Getting Used iPhone - Activation Lock Workaround?

[Wu-Tang Clan]

I'm getting an iPhone and am worried about the original owner activating Find My Iphone and remote locking it. I heard about a DFU mode restore, but apparently you need the original Apple ID to restore it and you also need a SIM card. I don't have either of those. I may be a little out of my league here and seeing as this is a scripting forum, does anybody have any experience in the area of working around things like this?


I remember @Brandon posted some stuff about jailbreaks and stuff a long time back.

EDIT: Found some interesting links:
Unlock/jailbreak? http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=1880

[Sk1nyNerd]

you can factory reset it by connecting it to your computer, holding power and home buttons at the same time for 10 seconds, your computer will detect it and ask to put it in some restore mode, hit yes and whala. Itunes needs to be the latest version before doing so and it might take sometime to restore it

im guessing youll need your own sim card tho

this works if its locked and has passcode too

[Brandon]

Pretty sure you can restore it even when locked..

If you are worried, what you do is you can turn off the wifi/data on the phone as soon as you get it. Without wifi/data, it also cannot be locked at all. Then just restore it like normal or in DFU. DFU restores are usually cleaner and better.

Another option is to turn off the iPhone as soon as you get it. This way the person cannot lock it. Then you enter DFU mode. Restore it using your iTunes. The phone should be restored just fine as it cannot be locked while in DFU. This would suck if you messed up DFU as it'd turn on.. so yeah the safer way is to turn off wifi and data.

To activate it, you might have to jailbreak it. Activation != Unlock. Activation is just so you can get past the lock-screen if your sim-card isn't legit.

There used to be a way to actually bypass all locks.. In IOS-3 & 4, you gotta delete the wildcard.plist and keychain2.db via SSH but I think it got patched in IOS5+. Though you can still use the keychains to get siri on iPhone-4 (non-S version).

[Wu-Tang Clan]

you can factory reset it by connecting it to your computer, holding power and home buttons at the same time for 10 seconds, your computer will detect it and ask to put it in some restore mode, hit yes and whala. Itunes needs to be the latest version before doing so and it might take sometime to restore it

im guessing youll need your own sim card tho

this works if its locked and has passcode too

Pretty sure you can restore it even when locked..

If you are worried, what you do is you can turn off the wifi/data on the phone as soon as you get it. Without wifi/data, it also cannot be locked at all. Then just restore it like normal or in DFU. DFU restores are usually cleaner and better.

Another option is to turn off the iPhone as soon as you get it. This way the person cannot lock it. Then you enter DFU mode. Restore it using your iTunes. The phone should be restored just fine as it cannot be locked while in DFU. This would suck if you messed up DFU as it'd turn on.. so yeah the safer way is to turn off wifi and data.

To activate it, you might have to jailbreak it. Activation != Unlock. Activation is just so you can get past the lock-screen if your sim-card isn't legit.

There used to be a way to actually bypass all locks.. In IOS-3 & 4, you gotta delete the wildcard.plist and keychain2.db via SSH but I think it got patched in IOS5+. Though you can still use the keychains to get siri on iPhone-4 (non-S version).

http://puu.sh/6PU0K.jpg
How would I go about fixing this? I heard that DFU is going to ask for credentials and not much is said in terms of bypass for this kind of situation.

[Sk1nyNerd]

http://puu.sh/6PU0K.jpg
How would I go about fixing this? I heard that DFU is going to ask for credentials and not much is said in terms of bypass for this kind of situation.

welll.... the reason i know what i said is because my brother works at a concert grounds and after so many days he gets to keep what he finds. he found a iphone 4 and brought it home. battery was dead, we charged it, the phone was locked so i googled how to get past it. using the method above we were able to reset the phone to factory settings and have access to the phone. however, they used the find my phone app BEFORE we reset it so they were able to pinpoint the phone and we got a phone call from the concert grounds a couple days after having it saying if we mail them their phone theyll send us a check. needless to say they got their phone back and we never got a check (haha i wonder why)

i do remember seeing somewhere while looking how to reset it if you want to buy a used iphone 4 or older you need to have the permission of the owner to transfer it over to you because of something with the sim cards built inside the phone. iphone 4s and new have a micro sim so you can just pop it out and put yours in. with that being said i would not purchase the phone unless you are at the service station provider that you use so it can be activated on the spot and you have no worries.

although you can whipe it clean i dont think youll be able to use it. so just have them meet you at your service provider, talk to the service provider and talk to the person and make the trade there

[Brandon]

http://puu.sh/6PU0K.jpg
How would I go about fixing this? I heard that DFU is going to ask for credentials and not much is said in terms of bypass for this kind of situation.

