Question: Hi, I have purchased a used iPhone with iOS 6 and now I am planning to update it to iOS 7. How can I know for sure if its Activation Lock is off or on along with Find My iPhone application? Is it safe to install the latest Apple firmware or should I stay on version 6?
Answer: Hello, thank you for your question. The new iOS 7 can truly bring you some problems making you not happy about your used device. This firmware has Activation Lock option that blocks the smartphone from being used by third-party people if Find My iPhone application is turned on. It doesn’t matter if you simply wish to update to iOS 7 or unlock your gadget and upgrade later on.
Even if you know the ID / passcode you might forget it one day and, according to Apple, it is impossible to recover this password so you’ll simply get a non-active gadget. Is there a way how to solve possible future problems?
Luckily, iOS 7 Activation lock check service can tell if you this feature is turned on or off. Just check your handset before unlock, restoration, update etc. There is also a solution to users who updated to iOS 7 with Activation lock on and now can’t use their device. Try the distant service and get past Find My iPhone Activation Lock option to enjoy all the benefits of your device.
If the program is on, you get into problem. It is great if you can contact the original gadget owner and get his ID and passcode to unlock the gadget and turn Activation Lock off. This is often difficult to achieve in reality because previous owners vanish when you purchase a problematic device online.
You should be sure that Find My iPhone is off before installing to iOS 7. Otherwise you can get a piece of metal that doesn’t perform. It will be impossible to resell such a device on Craglist, eBay and other sites. You will not be able to unlock it because such a procedure requires restoration through iTunes and you will get stuck on the Activation message without ID and passcode.