Restore iPhone after Apple ID email account disabled

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blur

384 posts

Ultimate Geek

#191262 29-Jan-2016 17:59

Hi there

I have a unique problem that I hope someone can help with. I have an Apple iPhone 5 that I'd used for work purposes. I've since left that employment, and subsequently my email associated with that employment has been removed. I have the phone as part of the leaving settlement.

Sadly, when the phone was given to me, it was already configured with my work email, including "find my iPhone" with my work email address.

I no longer know the password to that Apple ID, and as it's associated to the email address that no longer existes, I can't re-set the password.

Thinking I could just restore the phone to factory defaults and install it again, I did a hardware reset.

now when I've restored the phone, it's UID is still associated with that damn account, and it askes me for the old username and password!

Does anybody have any other bright ideas?

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CYaBro

4530 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1481412 29-Jan-2016 18:33

No way to get that lock removed without either access to the email account that it is locked to, or providing a copy of the original proof of purchase to Apple.

They would then remove the lock from their side.

So it sounds like a call to your old place of employment to get that proof of purchase, or get them to temporarily reinstate your old email account so you can reset the password and then unlock it from the icloud account.

Your old employer should have made sure it was unlocked from any work related accounts, and wiped, before giving it to you.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

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blur

384 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1481430 29-Jan-2016 19:04

Thanks for the reply - after much googling this is where I too have come to. I'll contact the IT team member to see if they can't either re-set the password on the Apple ID for me, or forward me the reset email so I can do it myself. This will enable me to log in and remove the device associated with it.

I have to say, having these issues gives me confidence in enabling "find my iPhone" and the usability of the phone after it has been lost or stolen.