You simply can't. That phone is locked and it's not a 3GS or anything so there is no unlock for it other than an official unlock from Rogers/Fido.

The other way is to unlock it using your PUK code but that requires that the phone recognises your sim.
You can always try asking Rogers or Fido if they will unlock it before you purchase it. Otherwise you'd have wasted your money as it CANNOT be unlocked. There are actually online services that do work and do unlock it but I doubt you want to go through the trouble.. Piggyback sim is another option..

Can bypass everything else except for the sim-card lock. If it was an iPhone4 with 01.59.00 baseband or lower or even a 3GS, you would be able to unlock it yourself but that looks like an iPhone-4s

[Wu-Tang Clan]

You simply can't. That phone is locked and it's not a 3GS or anything so there is no unlock for it other than an official unlock from Rogers/Fido.

The other way is to unlock it using your PUK code but that requires that the phone recognises your sim.
You can always try asking Rogers or Fido if they will unlock it before you purchase it. Otherwise you'd have wasted your money as it CANNOT be unlocked. There are actually online services that do work and do unlock it but I doubt you want to go through the trouble.. Piggyback sim is another option..

Can bypass everything else except for the sim-card lock. If it was an iPhone4 with 01.59.00 baseband or lower or even a 3GS, you would be able to unlock it yourself but that looks like an iPhone-4s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEBlff9KCm8
This looks simple enough? Is he doing something to give me a virus, or does this actually seem legit?

[Ian]

http://puu.sh/6PU0K.jpg
How would I go about fixing this? I heard that DFU is going to ask for credentials and not much is said in terms of bypass for this kind of situation.

I'd avoid that one. Seller claims that they didn't steal it, but even if they bought it from someone who stole it it's still a stolen phone. If you buy it from them it can still be taken from you by the police because it's possession of stolen goods regardless of whether you paid for it.

Clarification: It's not a crime unless you knew it was stolen, but they can still confiscate it.

[Wu-Tang Clan]

I'd avoid that one. Seller claims that they didn't steal it, but even if they bought it from someone who stole it it's still a stolen phone. If you buy it from them it can still be taken from you by the police because it's possession of stolen goods regardless of whether you paid for it.

Clarification: It's not a crime unless you knew it was stolen, but they can still confiscate it.

I actually know the guy personally, so I am going to take the phone, try to unlock it for personal use, then if it unlocks I buy it from him.

[Brandon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEBlff9KCm8
This looks simple enough? Is he doing something to give me a virus, or does this actually seem legit?

Again, activation is NOT the same as unlocking. You're mixing them up.

Activation allows you to use the device like an iPod.. Aka bypass the lockscreen. At this point you won't be able to make phone-calls until it is unlocked.

However, unlocking allows you to use the device as.. well.. an iPhone. At this point you'll be able to make phone-calls and everything else..

Unlocking > Activating.

So basically there are two steps to actually getting the phone working. The first is activating and the second is unlocking.
Unlocking allows the phone to use your sim-card and activation allows you to access the mainscreen.

Do NOT buy the phone if you are not sure that it can be unlocked. It can ALWAYS be activated but not all can be unlocked without a carrier (Rogers/Fido/AT&T/O2/TMobile) doing it.

Itunes will do the "activation" automatically.
I'm certain that you'll need the carrier to "unlock" that device.

[Wu-Tang Clan]

Again, activation is NOT the same as unlocking. You're mixing them up.

Activation allows you to use the device like an iPod.. Aka bypass the lockscreen. At this point you won't be able to make phone-calls until it is unlocked.

However, unlocking allows you to use the device as.. well.. an iPhone. At this point you'll be able to make phone-calls and everything else..

