When you lose a loved one, the last thing you want to think about is what happens to their phone. But with so much of a person’s life in that device, it’s critical to plan ahead. A Massachusetts family said they did and followed all the steps Apple recommends, but still hit a roadblock when they asked the company to erase the phone. They contacted NewsCenter 5 for help. In November, Roger Goodman lost his mother after a long illness. Before she passed away, he appointed himself as her old contact through Apple. The legacy program allows authorized loved ones to access data in an Apple account after the account’s owner dies. Being the longtime contact, Goodman was allowed access to his mother’s files and photos, but only after providing Apple with documentation of her death. a smoother transition,” Goodman said. “The way we activated inheritance status was filing a death certificate, filing the power of attorney my mother gave me to have control over other documents, and we also filed the actual will.” Once Goodman’s family had what they needed, they wanted to erase the iPhone, an older model but in perfect condition for one of the grandchildren to use. According to Goodman, Apple then essentially hung up. “We can’t reset the phone. Period,” Goodman said. “There was no rationale, no reasoning that gave.” To make sure the hanging wasn’t just due to an ill-informed customer service representative, the family tried several ways to get help from Apple: in a store, online, and over the phone. Each time they got the same message: request denied. Erasing an iPhone usually requires entering the Apple ID password associated with the account on the device. That’s the one thing Goodman and his family don’t have. To bypass that process, Apple instructed them to reset the password. But every attempt to do so caused an error message saying “Apple ID is not valid or not supported.” They believe that’s because they activated the deprecated contact access for Goodman’s mother’s account, which deactivated her original Apple ID, which in turn means the password can’t be reset and the phone can’t be wiped. what happens when someone dies and what happens when they deactivate Apple IDs like this,” Goodman said. Apple devices come with “Activation Lock,” which is designed to prevent phones or tablets from being erased and reused without first Entering a user’s Apple password. It appears that was what blocked the family’s access. Apple’s website states that “Activation Lock” should also automatically turn off when legacy contact access is granted, but that’s in this case apparently didn’t happen. Apple told Goodman and his family that wiping the phone would only help if they could provide an original receipt for the seven-year-old iPhone, supposedly to prove it belonged to them. But that ignores it fact that Goodman had already provided the company with a death certificate, power of attorney and will.” I don’t know what else we can give them to prove that it’s our phone to use,” he said. “I think it’s pretty awful to send that message that when someone dies, their devices are no longer usable.” After NewsCenter 5 contacted Apple, the company contacted Goodman and unlocked the phone so it could be wiped. They told him there was a bug in their system. What’s not clear is how many others this may have affected, but now the company is aware of it and is working to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Related story:
When you lose a loved one, the last thing you want to think about is what happens to their phone. But with so much of a person’s life in that device, it’s critical to plan ahead.
A Massachusetts family said they did and followed all the steps Apple recommends, but still ran into a roadblock when they asked the company to wipe the phone. They contacted NewsCenter 5 for help.
In November, Roger Goodman lost his mother after a long illness. Before she passed away, he appointed himself as her old contact through Apple. The legacy program allows authorized loved ones to access data in an Apple account after the account’s owner dies. Being the longtime contact, Goodman was allowed access to his mother’s files and photos, but only after providing Apple with documentation of her death.
“When I found it I thought it was a great idea so I could set it up and have a smoother transition,” Goodman said. “The way we activated inheritance status was filing a death certificate, filing the power of attorney my mother gave me to have control over other documents, and we also filed the actual will.”
Once Goodman’s family had what they needed, they wanted to erase the iPhone, an older model but in perfect working order for one of the grandchildren to use. According to Goodman, Apple then essentially hung up.
“We can’t reset the phone. Period,” Goodman said. “There was no reason, no reasoning [Apple] gave.”
To make sure the hanging wasn’t just due to a misinformed customer service representative, the family tried several ways to get help from Apple: in a store, online, and over the phone. Each time they got the same message: request declined.
Erasing an iPhone usually requires entering the Apple ID password associated with the account on the device. That’s the one thing Goodman and his family don’t have. To bypass that process, Apple instructed them to reset the password. But every attempt to do so caused an error message saying “Apple ID is not valid or not supported.” They believe that’s because they activated the deprecated contact access for Goodman’s mother’s account, which deactivated her original Apple ID, which in turn means the password can’t be reset and the phone can’t be wiped.
“Someone hasn’t really thought through the logistics of what happens when someone dies and what happens when they deactivate Apple IDs like this,” Goodman said.
Apple devices feature “Activation Lock,” which is designed to prevent phones or tablets from being wiped and reused without first entering a user’s Apple password. Looks like that blocked the family’s access. Apple’s website states that “Activation Lock” should also be automatically disabled when legacy contact access is granted, but apparently that didn’t happen in this case.
Apple told Goodman and his family it would only help erase the phone if they could provide an original receipt from the seven-year-old iPhone, ostensibly to prove it belonged to them. But that ignores the fact that Goodman had already provided the company with a death certificate, power of attorney and will.
“I don’t know what else we can give them to prove it’s our phone to use,” he said. “I think it’s pretty awful to send the message that when someone dies, their devices are no longer usable.”
After NewsCenter 5 contacted Apple, the company contacted Goodman and unlocked the phone so it could be wiped. They told him there was a bug in their system. What’s not clear is how many others this may have affected, but now the company is aware of this and is working to make sure it doesn’t happen again.