first time I've really been ripped off on CL

[sze5003]

That sucks the guy probably forgot his apple Id and decided to sell it or its most likely stolen.

The same thing happened to a friend of mine buying on craigslist. It was locked to an apple id even after a factory reset. But after a month or so another factory reset let him set it up as a new device. Not sure what happened either because the guy he purchased it from had the original receipt and box too.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Another thread where the OP fades off into the sunset. He'll necro the thread in 2018 with a murky explanation of what ended up happening. Or not.

 

[Rakehellion]

That sucks the guy probably forgot his apple Id and decided to sell it or its most likely stolen.

The same thing happened to a friend of mine buying on craigslist. It was locked to an apple id even after a factory reset. But after a month or so another factory reset let him set it up as a new device. Not sure what happened either because the guy he purchased it from had the original receipt and box too.

It's stolen.

You can only set it up as a new device after it's remove from the old account. I guess it would be nice if Apple sent you an email asking if the device was old or stolen if a device hasn't been powered on in 30 days.

 

[sze5003]

It's stolen.

You can only set it up as a new device after it's remove from the old account. I guess it would be nice if Apple sent you an email asking if the device was old or stolen if a device hasn't been powered on in 30 days.

I think on my friend's it was pre iOS 7 where you could put it in recovery mode and restore it completely in iTunes. But there are new security features now.

 

[sdifox]

I never assume that the hotspot feature is enabled. AT&T disables the hotspot feature on my iPhone because I'm on a grandfathered unlimited data plan.

Wtf that is retarded.

 

[gorcorps]

Wtf that is retarded.

It's one of the ways they try to get you off those old plans. The current mobile share plans from ATT has mobile hotspot included at no extra charge, but they continue to charge people with the older plans.

 

[Ichinisan]

It's one of the ways they try to get you off those old plans. The current mobile share plans from ATT has mobile hotspot included at no extra charge, but they continue to charge people with the older plans.

I think they also restricted Facetime calls over a data connection for iPhone users on my plan, then finally ended that restriction -- but I never do Facetime calls.

 

[CZroe]

According to Apple, a factory reset should remove the device from the account.

If you're using iOS 7 or later and have Find My iPhone turned on, your Apple ID and password will be required. After you provide your password, the device will be erased and removed from your account so that the next owner can activate it.

So, you suspect it's stolen? Can't that be verified through Apple?

There are a few different kinds of factory resets. Reloading the firmware through iTunes in Restore/DFU mode is the true factory reset because that is what you'd have to do if it failed to boot. The other is essentially just a secure erase that you'd run before selling/trading it or giving it away. Either way, you need to put in the Apple ID to remove the Apple ID. One requires it before the reset and the other requires it after. The iDevice is not usable without the Apple ID as long as it remains iCloud locked.