What
is iCloud Activation?
The iCloud Activation has been
introduced in iOS to prevent unauthorized activation of the device. Once the
Find My iPhone feature is turned on, the device becomes tied to the Apple ID
used currently on the device. This means your device will require you to
remember the Apple ID and password in order to activate the device if you ever
reset it to factory settings.
This is designed to prevent thieves
from using your phone if they steal it, and for that, it’s a good feature.
Unfortunately, this feature did very little to combat iPhone stealing. Thieves
would still steal the device to sell it for parts. The case, screen, battery,
camera module, connectors, etc. All of these can still be sold and turn a
profit, not to mention many thieves don’t even know the iCloud lock is a thing,
so iCloud didn’t do much to prevent thieves from stealing devices.
There are, however, legitimate reasons
why you would want to bypass iCloud Activation, and this guide is only for
those cases. Please don’t use the knowledge presented in this article for
anything illegal. We’re not condoning stealing devices and activating stolen
property.
Legitimate
reasons why iCloud activation bypass may be needed
While thieves would want to activate
the stolen phones to be able to sell them too, there are legitimate reasons why
someone would bypass iCloud and those reasons don’t involve criminal activity.
- You
bought the device second-hand and got scammed.
Sure, sites like eBay allow you to report the device is locked and you get
your money back, but eBay is just one platform. In many countries,
websites like Craigslist or other classifieds websites / Facebook groups
exist for buying and selling locally. Those do not provide any sort of
protection against being scammed with locked devices.
- You
bought a device that is not iCloud locked, but it’s SIM locked.
You wouldn’t be able to activate an iPhone locked to say Verizon or
AT&T that you bought from eBay if you live in Europe and have no such
SIM Card. Chances are you don’t have the right SIM card because the
carrier doesn’t operate in your country. In that case, the device refuses
to activate because you don’t have the right SIM card. Unless you can get
a correct SIM card from somewhere, iCloud Bypass is the only solution,
even if this has nothing to do with iCloud.
- You
forgot your Apple ID or password. It happens,
especially if you made a quick throwaway just to get apps and you didn’t
know your whole phone will remain tied to that throwaway account. There
is, however, a better solution in this case. Go to any Apple Store with
the proof of purchase (receipt) and the device, and they will unlock the
device for you. This is only practical if you still have the receipt and
you have an official Apple Store in your country. Many countries don’t.
How
does iCloud Activation Bypass work?
Usually, the application that handles
the activation of the device in the foreground is the Setup.app. This
application runs when you set the device up for the first time and it allows
you to select the language, WiFi network, Siri settings, and input the Apple ID
and Password for iCloud activation amongst other things. It’s the infamous
“Hello” screen.
In the background, daemons like
lockdownd, fairplayd, etc. These check the activation status, issue the
necessary requests to the Appl Albert server which handles activation and
enable Push Notifications once the device is activated.
Normally iCloud Activation works by
issuing a request to albert.apple.com which contains the device info such as
the Serial Number, IMEI, model, iOS version, SIM ID, etc. The server returns
back a ticket if the device is not locked, or a request for Apple ID and
Password if the device is iCloud locked. Once the correct credentials are sent
to Apple, the server generates and returns an Activation Ticket (also known as
a WildCard Ticket) which then allows the device to continue the Setup.
After activation, lockdownd daemon
continues to monitor the activation status periodically and will send you back
to the activation screen if something does wrong and the device is deactivated
somehow.
iCloud Bypass tools work by either
skipping the Setup.app altogether, or by faking a Factory Mode on the device
which makes the phone think it’s activated at the factory. These methods are
the most common thanks to CheckRa1n jailbreak but have a major drawback. They
do not persist after reboot and need to be re-done, and most importantly, SIM
card features would not work at all. No calls, no texts via SIM card. In fact,
you would have No Service.
WiFi works, you can download apps, use
them, connect to the internet, etc. but you will have no cellular coverage.
How
to bypass iCloud Activation / FMI on iPhone XS, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 on iOS 15
It’s not currently possible to bypass
iCloud on iOS 15 on any device. For iOS 14.8 and lower, it’s possible to bypass
iPhone X and older devices.
The
following devices can be bypassed on iOS 14.8 and lower:
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone SE (2016)
- iPhone 6S / 6S Plus
- iPhone 6 / 6 Plus
- iPhone 5S
The
following devices cannot be bypassed at all this moment:
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone 11 / 11 Pro
- iPhone 12 (all variants)
- iPhone 13 (all variants)
- iPhone SE (2022)
Anything
with an A11 chip or lower can be bypassed, but tethered, with tools based
around CheckRa1n. Any devices with an A12 chip or newer cannot currently be
bypassed on any iOS version.
ONCE AN ICLOUD BYPASS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR IOS 15 OR FOR NEWER PHONES, WE WILL UPDATE THIS PAGE!
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