Apple’s official Activation Lock review. Provide the original receipt, serial or IMEI, purchase date, and a clear written explanation that the device was sold new and is being returned because the account cannot be removed. Ask Best Buy to escalate the case to its returns or store-management team rather than treating this as a normal customer erase issue.
Apple’s account-recovery process may be the only route if the old trusted-device passcode cannot be supplied. Keep the old iPhone available and check whether any other signed-in Apple device can approve the reset, but do not erase it or the Mac backup until recovery is complete.
That was my concern. I wanted to know whether a DFU or full restore could make the phone look stolen or trigger a lock, but I also do not want to assume it removes an account that is still registered on Apple’s servers.