Damaged iPhone Sold - Problem?

candylandriots

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I recently dropped my iPhone down the elevator shaft of my apartment building. It fell probably 80 feet and got smashed. Badly.
 
Perhaps foolishly, I decided to sell it on eBay to help pay for my new one. I expected maybe someone could use it for parts. The thing was really destroyed. I certainly couldn't do anything with it.
 
Today, I get an email from the buyer. He somehow has the thing running. He asked for my passcode and I told him to enter 0000 ten times. I think I had the phone set up to erase if the passcode was entered incorrectly, and I thought he could then restore factory settings and go on his way. I don't have a problem with him actually using the phone, I just want my data to be safe.
 
He emailed me back and said that he needs my Apple ID and password because of what I guess is an anti-theft feature of the phone - so if it's stolen it can't be used without that information.
 
Like I said, I don't care if he actually uses the phone. Good for him for fixing it--but I want to make sure that I'm not giving sensitive data to some dude in Vietnam. Any thoughts on what I can do for this guy? He seems honest, but who knows. Any other precautions I should take?
 
Dec 10, 2012
6,943
Are you sure he has the thing running and not just pretending to to get your Apple ID?
 
 
 
It also depends on what you put in the item description and how much/little you value the ebay feedback.
 
I wouldn't do it.
 

bohous

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Absolutely no way you should give him your Apple ID. Ask him to send the phone back to you and you can restore it to factory settings and ship back.
 
edit: or better what soxhop said
 

candylandriots

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bohous said:
Absolutely no way you should give him your Apple ID. Ask him to send the phone back to you and you can restore it to factory settings and ship back.
 
edit: or better what soxhop said
 
I offered to have him send it back and he said it was very expensive from Vietnam. Will he be able to restore factory settings, or does Apple build in some kind of anti-theft device that requires him to know my Apple ID/Password to use the phone?
 
Papelbon's Poutine said:
You should also probably consider moving to an apartment building that doesn't have an open elevator shaft. 
 
Haha - can you believe it actually fell down that little gap between the elevator and the floor? 100-1 shot.
 

soxhop411

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jkempa said:
 
I offered to have him send it back and he said it was very expensive from Vietnam. Will he be able to restore factory settings, or does Apple build in some kind of anti-theft device that requires him to know my Apple ID/Password to use the phone?
 
 
Haha - can you believe it actually fell down that little gap between the elevator and the floor? 100-1 shot.
Forward him the link I gave you. All he needs is your phones password to delete everything.
 

candylandriots

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soxhop411 said:
Forward him the link I gave you. All he needs is your phones password to delete everything.
 
At my instruction, he's entered it incorrectly 10x (me thinking that would guarantee my phone wiped clean). Will those instructions still work?
 

Monbo Jumbo

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jkempa said:
 
I offered to have him send it back and he said it was very expensive from Vietnam....
 
Another lesson here - it's asking for trouble to offer international shipping when you sell stuff on eBay.
 

bohous

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jkempa said:
 
At my instruction, he's entered it incorrectly 10x (me thinking that would guarantee my phone wiped clean). Will those instructions still work?
Is he telling you that he entered it 10 times and maxed out his attempts and now locked out? If so I'll bet he's fucking with you.

It sounds like you have done everything he can reasonably expect from you for help. Did you list the phone as "for parts"? If so that should be the end of it.
This kind of stuff is why I don't do business on eBay anymore.
 

mt8thsw9th

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It's kind of tough to give advice without the model and version of the OS. If it's a 5S, the above advice likely isn't correct, and he's not fucking with you.
 

candylandriots

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I didn't do international shipping for just this reason. The guy had a Houston mailing address.

It was a 4S running most up to date OS.

I told him to enter it incorrectly figuring that was my best protection at this point.

Thanks for the advice guys. We will see if Soxhop's plan works. If not, I guess he's going to just have to suck it up and send it back to me.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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Why does this scenario scream "fraud!" to me? (Probably the word eBay...) This guy in Vietnam has a Houston mailing address. Why does he need it? To buy tons of Beanie Babies and other tchotchkes on eBay?
 
If you wanted to collect Apple ID's the best way to do it would be to buy phones on eBay, chuck them in the garbage, and send the sellers the mail that he sent you.
 

tonyandpals

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Didn't he know what he was buying? A phone that didn't work?
I'd just point to the listing and be done with it.
 

