Everyone likes saving money, especially when it comes to their tech. Let’s face it, items like phones and tablets are pretty expensive, and sometimes it makes more financial sense to buy them on the secondhand market. At sites like eBay or Offerup, you can often find significant discounts on last-gen Apple devices when the new ones are released. Though this may save a truckload of money, sometimes the previous owner doesn’t always wipe the device properly.
For owners of used Apple iPads or iPhones, this often results in the dreaded Apple iCloud activation lock. This lock prevents you from using your device until you enter the previous owner’s Apple ID and password, rendering the device useless. But there’s good news. Today, we’re going to show you how to use free software 4MeKey to disable Apple’s iCloud activation lock on your used Apple product.
What Is Apple’s iCloud Activation Lock?
When you first purchase an iPhone and turn on Find My iPhone, you automatically enable the activation lock built into iOS. This security feature is designed to keep your iPhone from being used if it gets lost or stolen. In other words, the activation lock helps keep your data safe. By using Find My iPhone, Apple stores your Apple ID on its activation servers.
Once this activation lock is active, it’s challenging to unlock the device without the Apple ID and password associated with the iCloud account. This limitation is problematic if you’ve purchased a secondhand iOS device, and the original owner didn’t completely erase their information from it.
It’s also a problem if you’ve got a first-hand iOS device, but you’ve forgotten your iCloud password. This is why you should keep your passwords in a safe place or use a dedicated password manager. You should also never accept a used iOS device until you’ve verified that the previous owner has turned off the activation lock.
Many people think that by just resetting the device, this activation lock will go away. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Apple has taken steps to ensure that even if you wipe a device remotely, the activation lock will prevent unauthorized use.
Unlocking Your iOS Device Using Apple Support
Unfortunately, if you do not have the required Apple credentials, then you’ll need to contact Apple’s support team and provide them with documentation proving you legitimately purchased the device. The problem with this process is independent sellers don’t provide proof of purchase. Sometimes phones or tablets are sold for cash, or the original documentation isn’t available.
If this is the case, and you don’t have access to the login information, your brand new device won’t allow you to set it up properly. That’s why it’s so essential that you have a way to remove Apple’s activation lock. Several programs can help you to bypass this lock, but for us, the easiest way is to use a free tool from Tenorshare called 4MeKey. 4MeKey is a program for both Windows and macOS specifically designed to help you to remove Apple’s activation lock.
While some online services offer remote disabling of iCloud locks, in many cases, these are scams designed to steal your data. Don’t be fooled. Using a program like 4MeKey will ensure that your data stays safe throughout the unlock process. That's one of the reasons why 4MeKey has so many high ratings on Tenorshare's website.
What You’ll Need for 4MeKey
There are five things you need to get 4MeKey working with your iOS device:
- A computer with an internet connection
- The 4MeKey software
- Apple Lightning Cable
- An iOS device that is currently locked
- A USB flash drive (Windows users only)
Now, it’s important to note that using 4MeKey will also jailbreak your iOS device. It’s also important to note that once you use 4MeKey to unlock your device, any reflashing of iOS firmware will cause your device to revert to its original state. Once this process is complete, you’ll also want to avoid logging into iCloud from the iOS device’s settings. 4MeKey is free to use, but if you'd like to unlock multiple devices, then paid licenses are available.
How to Unlock Your iOS Device Using 4MeKey
Once you’ve downloaded the software, connect your locked iOS device to your computer and launch 4MeKey. Charge your device fully before starting, and it’s best to use an Apple-branded Lightning cable to avoid any connection issues. You should now see the Please Select a Feature screen. Click on the tile labeled Remove iCloud Activation Lock.
Then click the blue Start button in the lower right corner. You should also only have one iOS device connected throughout this process. Read the disclaimer and agree then move on to the next steps depending on your operating system. It should be noted that Windows users and macOS users will have a slightly different experience.
For macOS:
The 4MeKey software will then download and install the jailbreak tool.
Once this is downloaded click Start Jailbreak. This process may take a few minutes, so grab a cup of coffee and relax while it finishes. Once the jailbreak is complete, follow the remainder of the instructions in 4MeKey.
For Windows:
The 4MeKey software should download the jailbreak tool. Once it is finished, 4MeKey will prompt you to insert a USB drive. Do so. Then click Start. Click Yes. The jailbreak environment will then burn to your USB. From there follow the remainder of 4MeKey's on-screen instructions to install the jailbreak.
After the jailbreak finishes, you'll need to go through one final step to remove the Activation lock. Click Start. This is the last step.
Once this process is complete, 4MeKey will indicate that the iCloud activation lock has been successfully removed from your device. That’s it. You now have an unlocked iOS device with only a few clicks.
Tenorshare has also set up this guide if you have any trouble.
Turning Off Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch
A new feature added by Tenorshare to its 4MeKey software is the ability to turn off Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch without needing an iCloud password. This feature is especially helpful when you’ve forgotten your iCloud password and would like to reset it.
An additional benefit of this new feature is the ability to completely sign out of iCloud without needing any password at all. This process also resets the device to the factory settings and allows the user to set the iOS device up as if it were new. To enable this feature, launch the 4MeKey software, and select the tile labeled Turn Off Find My iPhone from the main menu.
Don’t plug your phone in yet, though. After clicking Turn Off Find My iPhone, click the blue Start button. A message should pop up with a couple of precautions. Once you have read those, connect your device.
Then tap Trust and enter your Screen Passcode. After a few moments, the 4MeKey software will recognize your iOS device and begin downloading the jailbreak files. Once the download is complete, click Start to begin.
Usually, this whole process will take 3-5 minutes to complete, so kick back for a few. When the process is complete, you should get a window that states Find My iPhone has been turned off successfully.
Using the provided link, verify the device’s status is off. Then enter Off in the status box and click Confirm to continue. The device will enter restore mode, and after a few moments, you should receive a message that 4MeKey has removed your Apple ID from your device.
Finishing Up
Apple provides some great security features for users that can help protect their data. If you're the first owner of an iOS device, then you'll appreciate this added security. Unfortunately, if you're not the original owner of a device, some of these features can be annoying because users can’t turn them off without using additional software.
Using a program like 4MeKey will allow you to bypass one of the most annoying features of buying a used iOS device—the iCloud activation lock. So, if you’ve got a stubborn secondhand iPhone that needs to be unlocked, we suggest you check out 4MeKey today.