I recently acquired an iPhone 13 Pro Max that was supposedly owned by someone's sister for parts. The seller gave me a couple of passcodes—one 4-digit and one 6-digit—but neither worked. The phone is activation locked, and I'm unable to access the board for parts unless the iCloud is removed. I reached out to the seller asking for help with the removal, but he read my message a few days ago and hasn't replied. Since I've heard that the activation lock removal can take about 30 days, I'm wondering if there's any way to check if he actually submitted the request for removal. Whenever I refresh the phone, it still shows that it's activation locked. The phone was previously locked to AT&T, but I was able to unlock it from them with their request form.
2 Answers
You might want to consider submitting your own request to Apple. I've done it before for my iPad Air 2, so I know it can work. Just remember that the seller's responsiveness is key here—being able to get their social media details could also provide leverage if you need to follow up later.
Right! Just be careful—sometimes sellers might ignore these requests and that's a red flag.
When you submit a request for activation lock removal through Apple, it usually takes 1-3 business days at the most. This process is independent of whether the phone was previously locked to a carrier like AT&T. Based on your situation, it seems like the seller might not have taken action, especially if they’ve gone silent on you.
That actually isn't quite right. From what I've seen, it can take at least 3 days for the request to reach Apple's activation lock department for approval, so I wouldn't give up hope just yet. But you might just want to follow up with Apple yourself.
Yeah, if you have the seller's details, maybe give them another nudge? It’s possible they’re just not aware of how long this process really takes.
Absolutely! Having those details can help if you really need to push for an update. But do make sure you've got your own proof ready in case.