How do I activate my old iPhone 4s? So, my mom gave my brother her old phone to use as an iPod. He used it for a while and asked me to reset it because he couldn't download apps (We didn't have enough storage on it) So I did.

After resetting it, I got the the "Hello. Slide to set up" Screen. I went through that and got to the "Activate iPhone" part. I put in my Apple ID and Password. It didn't work.

I remembered that my mom made a new Apple ID so I put that in. It also didn't work. For the next few days or so, I tried to put in the same ID and password. It wasnt working. 

Can anyone tell me what was wrong? My brother is mad the he won't get his used iPhone and I don't want him to be disappointed.
You NEED a SIM to activate the phone. After activation you can take the SIM out.