Lost account
You've lost access to the account your device is linked to
Sometimes the account locking you out is your own — an old email, a changed number, a login you can't recover. Here is how a device gets released from an account nobody can get into.
4 min readUpdated
Not every locked device was bought second hand. Sometimes it is your own — set up years ago on an email you have lost, a phone number you have changed, or a login you cannot recover. The device still works, but it answers to an account you can no longer get into, and that locks you out of your own property in software.
Try account recovery first
Before anything else, see whether the old account can be recovered — most providers have a way back in through a backup email, a phone number or security questions. If you can get into the account, you can unlink the device yourself in a minute, and that is the easiest fix by far.
When the account really is gone
If recovery is genuinely out — the email is closed, the number is reassigned, the provider cannot help — the device has to be released from that account another way. That is done through the manufacturer's own process, proving you are the lawful owner, which is exactly what we handle on your behalf.
Start a request and we review it first — you get a yes or no, with the price, before any work begins.
Because the device is already yours, this is often the most straightforward kind of case — there is no previous owner in the picture at all.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
My device is linked to an old email I can't access. Can I still use it?
Yes. If you cannot recover the old account, the device can be released from it through the manufacturer's own process as the lawful owner, and then set up on a current account.
Should I try to recover the old account first?
Yes — if there is any route back in, recovering the account and unlinking the device yourself is the simplest fix. We are for when recovery is genuinely out.
Do I need proof I own the device?
We tell you what a case needs when we review it. You do not need the original receipt to start — tell us what you have.
Is this different from a second-hand device?
The fix is the same, but it is often simpler: the device is already yours and there is no previous owner involved at all.