iPhone 5s activation error, what to do. iPad (iPhone, iPod Touch) activation failed. What to do

Today I found out (yes, yes, I’m being slow in this case) that many users experience a strange error 0xE8000013 after flashing their device to iOS 11.0.2. Let's pay closer attention to the problem.

The essence of the problem

Users started flashing their device on iOS 11.0.2. After flashing the firmware they get error 0xE8000013. Here is one of the comments on our website (the author’s spelling and punctuation have been preserved):

I reset the iPad Air to iOS 11.1. After activation failed. I tried other Wi-Fi networks, rebooted, restored to OS 11.02, it shows this error (0xE8000013), it was not possible to activate the iPad (this was on a Windows PC (the Mac froze in preparation for restoration and gave error 2006)), iTunes on a MacBook cannot connect to the iPad. Spent 5 hours with Apple support (to no avail). I tried everything, please help.

The error, by the way, is not new. A year ago, some iPhone 5S users caught the same error on iOS 10.

Cause

One of the possible causes of error 0xE8000013 is not the native Touch ID on the phone. But not always. This is an iOS 11 bug.

Solution

You need to connect the wire directly to the PC. That is, without using USB hubs.
Try a different USB cable
Disconnect all USB devices from the computer except the mouse and keyboard. Restart your computer and connect your iPhone to your computer.

The guaranteed solution was to roll back the system from iOS 11 to iOS 10, but this method no longer works since Apple has stopped signing iOS 10.

The problem is actually widespread and that’s very good! Most likely, Apple will pay attention to the problem and solve it in the near future. It makes no sense to take the phone to the service, because I read a review from one such service that they brought several phones with this error and they do not know what to do with them.

If you have any information, any solutions, or have encountered such an error, write comments. We'll figure out. For now, to avoid problems, I recommend not updating your phone to iOS 11.0.2.

P.S. ATTENTION . Scammers have been identified in the comments. Now he operates under the name of Slava, but he can write under any other. DO NOT send your money to anyone! No one will solve your problem remotely. Do NOT share your APPLE ID and password with anyone.

When trying to update the firmware of an Apple device to the latest version or while activating an iPhone or iPad, you may encounter various types of errors that will prevent you from completing the process. How to solve them?

Causes of iPhone and iPad activation errors

There may be several reasons why the process of updating and activating a device may be interrupted:

How can I solve the problem?

First you should try the simplest methods, which very often turn out to be the most effective.

Restarting the device

Restart your iPhone or iPad by pressing the Home and Lock buttons simultaneously for 8-10 seconds. All background processes and applications will restart, and there is a high chance that after this they will start working correctly.

Network change

Check if the Wi-Fi network is stable. If your Internet speed slows down, reboot your router or connect to another Wi-Fi network.

Activation via iTunes

If you are unable to activate or update your device via a Wi-Fi network, follow these steps:

You need to update iTunes to the latest version. Expand the Help menu.
Go to the "Update" section.
The program will automatically find available updates and prompt you to install them, confirm the action.
Connect the device to the computer using a USB adapter.
After completing the authorization process, click on the icon of your device.
Go to the Review section.
Click the "Update" button, which is located under the block with a description of your device.
Go through the update process by following the instructions that appear on your computer screen. The following message appears indicating that the device has been updated successfully. Go through the activation process by following the instructions on your computer screen.

Restoring a device to fix a problem

Only if none of the above methods helped fix the problem, you should use this option.

Open the iTunes application on your Windows or Mac OS computer.
Connect the device to your computer using a USB cable.
Turn off the device by holding the “Lock” button for a few seconds and confirming the action.
Simultaneously press the “Lock” and “Home” buttons on the device for exactly 10 seconds. Remove your finger from the “Lock” button and hold the “Home” button for about 10–15 seconds until a notification about the connected device appears on the computer. During the entire process of putting the device into recovery mode, the screen should not light up.
iTunes will see that the device is in recovery mode and will offer to restore it, agree. Go through the recovery process by following the instructions that appear on the screen.

Video: what to do if you couldn’t activate your iPhone or iPad

If one of the above errors occurs while updating or activating your device, change the Wi-Fi network, restart the device, activate and update it through iTunes, or go through the recovery process. If none of the proposed methods help, and you are sure that Apple’s servers are working when the error occurs, then take your device to the service center to get help from a qualified specialist. But it is better to first consult with Apple support - https://support.apple.com/ru-ru, describing in detail the problem that arose and the methods that did not help resolve it.

After iOS 11 is released and the security policy is updated, it is impossible to activate the flashed device. The problem may also occur on iPhones that have been reset to factory settings or not repaired at an official service center. Then, after starting the device, a message appears - iPhone 5s activation failed. Read on to find out what to do to fix the error.

