Joe Maring / Digital Trends
While it ’s always a good mind towipe your iPhone before selling it or decease it on to someone else , it ’s not uncommon for some common people to forget this authoritative footprint , especially if they ’re just handing an old iPhone down to a friend or family member . Hence , if you’veacquired a used iPhonefrom somewhere , you may find that it ’s still signalize into the Apple ID of the previous proprietor , which can be a reasonably frustrating situation as it makes it hard for you to make your Modern iPhone truly your own .
Depending on whose Apple ID you ’re using , this may be more than just an inconvenience . Using an iPhone that ’s amply signed in to someone else ’s Apple ID mean that you ’ll be syncing data like your photos and messages with their iCloud account instead of yours , and it ’s potential they can even dog its location via Apple’sFind My iPhone . Even if they ’re a closemouthed friend or immediate fellowship member , you may not want them to have that level of access to your personal life .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
If you ’ve let someone else use your iPhone , it ’s also potential that they ’ve logged into their Apple ID to download something from the App Store or iTunes Store . This is far less of a privacy vexation since the iPhone is still using your Apple ID for iCloud and other of import information ; however , you ’ll still have worry download or purchase apps and installing updates in this pillowcase , so it ’s good to change over that back to your own Apple ID .
Thankfully , most of these trouble are easily resolvable as long as you otherwise have full access code to the iPhone and know its passcode or countersign . Let ’s walk through the dissimilar scenario .
How to remove the Apple ID from the device with their password
Removing an Apple ID from your iPhone is quite gentle as long as you have the password . If the previous proprietor is nearby , you may pass them the iPhone and let them name it in themselves , or if they rely you enough , you may ask them to give you their Apple ID watchword over the phone .
Either room , you may signalize their history out of your iPhone by doing the following :
Once that procedure completes , you ’ll be returned to the main CRT screen of the options app , where the name will have been replaced with aSign in to your iPhoneprompt . Select this and follow the steps to ratify in with your own Apple ID .
How to ask someone to remove their Apple ID from your iPhone remotely
If you do n’t have the former owner of your iPhone within arm ’s reach and they ’re unwilling to give you their iCloud password , you’re able to ask them to remotely erase your twist and remove it from their chronicle using Apple ’s Find My iPhone feature film . However , this will wipe off everything from your iPhone and bring back it to factory options .
That may not be a problem if it ’s an iPhone you ’ve just develop , but if not , you ’ll need tomake certain you ’ve backed it up to your Mac or PC before proceeding . An iCloud backup wo n’t do in this case , as you ’d be back up your data to the other somebody ’s iCloud account , and you wo n’t be able to fix it from there without signing in to their iCloud bill again , which variety of shoot down the intent of this whole exercise .
Here are the steps the other person should observe to pass over and remove your iPhone from their account . Note that Find My iPhone must have been enabled on the gadget for this to work out . However , that ’s usually the default , and if Find My iPhone is not enable , then you may skitter to the next section , as you wo n’t require a password to sign out of the other person ’s Apple ID .
Once this is all done , your iPhone will be at the welcome screen , just as if you ’d taken it out of the box brand new . you could then go along to espouse the teaching to set it up with your own Apple ID . If you made a backup on your computer that you want to restore , you ’ll be give a luck to do this during the setup process .
How to get rid of an Apple ID without the password
If you do n’t know or ca n’t detect the former possessor or ca n’t get them to cooperate with you , then things may be a bit more complicated .
Bypassing the password if ‘Find My’ is disabled
In the very unlikely scenario that the late owner did n’t have see My iPhone enabled , then you do n’t need their password to sign out of their Apple ID . Just surveil the steps in the first division to find theSign Outbutton . You wo n’t be prompted for a countersign since this is only necessary as a security feature film to twist off Find My iPhone .
However , since Find My iPhone is enabled by default , it would need to have been by choice and specifically switched off . In most instance , it will be enabled , so you ’ll require to have the other person ’s Apple ID password to disable it .
Changing someone else’s Apple ID password
Depending on the version of iOS that ’s running on your iPhone and whether it was set up as a “ trusted gadget ” by the late owner , you may be capable to exchange their Apple ID countersign using the gadget passcode — assuming it has one . However , this will lock the person out of their Apple ID on all of their other gadget , produce some confusion and forcing them to reckon out how to readjust their password again .
Whether this is an appropriate move depends on the lot . While it seems bonny if the previous owner is deceased or no longer uses that Apple ID , in other situation , it would be good to do your best to reach out to the original owner before taking this footstep . Nevertheless , if you ’ve decided this is what you need to do , here ’s how to go about it :
Once you ’ve changed the Apple ID password , you’re able to return to the late section and ratify out of the Apple ID using the new watchword .
Limitations and risks
Changing the Apple ID password using the gadget passcode wo n’t be potential in every situation . For this to work , the iPhone has to have a passcode in the first place — you ca n’t add one afterward just to change the Apple ID password , as you ’ll demand to insert the Apple ID password to lay one . The iPhone also has to have been place up as a “ trusted twist ” for the somebody ’s Apple ID .
In most typeface , both these things will be true , so it ’s worth a try , but if you do n’t see the selection to use your passcode to change the Apple ID countersign , there wo n’t be anything else you may do . There ’s also a fortune that Apple could take away this capability in the future , follow a recentWall Street Journalreport that thieves have been exploiting it to lock people out of their own Apple explanation .
Activation Lock
If the previous proprietor had feel My iPhone enabled on their gadget and you ’re unable or unwilling to reset their Apple ID password using the gadget passcode , then , sadly , you ’re stuck . Apple ’s Activation Lock feature does a very good job of make stolen iPhones useless to thief as anything more than spare character . There ’s no way around the Activation Lock that will leave in an iPhone that works normally ; sites that purport to bypass Activation Lock are either outright scams or involve “ jailbreaking ” tools that will prevent the iPhone from being used with most Apple services , including iCloud and the App Store .
Even if youuse the beastly - force “ DFU ” method acting to manufacturing plant reset the iPhone , you ’ll still be confronted with a prompting to enter the original owner ’s Apple ID and password before you’re able to set it up unless the original proprietor removes it from their account via the Find My app or entanglement portal vein .
How to get rid of someone else’s Apple ID on the App Store, Apple Music, and other Apple services
In some cases , you’re able to lend your iPhone to a friend or congeneric , who then proceeds to download apps onto your iPhone via the App Store using their own Apple ID . If they do n’t sign out of the App Store before giving you the iPhone back , you ’ll unavoidably recover that you ca n’t download raw apps since you ’ll be asked for their Apple ID password rather of yours .
as luck would have it , signing them out of the App Store is comfortable and does n’t require a word . This method can also be used if you ’ve buy a used iPhone and the previous owner ’s Apple ID is still on it , although we’dstronglyrecommend make do with the system - wide Apple ID since , otherwise , the previous proprietor will have far more access to your iPhone and your personal data than they should .
Here ’s how to flip the Apple ID that ’s used for Apple services , including the App Store , Apple Music , Apple TV , Apple Podcasts , the iTunes Store , and more .
This technique is also utile for anyone who needs to switch App Store accounts on their personal gimmick for any reason , such as if you have multiple score in unlike countries . Just be cognizant that the account here covers all of Apple ’s services , let in Apple Music and Apple TV+ , but it does n’t regard other feature such as iCloud , FaceTime , and iMessage .
Also note that if you ’ve bought and downloaded apps using a different Apple ID , those apps will require you to lumber in to that former ID to get those updates . If you ’re in that situation , it may be good to delete that app and download it again under your new Apple ID .
