The iCloud activation lock on iPhone or iPad is a protection that activates automatically when you validate the Find My iPhone feature. However, it only appears when the iPhone has been remotely wiped on icloud.com.
An iPhone owner can use this feature if their smartphone has been lost or if they think it will be enough to reset it. However, this is not the case because this manipulation will activate the screen, which will notify you of the blocking of your iPhone: iCloud activation lock.
So, only the password linked to this iCloud ID will unlock your iPhone and use it normally again. Apple’s goal isn’t to annoy you. It’s to protect you.
By preventing anyone from connecting to your iPhone, it ensures the protection of the content of your iPhone as well as your various information and personal data. But what if it’s your iPhone and you can’t find your password? You will then have a smartphone that will become totally unusable.
Let’s see how to proceed to unlock your iPhone.
Method 1: Unlock iPhone on iCloud Web
To unlock your iPhone naturally, there is only one method. If you have just bought it used, for example, all you have to do is contact the previous owner (the seller) and ask for this password.
Only him, if he has the password, can allow you to unlock the iPhone. If it is a relative, you just have to ask him to enter the password on the screen and then go to the settings to reset it completely.
Here is how to do it:
- Go to Settings  > General > Reset > Erase content and settings.
- Validate by entering your login details (Apple email and password).
Option B
However, this is not the only way to proceed. Also, the seller may not know how to let you use the iPhone sold normally. In this case, I will explain what to do:
- Go to the Apple ID management site ( Apple.com ).
- Log in with the same Apple ID as the iPhone, which is iCloud blocked;
- Select the iPhone in “Device”;
- Click Remove from account.
Your iPhone will be unlocked and no longer belongs to the seller. You can imagine when a seller (unknown) sells you an iPhone while keeping remote control. So take care that the former owner has deleted all traces of his old phone via his iCloud interface.
To make it completely yours, set it up as a new iPhone or as another device with your own Apple account.
You will activate your turn Find My iPhone by going to Settings > your name> Locate > Find My iPhone.
The day you give up your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, or even a Mac, remember to delete them from your Apple account in the same way. It will save you little worries after the sale.
Note: Be careful not to confuse iCloud.com and AppleID.Apple.com. With iCoud.com, you can locate your iPhone, lock it, and erase it. This will activate the iCloud Activation Lock. On the other hand, with AppleID.Apple.com, you can manage your information and personal data by deleting devices from your account (by unlinking them from your username). Among other things, of course.
Method 2: Unlock iPhone stuck in iCloud via 4MeKey
Although Apple has provided only one method to unlock your iPhone stuck in iCloud, there may be an alternative. Calling Apple customer service legitimately, but it isn’t necessarily going to be of much use to you because they can’t do anything (or little).
The real alternative is to use Tenorshare 4MeKey, which will be able to unlock your iPhone. This is ideal if you’ve lost or can’t remember the password for your iCloud account at all. You can connect your iPhone or iPad to it.
- Download and open Tenorshare 4MeKey on your Windows or Mac.
- Click Remove iCloud Activation Lock.
- Click on Get started.
- Read the contract and check I have read and accepted the agreement.
- Confirm with Next.
- Connect your device to this computer.
Jailbreak Option
On macOS, the download of the jailbreak tool starts automatically. On Windows, follow the instructions to jailbreak your iPhone yourself.
- Then click on Jailbreak and follow the guide.
- Once the jailbreak is done, click on Remove to bypass the iCloud lock.
- Click Done to close the tool.
- Set up your iPhone as a new iPhone.
However, this tool is not miraculous. But it is true that an iPhone blocked by the iCloud activation lock is completely unusable as it is. It becomes a brick (and it is worth that brick dearly).
Tenorshare 4MeKey will thus be able to remove this lock and allow you to use it, which is the goal. However, for this, the tool will have to jailbreak your iPhone, resulting in the use of calls, cellular data (the use of a phone plan), and the inability to connect to iCloud.
But you will still have the option to connect to the WiFi network and connect to the App Store. However, if you restart the iPhone, you will have to use Tenorshare 4MeKey again.
It’s up to you whether you prefer to keep an unusable iPhone or jailbreak it with reduced functionality.
iPhone locked in iCloud remains a protection
When iPhone is stuck in iCloud, more specifically the iCloud lock screen, it is basically protection. On the one hand, for your equipment, to make it unusable and thereby dissuade it, but it is above all for the protection of your personal data so that no one can access it.
This is Apple’s goal, and it is commendable! Especially at the price that Apple brand devices cost, even if once lost or stolen, it is still difficult to accept.