Marceline

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There are lots of reasons this sounds like a fraud situation. But the Houston mailing address isn't one of them. Many companies offer the service of having a US shipping address, they will receive shipments for you and then send them internationally.

People can get stuff much cheaper via eBay from the US than they often can in their own country, so this is really common now. I've sold a lot of stuff on eBay and almost anything electronics or phone related now ends up going abroad (with a US mailing address, since I don't do international shipping)
 

candylandriots

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He suggested that I go on to www.icloud.com  I did so and see both my new phone (online) and the old one (offline). He's asked me to click "Remove From Account" here to I guess release this phone. There's also an option to erase the phone. You can also send a phone number to the phone. I sent him a random one to see if he got it.
 
It seems like I'd be safe to first erase the phone through iCloud and then remove the phone from my account. Any thoughts?
 

soxhop411

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jkempa said:
He suggested that I go on to www.icloud.com  I did so and see both my new phone (online) and the old one (offline). He's asked me to click "Remove From Account" here to I guess release this phone. There's also an option to erase the phone. You can also send a phone number to the phone. I sent him a random one to see if he got it.
 
It seems like I'd be safe to first erase the phone through iCloud and then remove the phone from my account. Any thoughts?
Yes, Erase it first then release it
 

HriniakPosterChild

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jkempa said:
He suggested that I go on to www.icloud.com  I did so and see both my new phone (online) and the old one (offline). He's asked me to click "Remove From Account" here to I guess release this phone. There's also an option to erase the phone. You can also send a phone number to the phone. I sent him a random one to see if he got it.
 
It seems like I'd be safe to first erase the phone through iCloud and then remove the phone from my account. Any thoughts?
 
Jesus, why didn't he just ask you to do this first.
 

tonyandpals

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jkempa said:
He suggested that I go on to www.icloud.com  I did so and see both my new phone (online) and the old one (offline). He's asked me to click "Remove From Account" here to I guess release this phone. There's also an option to erase the phone. You can also send a phone number to the phone. I sent him a random one to see if he got it.
 
It seems like I'd be safe to first erase the phone through iCloud and then remove the phone from my account. Any thoughts?
 
How will you erase the phone if it's offline? It seems like it's just showing the cached version of your phone in iCloud.  When he has the device on, does it show as online? 
 
Dec 10, 2012
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Joe Sixpack said:
There are lots of reasons this sounds like a fraud situation. But the Houston mailing address isn't one of them. Many companies offer the service of having a US shipping address, they will receive shipments for you and then send them internationally.

People can get stuff much cheaper via eBay from the US than they often can in their own country, so this is really common now. I've sold a lot of stuff on eBay and almost anything electronics or phone related now ends up going abroad (with a US mailing address, since I don't do international shipping)
Sorry to hijack, jk, but do these or other companies offer the service of a non-US shipping address for the purpose of receiving pharmaceuticals ("just" classes 3 and 4)?
 
That would seem like a decent business model (sorry, DEA)
 

candylandriots

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tonyandpals said:
 
How will you erase the phone if it's offline? It seems like it's just showing the cached version of your phone in iCloud.  When he has the device on, does it show as online? 
It shows as offline right now. Is there a way he can put it online in its current state?
 

soxhop411

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jkempa said:
It shows as offline right now. Is there a way he can put it online in its current state?
Just tell him to follow the steps I gave you. Those steps completly erase the phone and when it reboots, it will be like the person just bought it
 

sox311

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Jan 30, 2004
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That's what she said.
I have not read all the replies, but the phone is a brick unless find my iPhone is turned off.
 
If we get trade in phones that don't have that info removed they are worthless.
 

mt8thsw9th

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Yeah, which is likely why he's asking for the iTunes password, and why a lot of these replies are missing the point. If that is the case, try to Skype with the person after changing the iTunes password to something that doesn't match any other passwords, give him the password so he can shut off Find My iPhone, and change your password again.

A scammer would hope the phone is signed in. This is a lot of legwork for someone who is simply trying to gain access to your iTunes info.
 

tonyandpals

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You sold the phone as broken right?  Did you sell it figuring you'd have to go through all this tech support for the buyer?