I bought a used iPhone 13 directly from its previous owner. They didn't want to erase it themselves because I said I could put it into DFU mode and restore it. They told me the phone had already been removed from Find My, but after the restore I'm seeing the message "iPhone Locked to Owner." I contacted the seller, and they insist Find My is disabled on their end. Is there any legitimate way to activate the phone, or did I end up with an unusable device?
2 Answers
The timing may matter. If the phone connected to Wi‑Fi and checked its activation status before the seller removed it from their Apple Account, restore it again after they properly remove the device from Find My. Don’t ask for or use their account password. If the lock remains, ask the seller for a refund and proof of purchase; Apple may be able to help through its Activation Lock support process if the documentation is legitimate.
The seller needs to remove the iPhone from their Apple Account and Find My—not merely toggle a setting temporarily. They can do this from their account by selecting the device, erasing it if necessary, and choosing the option to remove it from the account. Once that is complete, restore the phone and try setup again. There is no legitimate bypass for Activation Lock.
So I should have them remove the device completely from their account, then restore it again rather than asking them for their login details?