There has been an increasing number of reported cases on an Activation Lock glitch found in brand new units of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, according to a MacRumors report.
The affected users, upon unboxing their new iPhone 7 units, discover that the smartphone has already been linked to the Apple ID of a stranger, effectively preventing them from gaining access to the device.
The Activation Lock is a security feature linked to the Find My iPhone tool that Apple offers to its users. Through it, an iOS device that has been stolen or lost could not be unlocked by other users.
The feature is great for the security of iPhones. However, the glitch is locking out legitimate iPhone 7 owners who just purchased the smartphone, according to information that was crowdsourced by MacRumors.
With the Activation Lock turned on and linked to an unknown Apple ID, users are not able to sign in and perform the initial setup of their new iPhone 7. The issue is primarily affecting the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but there have also been reports of iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users experiencing the glitch after restoring the smartphones to default settings.
It is not clear what is causing the Activation Lock glitch, as Apple has not yet issued an official comment regarding the problem. While waiting for the company to release an explanation, thankfully there are certain things that affected users can try as a workaround for the glitch.
Some users who just bought their iPhone 7 have been able to get Apple to remove the activation lock by presenting an official proof of purchase. Users can choose to either visit an Apple Store by scheduling an appointment at a Genius Bar or call the support team of Apple.
Unfortunately, there have been cases wherein unlucky customers experienced the glitch more than once. For iPhones with repeating incidents of the Activation Lock glitch, some users said that Apple fully replaced their devices instead of repeatedly removing the wrongly linked Apple ID.
There have also been recent reports of iPhone 7 issues under Verizon, with users complaining that there are connection problems on their smartphones as the devices spontaneously switch to using slower 3G connections instead of the faster LTE.
The problem was said to be linked to the Voice Over LTE technology of the carrier, and could be solved by changing the LTE connection of the iPhone 7 into Data Only under the Cellular Data Options menu. This fix prevents users from making a voice call and using data simultaneously, but it will have to do until Apple and Verizon roll out a permanent solution.
