Old iPhone 4s as music player... except iCloud!

[MaddMacs]

I recently pulled out an old iPhone 4s from the drawer and powered it on and charged it. It still works. Kinda. I thought it would be good for using as a music player, which is does work for that. I can still put music on and play it.... But it was never properly de-commissioned. iCloud was never properly turned off on it, and now it won't sign on, or sign off. I get "Sign in to iCloud" messages popping up every 4 seconds. It won't take my password (which hasn't changed since), and won't cancel... it pops up. Every. Four. Seconds. I can't even erase it with out the password, which it won't accept. The device doesn't show in the iCloud devices on the web, and when I tried to add it through iTunes it glitches iCloud and I get "A New Device is trying to sign in to your iCloud" message and the two factor authentication pops up on my other devices. I try to hit accept and use the code provided, but it won't accept it either, and the message pops up every four seconds with a new code. I thought it would never stop. Finally I was able to hit "Do not Allow" on the other devices and finally the message went away. I could use my time and energy for something else... but I thought I'd throw this out there. I could try a hard erase, but since it's not supported anymore I'm not sure Apple would even support downloading the old iOS 8 any more. Anyway thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[eyoungren]

iOS 8 no. But iOS 9.3.6 yes.

You can put it in DFU Mode and update/restore it from there. If it has Activation Lock (can't recall how far back that goes) you'll have to enter the email and password for that at some point.

 

[retta283]

iOS 8 no. But iOS 9.3.6 yes.

You can put it in DFU Mode and update/restore it from there. If it has Activation Lock (can't recall how far back that goes) you'll have to enter the email and password for that at some point.

Actually it is totally possible to run iOS 8 on these devices still, but it does require a bit of technical know-how to downgrade: https://github.com/LukeZGD/Legacy-iOS-Kit

 

[arw]

I had the same password/popup-loop on my iPads with iOS 5.1.1 and did not know the following process which finally worked (Apple Support was actually helpful):
- On your old device, enter your password WITHOUT pressing OK
- Switch to a current device and manually create a verification code here:
Settings > [your name] > Password & Security > Get Verification Code
- Enter the generated code on your old device directly after your password and then tap OK

Worth a try before going through a complete reset/restore.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I had the same password/popup-loop on my iPads with iOS 5.1.1 and did not know the following process which finally worked (Apple Support was actually helpful):
- On your old device, enter your password WITHOUT pressing OK
- Switch to a current device and manually create a verification code here:
Settings > [your name] > Password & Security > Get Verification Code
- Enter the generated code on your old device directly after your password and then tap OK

Worth a try before going through a complete reset/restore.

This is the solution. The iOS version you’re using isn’t compatible with Two Factor Authentication, so the work-around is to enter your normal password PLUS the 2FA code. So if your password is “Apple123” and your 2FA code from Settings on a different device is 987654, you’d use “Apple123987654” as your password.

Then upgrade to iOS 9.3.6, which actually supports 2FA, and you won’t have to worry about it again.