Possible reasons for activation failure

If the device has not been reflashed or repaired by unofficial service centers, the error may appear for the following reasons:

Check if the SIM card is installed correctly. Try using a different SIM card. To activate the device, a SIM card is required. Even if you do not have a contract for the provision of communication services.
Make sure your device is connected to the network. Try restarting your smartphone, connecting to another Wi-Fi point, or using mobile Internet.
Make sure Apple servers are available. This can be done using the official service. Often activation failure occurs after the release of an update for iOS and other large-scale changes in privacy and data security policies.
If an error appears when activating an iPhone through iTunes, make sure you are using the latest version of the program. You can check for updates through the Settings menu. If necessary, completely uninstall and download the latest version of the distribution from the official website.
Completely reboot your iPhone. To do this, press and hold the Power and Home buttons at the same time. Wait for the device to turn off and start it normally. If necessary, go to dfu mode (recovery mode) and reflash the device.

After this, the iPhone should work. If this does not help, and you are sure that the device has not been repaired by third-party services and has not been reflashed, then try using one of the methods described below.

If iPhone activation fails after resetting iOS 11 to factory settings, then do not try to solve the problem yourself. Contact an authorized service center for assistance or contact support at http://apple.com/en/support.

Rollback to iOS 10.3.3

The activation problem appeared after the release of iOS 11. If the problem appears after downloading a new firmware version, try rolling back from iOS 11 to iOS 10.3.3. Procedure:

Connect your device to your computer using the original USB cable and launch iTunes.
Download the desired version of iOS from another site. Try to use only proven resources.
Switch to iTunes and click on the smartphone icon (in the upper left corner).
Go to the review tab. On the left side of the window, click on the “Restore iPhone” button while holding down the Shift (for Windows) and Alt (for Mac) buttons on your keyboard.
In the window that appears, select the firmware file that you want to install on your iPhone. If it doesn't appear, make sure you're pressing the correct key on your keyboard.

Confirm downloading the new version of iOS and wait for the installation to complete. During the process, the smartphone may turn on and off several times. As soon as the firmware is downloaded, a system notification will appear on the screen. Only after this can the device be disconnected from the computer.

Beta firmware version

If you are using a beta version of the firmware, a message may appear on the screen with the text: “Your iPhone could not be activated because it could not contact the server or the device is not registered in the Apple Developer Program.” In this case, you must perform the following steps:

Using another smartphone or computer, go to developer.apple.com and sign in to your developer account using your Apple ID and password. After that, register the device on the network and restart the iPhone.
If beta testing is completed (you can find out the information on the official resource), then you need to reflash the device using iTunes (the latest version of iOS is available on the official Apple website).
If testing is completed and you cannot reinstall iOS using a computer, you can “revive” your iPhone via iCloud (the method is only relevant if the “Find iPhone” service was enabled on the device). To do this, go to the cloud storage website, log in to your account and remove it from the list of available ones. In this case, all user data will be destroyed.

The steps described above are only relevant if you are using a beta version of the firmware. Then a message will appear on the screen that the device is not registered in the developer program.

If the methods described above do not help, and when you try to update via iTunes, a system notification appears with the text: “The iPhone could not be activated because it was not possible to obtain information from it,” then most likely the serial number, IMEI, MAC address or other device data do not match the official Apple database. Then, to eliminate the error, you need to contact the company’s official service center.

Four tips on what to do if you can't activate your iPhone and see an activation error

3.07.14 at 14:47

If you find yourself in a situation where you decide to reset your iPhone to factory settings, try to set it up as a new device and see the “activation failed” error, you try again, but it doesn’t help, you again see a sign with the text below, what to do in this situation ?

“Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable. Try connecting your iPhone to iTunes to activate, or try again in a few minutes.

If the problem persists, contact Apple Support: apple.com/us/support."

First of all, make sure you are connected to a working Wi-Fi, some, very few routers can be the culprit of this problem as they block the iPhone from accessing Apple's servers. Therefore, in some cases, connecting to a normally functioning router solves this problem.

At first glance, it appears that the activation failure message is completely greyed out and you don't see any control or retry buttons. However, if you press the physical round button on the iPhone, a menu will appear from which you can call emergency services, start over, or change your Wi-Fi connection settings. Click “start over” to try activation again; if it doesn’t work the second time, you should try a few more times. Some users note that after the 5th attempt, activation proceeds normally. This may be due to busy servers or other reasons and a little patience will help solve the problem.

If you have another SIM card and you are sure it works, try using that one. When replacing the SIM card, you don't need to turn off your iPhone, just replace it, press the Home button and try activation again.

Another important note: your SIM card balance must be positive, and the amount in your account is sufficient for one SMS abroad.

This is not advertised anywhere, but this is how the problem with activating iMessage and Facetime is solved. We have found that in order to confirm the activation of these services, the iPhone is apparently trying to send a technical hidden SMS to Apple servers. Technical SMS is sent from your phone to a special number, so the balance on your SIM card must be positive and sufficient for such an operation.

Confirmed! Activation does send an SMS, which is charged as “SMS to other countries”.

