IPhone 4S could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable
If you got the "scary" message that you could not activate iPhone 4S neither by Wi-Fi or iTunes, I want to share my experience:
I decided to reset my iPhone 4S, and used "Erase All Content and Settings" under the reset menu (Settings/General/Reset), I was hoping that the erasing just does that, but for me the nightmare started!
I was taken to the activation screens, and begun with the welcome one, choose language, choose location services (later on it also disappears) and selecting Wi-Fi and/or iTunes for activation.
I chose a Wi-Fi network the process started, and gave me a message that it will take about three minutes to activate iPhone, few minutes later a screen with this message appears: "Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable."
Then, I decided to try the activation using iTunes…
Using iTunes, after few minutes, it shows the following message: "We could not complete your iTunes Store request. The iTunes Store is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."
I tried several times in both ways, trying 4 different Wi-Fi networks and 3 different computers in the whole process, and I was going desperate! I started to find out some info about this trouble over the Internet, and guess what? I was not alone! But I did not find any answer or solution either!
Finally, I joined Apple Support Communities, and started searching with no good luck at all, until I found (many hours later) this old (2009) solution:
+Do a DFU recovery:+
+1. Open iTunes.+
+2. Connect the iPhone+
+3 Press both the home and sleep/wake buttons until the Apple icon appears (ignore the red slider if it shows).+
+4. Continue pressing the home button alone until iTunes sees your phone in recovery mode.+
+5. Follow the prompts to restore the iPhone.+
(THANKS A LOT!!! modular747 and Easily Easy, you saved me!!!)
Then I suggest everyone to use this, of course it will erase everything, but you may be able to recover your data from your last backup, or you can also choose to configure iPhone as a new cell phone.
The process took me about 92 minutes, but it was worth it, now I own an unlocked iPhone 4S (it was an AT&T when I purchased from Apple Store in November) and is working perfectly!
Hope it is useful for all of you facing this trouble!
Good luck and enjoy your iPhone then!
I tried the process and was happy to note that there was some process that I managed to start because the process did start ...
However to my disappointment, landed back at the same status which says
We're sorry, we are unable to continue with your activation at this time.
Please try again later, or contact customer care
I was using a GEVEY sim unlock with iOS 4.1 since (almost) last 2 yrs now in India on Vodafone. But as Apple designed it, there were several apps including Whatsapp, Facebook, Gmail and LinkedIn that stopped functioning due to the iOS updates and the subsequent (I guess 'mandatory' App updates). Finally yesterday I thought of updating to the iOS 6. As soon as I did that, I have been left with no choice but to see the above message.
The process by jhidrowoh starts corectly but iTunes doesnt give you the option of restore only ... it is forcefully clubbed with update and the button that is displayed in the dialog box that appears on pressing 'Restore' in teh recovery mode, shows 'Restore and Update' and as soon as the iPhone is restored, it automatically updates the iOS as well to iOS 6 and hence leaves you hanging in the stale situation.
Guys ... Need the data desperately ... Can anybody please help???
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Hi
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Hello dhawalkc,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities. if you are having issues with activation, the following article will guide you through troubleshooting the issue.
iPhone: Troubleshooting activation issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3424
Resolution
Perform the following steps if you receive one of the messages above:
Restart the iPhone.
Try another means of reaching the activation server and attempt to activate.
Try connecting to Wi-Fi if you're unable to activate using a cellular data connection.
Try connecting to iTunes if you're unable to activate using Wi-Fi.
Restore the iPhone.
If you receive an alert message when you attempt to activate your iPhone, try to place the iPhone in recovery mode and perform a restore. If you're still unable to complete the setup assistant due to an activation error, contact Apple for assistance.
Regards,
-Norm G. -
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bladetibi wrote:
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