Unable to accès my first iPhone 5

Without the credentials to the account holding the lock or proof of ownership sufficient to convince Apple, this iPhone is indistinguishable from a lost or stolen iPhone, if not actually lost or stolen.

You’ll need to recover access to the Apple Account holding the lock, or need to present the purchase receipt (from Apple or an authorized reseller) to Apple and request Activation Lock be removed.

“Thanks, it was at least 10 years ago, so I don't have that receipt. Shouldn't Apple be able to go back and see that I changed my email address?”

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Getting a Hardcopy Receipt:

Take this up with Apple. If you are near the Apple Store, then stop in, ask the manager for a hardcopy. If that is not an option, then Contact Apple Support, requesting a PDF document be email to you.

Contacting Apple Support:

For Financial Assistance, Contact Apple Support. These are user-to-user forums. We are not Apple.  Apple barely reads these site on their own time, as it is. So, talking to Apple, they will see this from their side, and will run you through the fix. Here is the information for contacting Apple Support:

Apple Phone Support:

• Contact Us - Choose Locations
• Proceed from there as Necessary

“Unable to accès my first iPhone 5: […]Any idea how to get my iPhone 5 back to operational mode? I would like to recover the data on it.“

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All another reason to keep hardcopy or emailed receipts for costly items.