If none of the above helps, try turning off the iPhone, connect one end of the USB cable to the Mac, and do not insert the other into the iPhone yet, press and hold the Home button and at this very moment insert the USB cable into the iPhone. If everything went well, iTunes will display the message “iTunes has detected your iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore your iPhone before using it with iTunes." Then click the Restore iPhone button and follow the instructions.

A screen that frightens users and displays the message activation error can appear for a number of reasons. Regardless of what exactly led to the “breakdown,” the user should know that the further scenario will require, if not repairs in the service, then certainly a system rollback and a number of other manipulations. Unfortunately, the more “killed” the smartphone model is, the less likely it is that the iPhone activation failure can be corrected. It is important not only to conduct an external inspection of the phone, but also to restore the picture that preceded the breakdown. This will help you understand why the iPhone activation failed in the first place, as well as what you should do next. It is likely that you will need to not only roll back (return to the previous version) the changes made to the smartphone, but also clean the device itself. However, it is fair to note that there is still a chance for the smartphone to be restored.

Why activation is needed

Before thinking about the question of what to do if the activation of the iPhone fails, some angry users will blame the developers from Apple Inc. for the imperfection of the device. Many Apple supporters have repeatedly seriously criticized the activation procedure as ineffective and problematic.

In fact, the process of activating a smartphone helps to personalize it and specify it to the needs of the owner. It is not recommended to skip this process, as this may later lead to data loss or disruption of the synchronization process. Therefore, the corporation strongly recommends that users go through the activation process every time the device requires it.

What is the reason for the failure

The most common are two specific iPhone activation failure problems. The first is the hardware, both the device itself and Apple servers.

If the user is asked to wait with the activation process until a certain conditional period, then it is quite possible that the problem is in the hardware. This happened during the iOS 9.3 update, when the company's servers went down due to the simultaneous start of the download process from several million devices. This problem can be solved by simply rebooting during the least peak periods. I would like to add that Apple technical support promptly resolves problems with platform load.

Modem malfunction

If the problem is hardware in nature, but Apple's servers are fine, then the problem is in the device. If the iPhone writes that the operation failed, but another device is updated without problems, then the issue is most likely in the processing of data from a specific device. Checking this is quite simple, just select the item with the letter “i” circled, after which it will become clear whether the device is capable of receiving data. This item also shows devices. If this is not the case, then the problem is almost 100% in the smartphone modem.

How to fix it

A hardware failure in activating an iPhone can be fixed either at a licensed service center for a fairly significant amount, or using homemade technologies.

The latter include common private services, but even in such an organization the technician will undertake to repair the phone with great reluctance. The more expensive the device, the more advisable it is to send it to a service center rather than try to solve the problem yourself.

Also, the reason for iPhone activation failure may be a short circuit in the contacts of the board where the modem is located. In some cases, a sudden change in temperature can help, when the smartphone is suddenly cooled down or, on the contrary, heated up. However, such manipulations should be carried out at your own peril and risk.

Software glitch

In the event of a software failure, we are talking about the installation of suspicious software or the shell as a whole. In this case, saving the entire smartphone, as well as fragments of the system and user data, is possible only by rolling back all changes in the gadget to the previous version.

Therefore, it is recommended to perform these functions not only at the request of the software, but also independently. A system rollback can also be performed in a regular service, after which the chances of resuscitating the device are high. Otherwise, the gadget will also have to be sent to an official service, where the system will simply be torn down and reinstalled, which will also be expensive. Moreover, the owner will have to say goodbye to his files.

Several other reasons for iPhone activation failure

The iPhone activation procedure itself may be terminated for a number of other reasons independent of the software. Before going to the service center, you should first carry out a few simple manipulations with the device: check for a SIM card in the slot, rearrange it, and then try to activate the device again. It is also recommended to change the Internet channel. It is quite possible that the next device update is too heavy or that the data packet transmission channel is occupied by another gadget. Another option is to activate the device through iTunes. If this does not help, the service will offer to restore data, after which the device will automatically return to its previous state.

If the device is not registered

Failure to activate an iPhone online when the gadget and Apple servers are working properly can also be dictated by the fact that a beta version of the firmware was installed on the smartphone. In this case, when a full version with fixes is released, a certain number of devices may “fall out” of the register. In this case, you can fix the iPhone activation failure by going to the developers’ website, where the gadget will have to be added to the database manually by entering information. If this does not help, then you need to contact an official service center, after which the device will be working properly. If the iPhone says activation failed, then this is always a reason to contact the service center.

Sometimes it is difficult to say for sure why the iPhone activation failed. Some factors leading to an error may be interrelated. The owner can only be recommended to conduct a full external inspection of the device, after which not to resort to artisanal methods of restoring the gadget, but to immediately turn to professionals. Almost any activation failure scenario can be fixed, with the exception of a modem failure. Much more destructive are attempts by users to solve the problem themselves, after which the gadget can no longer be repaired.