Reset cell phones without the password

[Frank Cox]

Again, the objective isn't/wasn't to recover any data or access any accounts, but merely to get the phones back into use rather than tossing them into the trash.

The technical ability of the folks who have physical possession is not sufficient for try-this-try-that tinkering, so trash it is.

[Marco Giustini]

Calling Apple doesn't require technical skills IMHO.

That said, I found what Apple calls "legacy contact" and apparently allows the nominated contact to get access to the account (yes, more than you actually want) with a death certificate AND an 88-digits code. This needs to be set in the OS before the owner passes away though.

However, it seems there also is the option to just get the mobile unlocked so it can be re-used and that apparently only needs the death certificate.

Again, only Apple can help you. They should be able to give you a clear answer of what can and cannot be done.

[Mike Blakesley]

If the phone has face recognition available, I wonder if it would work to print up a life-size photo of the person and use that to unlock the phone. Would that work?

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

While I cannot speak to android, for Apple it will not work. Apple explicitly programmed to prevent that.