Unlocking > Activating.

So basically there are two steps to actually getting the phone working. The first is activating and the second is unlocking.
Unlocking allows the phone to use your sim-card and activation allows you to access the mainscreen.

Do NOT buy the phone if you are not sure that it can be unlocked. It can ALWAYS be activated but not all can be unlocked without a carrier (Rogers/Fido/AT&T/O2/TMobile) doing it.

Itunes will do the "activation" automatically.
I'm certain that you'll need the carrier to "unlock" that device.

I'm OK with it being used as just an iPod for the price I could get it for, and apparently it is a 4 not a 4s.
So technically the video would satisfy my needs to listen to music and browse the web? I have no need to make phone calls or text.

EDIT: I don't know the Apple ID though, so shouldn't iTunes not be able to activate it for me? I'll need to follow that video to do so?

[Brandon]

I'm OK with it being used as just an iPod for the price I could get it for, and apparently it is a 4 not a 4s.
So technically the video would satisfy my needs to listen to music and browse the web? I have no need to make phone calls or text.

EDIT: I don't know the Apple ID though, so shouldn't iTunes not be able to activate it for me? I'll need to follow that video to do so?

In that case, then just disable FindMyIphone in the settings menu..

Also, according to this image: http://puu.sh/6PU0K.jpg

That is definitely 100% a iPhone-4S not an iPhone-4. Why? Well.. look at the speakers where the earpiece is. Notice the two holes/ear-slits + the camera. the iPhone-4 is just 1 hole/ear-slit, 1 camera.


And yeah you can follow that video or just jailbreak it. Either one will activate it.

[Wu-Tang Clan]

In that case, then just disable FindMyIphone in the settings menu..

Also, according to this image: http://puu.sh/6PU0K.jpg

That is definitely 100% a iPhone-4S not an iPhone-4. Why? Well.. look at the speakers where the earpiece is. Notice the two holes/ear-slits + the camera. the iPhone-4 is just 1 hole/ear-slit, 1 camera.


And yeah you can follow that video or just jailbreak it. Either one will activate it.

The video says that it only works on iPhone 4 and below. Regardless of this, I am going to attempt to activate it, but will I be able to put music on it, or will I need to jailbreak it after activation to add music?

[Brandon]

The video says that it only works on iPhone 4 and below. Regardless of this, I am going to attempt to activate it, but will I be able to put music on it, or will I need to jailbreak it after activation to add music?

Activation allows you to do anything you can normally do with an iPod.
Unlocking only affects things texting and phone operations.

So yes, you'll be able to put music and browse the web and do everything you can on an iPod.

[Ian]

I'm OK with it being used as just an iPod for the price I could get it for, and apparently it is a 4 not a 4s.
So technically the video would satisfy my needs to listen to music and browse the web? I have no need to make phone calls or text.

EDIT: I don't know the Apple ID though, so shouldn't iTunes not be able to activate it for me? I'll need to follow that video to do so?

When my brother bought an iPhone 4 from his friend it was on Rogers. In order for my brother to put it on his Telus contract he had to bring it to Rogers to get it unlocked for $50.

Might be worth doing, $50 for an iPod is great but $100 for an iPhone is better

[Wu-Tang Clan]

When my brother bought an iPhone 4 from his friend it was on Rogers. In order for my brother to put it on his Telus contract he had to bring it to Rogers to get it unlocked for $50.

Might be worth doing, $50 for an iPod is great but $100 for an iPhone is better

It's definitely an option, but for the moment I need an iPod and have no need for a cell phone (I would be spending $20+ to talk to 2 or 3 friends that I could talk with on Facebook). Maybe for college I would get it unlocked. Definitely going to wait a little bit until I feel it's safe to put a little money into it because it is probably stolen.

[Ian]

It's definitely an option, but for the moment I need an iPod and have no need for a cell phone (I would be spending $20+ to talk to 2 or 3 friends that I could talk with on Facebook). Maybe for college I would get it unlocked. Definitely going to wait a little bit until I feel it's safe to put a little money into it because it is probably stolen.

If it is stolen then getting it would be a bad idea if you want to put it on the network, as the IMEI number may be blacklisted. Plus the ethical and legal issues with buying stolen goods and all that, but that's your call.

