Is it possible to restore a deactivated iPhone 4s?
Unless there's an active SIM in the phone or the IMEI is in use on a CDMA network (like Verizon or Sprint) then nothing will happen to it if you wipe/restore from a backup. It might say it's trying to activate but it actually won't. In the background, it'll attempt to "activate" but will just get a null response from whatever cell network it was trying to activate on. Feel free to use it like an iPod touch. If you DO want to use it as a phone, however, you just need to either put an active SIM in it or call up Verizon/Sprint (or whatever CDMA carrier) and give them the IMEI and follow their instructions to activate it on your plan/line/whatever.