How to Manually Review Apple ID restriction for lost iCloud photos, data, and Apple Cash?

Apple will lock accounts for various reasons as indicated in If your Apple Account is locked, not active, or disabled - Apple Support

According to various posts, Apple may additionally permanently lock accounts for other reasons (very broadly outlined in section VII-B of Legal - iCloud - Apple ). That may be the case here if none of the previous reasons apply to you. If it isn’t apparent, contact Apple and ask if that is the situation, but don’t expect them to tell you why. You, or somebody who has managed to get access to your account, are likely doing something Apple is interpreting as account misuse. You will have to see if your activities could be construed—rightly or wrongly—as meeting any of Apple's conditions in the legal article. Your evaluation as to reason sounds plausible to me but I am just another user like you and don't know anything more about reasons than Apple talks about in the legal terms.

Unfortunately all content from the old account is lost unless you have it backed up on a computer or other service. You will need to create a new account and stop doing things the way you have been that may have caused the other account to be locked.

In this situation you may be able to still use your equipment with a new account or even no account at all. Apple can completely reset a device if a person can provide sufficient evidence of valid ownership. Check the requirements and steps at: Activation Lock support request - https://al-support.apple.com/#/additional-support Apple says, "Proof of ownership documentation is required," but does not detail what currently constitutes proof other than it “must include the product serial number, IMEI or MEID.” Apple may typically require the original receipt* issued by Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller. If Apple resets the device this will give you access to the device but won't restore access to the account used to lock it. There is nothing that can be done to expedite an Activation Lock request.

*Apple recommends you "Keep your receipt after you buy an Apple device" --> Keep your receipt after you buy an Apple device - Apple Support

Incidentally, the person who posted the first reply to your question has never (as far as I have seen) returned to any thread to answer follow-up questions. As you can see, the first reply isn't terribly helpful in aiding you to understand what is going on or Apple's policy in this situation. You are welcome to contact Apple but I have never seen a case where they said why they locked an account.

Refer to this page for Apple Support features ➔ Contact - Official Apple Support

Select from the presented options until you find a solution for your issue, or see if there is a chat or phone call contact method offered lower on the page under “Get more help” (you sometimes have to narrow down the options multiple times before this is shown). If you do not see your issue, keep experimenting with any series of selections until you reach one that offers a chat session or a telephone call and get the representative to redirect you.

This support article has various country telephone numbers for contacting Apple for support and service ➔ Contact Apple Support - Apple Support For some countries look under “Other” listing at the end of the list. Not every country has telephone support, and phone numbers may only work when calling from the same country.

Good luck!

If your account was mistakenly flagged:

• Apple reinstates the Apple ID
• All Photos return
• All iCloud Drive files return
• Apple Cash becomes accessible
• Messages sync again

This does happen, especially when the cause was mass messaging or identity mismatch.