[Wu-Tang Clan]

If it is stolen then getting it would be a bad idea if you want to put it on the network, as the IMEI number may be blacklisted. Plus the ethical and legal issues with buying stolen goods and all that, but that's your call.

I'm not worried about it being picked up by cops. If it comes to that, I bought it off of Kijiji from shady people who led me to believe it was legit. I will then gladly hand over the iPhone with a surprised look and say I don't know how this could have happened. It's only $40, and my buddy says the phone has already been remote activated before, so the victim of theft must have given up hope by now.

@Brandon, if I activate the phone, can Find My iPhone still pick it up if it were to be on a network? Or once I activate it and do all that reset stuff will it be untraceable? I know the IMEI number or whatever the SIM tray has on it will be technically evidence, but if I have Find My iPhone turned off in settings once I reset it, won't it be unable to be located?

[Brandon]

I'm not worried about it being picked up by cops. If it comes to that, I bought it off of Kijiji from shady people who led me to believe it was legit. I will then gladly hand over the iPhone with a surprised look and say I don't know how this could have happened. It's only $40, and my buddy says the phone has already been remote activated before, so the victim of theft must have given up hope by now.

@Brandon, if I activate the phone, can Find My iPhone still pick it up if it were to be on a network? Or once I activate it and do all that reset stuff will it be untraceable? I know the IMEI number or whatever the SIM tray has on it will be technically evidence, but if I have Find My iPhone turned off in settings once I reset it, won't it be unable to be located?

No. You cannot remotely enable it if it wasn't enabled on the device in the settings menu. It must be enabled on the device for it to work. Registering the device with a different iTunes account also blocks find my iPhone. Yet another flaw in the software.

If your IMEI is blacklisted, it isn't a good thing.. If your UDID is blacklisted, you can spoof it..

[Wu-Tang Clan]

No. You cannot remotely enable it if it wasn't enabled on the device in the settings menu. It must be enabled on the device for it to work. Registering the device with a different iTunes account also blocks find my iPhone. Yet another flaw in the software.

If your IMEI is blacklisted, it isn't a good thing.. If your UDID is blacklisted, you can spoof it..

So I ended up getting the iPhone, literally like 10 minutes later I had my iTunes library on it and location services turned off. My Apple ID is on it, and I updated to latest OS, seems like I lucked out here. The iPhone is a 4, not 4s but also is an 8gb as opposed to the advertised 16gb.
Thanks for the help guys

[Brandon]

So I ended up getting the iPhone, literally like 10 minutes later I had my iTunes library on it and location services turned off. My Apple ID is on it, and I updated to latest OS, seems like I lucked out here. The iPhone is a 4, not 4s but also is an 8gb as opposed to the advertised 16gb.
Thanks for the help guys

From google:



iPhone 4S on the left.. iPhone 4 on the right. Notice the difference near the ear piece. That is the only physical difference.
The one on the left is the same one shown in your picture earlier. It has to be a 4S. But glad you got everything working.

[Wu-Tang Clan]

From google:



iPhone 4S on the left.. iPhone 4 on the right. Notice the difference near the ear piece. That is the only physical difference.
The one on the left is the same one shown in your picture earlier. It has to be a 4S. But glad you got everything working.

Wow thats wierd because itunes shows it as a 4 and the fix was only supposed to work on a 4. Maybe its a new screen?

[onilika]

To know if is a iPhone 4 or a 4S, basically only iPhone 4S has Siri. Also, the antenna on iPhone 4S is different of iPhone 4. That's why iPhone 4S has that black line ( part of the antenna ), right above the volume buttons. And you see no black lines in the part of the Turn off/on the phone.

Both screens from iphone 4 and iPhone 4s are the same. You could have replaced it that it wouldn't change being iPhone 4/iPhone 4S.

Cheers !

[slackeru]

My iPhone is incredibly laggy compared to what it used to be now that I have the newest iOS. MY friends Iphone 4S doesn't lag as much. Opening, closing, brining up keyboard, swiping, all this is just slow as hell. Thinking about getting a new phone, it's actually that bad