Bought a used iPhone 8 which has icloud lock....

Associate
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4 Jun 2013
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Hi guys,

So I recently bought an iPhone 8 on Ebay, turns out the phone has an iCloud lock on it and even though I have hard factory reset the phone/wiped the data I still can't get on it without entering the previous users details... I tried contacting the seller numerous times to remove this or pass on the details but he is ignoring me, go figure...

I searched the IMEI number online and turns out it appears "lost or stolen". Is there any way I can remove this or am I totally screwed? If so that's $500 down the pan -_-

Thanks for any help!
 
Soldato
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No known way to remove the iCloud lock as far as I have ever found. Unfortunately it looks like you have been sold a 'stolen' phone.

You may have some recourse with eBay/Paypal as the seller has sold a stolen item. I would contact them.
 
Soldato
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Yeah show eBay the screenshot of the number showing it's been stolen, they'll instantly side with you on that, stolen goods is a massive no-no for them.

When buying phones it's always good to have them checked before buying, it's why the MM here requires it before selling your phones on their.
 
Associate
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buying on ebay isnt a problem ... they will always side with the buyer... i just refuse to sell on there now has was done out of an iphone 6 a few years ago when the buyer said it was a fake... reported to ebay. ebay asked him to send it back to me... he sent me a brick . i had no way of properly confirming this to ebay... even with a criminal number provided by the police.
 
Soldato
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A used iPhone 8 for $500?!

its one of the main reasons i stick with Apple. The resale values are always sky high. They can go stick their ' By innovation's only' presentations, where everyone feels like they're paid to clap and go wooooo !! Right up where the sun don't shine. They innovate hardly anything these days. The competition is typically ahead. Perhaps aside from the Apple Watch, where the competition still has to catch up...
 
Soldato
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its one of the main reasons i stick with Apple. The resale values are always sky high. They can go stick their ' By innovation's only' presentations, where everyone feels like they're paid to clap and go wooooo !! Right up where the sun don't shine. They innovate hardly anything these days. The competition is typically ahead. Perhaps aside from the Apple Watch, where the competition still has to catch up...
I'm sticking with Apple for a while as well. But $500 for an iPhone 8 seems ludicrous. I've seen iPhone Xes go for around that price.
 
Man of Honour
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its one of the main reasons i stick with Apple. The resale values are always sky high. They can go stick their ' By innovation's only' presentations, where everyone feels like they're paid to clap and go wooooo !! Right up where the sun don't shine. They innovate hardly anything these days. The competition is typically ahead. Perhaps aside from the Apple Watch, where the competition still has to catch up...

I think that resale value being higher than other brands is exaggerated. I've sold many iPhones on when I get the new one every year and since being >£1000 new, when it comes to sell them on, they always drop to around £600-700. Which more often than not for the 256GB models, is basically half. So losing half of its value in a year is hardly great
 
Soldato
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I think that resale value being higher than other brands is exaggerated. I've sold many iPhones on when I get the new one every year and since being >£1000 new, when it comes to sell them on, they always drop to around £600-700. Which more often than not for the 256GB models, is basically half. So losing half of its value in a year is hardly great

2017 iPhone X 64GB currently being bought for £401 on music magpie. 2018 Galaxy S9 64GB currently being bought for £237 on music magpie.
 
Soldato
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The OLED phones lose a bit more value in the first year due to the Xr and 11 range. But after that will they hold pretty strong compared to your android offerings. People are still paying a lot of money for iPhone 6S which is 4 years old at this point.

The main reason is you’d be mad to buy a new let alone a used XS over an 11 of they were similarly priced. The OLED just isn’t worth the 1 year loss of software support, newer processor and better camera system (IMO).
 
Soldato
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Amazingly even the Note 10+ 256GB is being offered at £550 and last years iPhone XS Max 64GB is being offered at £580!

How embarrassing that this years flagship Samsung is already worth less than last years iPhone.
 
Soldato
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Yeah it’s horrible paying more money for a better product.

I guess it just highlights the poor value of Samsung’s offering and how good value iPhones are in comparison.

You have been able to buy the Note 9 512Gb for £599 on several occasions. It's now worth about £330, depending on what recycler you send it to. So you'd have 18 months out of it and get back more than 50% of the purchase price. Or you can pay the nailed-on thousand quid plus for a new iphone, recycle it 18 months later and get 40-50% of the purchase price.

Comparing value of a full RRP Android (which drop in price quickly or get carrier subsidies) to an iPhone (always sold at or about RRP) isn't as straightforward as you make out. Android phones are always discounted quickly or heavily carrier subsidised, while iPhones are not.
 
Soldato
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You have been able to buy the Note 9 512Gb for £599 on several occasions. It's now worth about £330, depending on what recycler you send it to. So you'd have 18 months out of it and get back more than 50% of the purchase price. Or you can pay the nailed-on thousand quid plus for a new iphone, recycle it 18 months later and get 40-50% of the purchase price.

Comparing value of a full RRP Android (which drop in price quickly or get carrier subsidies) to an iPhone (always sold at or about RRP) isn't as straightforward as you make out. Android phones are always discounted quickly or heavily carrier subsidised, while iPhones are not.


I think you’ve got this a bit wrong.

The Note 9 is a 13/14 month old device and the 512GB model was £1099 at launch.

That model is now worth £350 at music magpie.

The iPhone X 64GB was £999 at launch 23 months ago. It is now worth £401 at music magpie.

So with the iPhone you’ve got an extra 10 months of usage out of it, and it’s still worth more than the Note 9 now.
 
Soldato
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I think you’ve got this a bit wrong.

You've nitpicked without acknowledging that the underlying premise might be correct. My iPhone XS that I paid £1000 for is now worth about £550 - 55%. The Note 9 (as one example) is now £350 down from £599 - 58%, though admittedly you couldn't buy the Note 9 for that price until some time after launch. If I'd paid £1000 for my iPhone XS in August (I didn't, but it happens), it would have fallen in value by 45% in a month.

iPhones do hold their value better when you take best case scenario of full RRP for both devices bought on day of release. Once you factor in carrier and retailer discounts, the gap is much less. In some cases, that gap may not exist.
 
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