A new Apple glitch appears to be blocking some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus owners from using their devices. Multiple people report unboxing their device for the first time to find that it’s already tied to another Apple ID account with Activation Lock enabled, making it impossible to use the new phones.
Activation Lock is a useful feature for keeping other people from using your iOS device if it’s lost or stolen. However, if the security feature is showing up on brand new devices then clearly something is wrong.
MacRumors noticed several people reporting the issue on its forums, with many more iPhone owners chiming to back up those claims. The Activation Lock issue appears to mostly affect new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. Members of our staff have had similar issues after resetting the iPhone 6s Plus.
One person reported buying a new iPhone 7 Plus and seeing an Activation Lock on the device associated with an iCloud email account they didn’t recognize. Another Apple customer noted that, after successfully activating a new iPhone 7 Plus, the old iPhone 6s suffered from the same issue.
If you run into the issue, your best bet it to head to the Apple Store or call the official support line (1-800-MY-APPLE). The company should be able to fix the problem immediately, assuming you can prove you purchased the iPhone in question.
That’s the troubling part of this whole problem: without a proof of purchase, you’re basically showing Apple an iPhone that might otherwise look like it was stolen. What a nightmare.
