DMarquesPT t1_j6mzmhj wrote on January 31, 2023 at 2:12 PM

Reply to comment by BadLuckLottery in Activation Lock is a great feature, but needs a rethink as 2020 Macs are turned into landfill by hugglenugget

This doesn’t make Apple products any less “sustainable”. Simply makes them more secure, but that security can easily be disabled by the original owner when reselling.

That’s like saying if someone sells a car without the key, the car is less sustainable because the new owner can’t use it without the key.

Maybe it never should have been sold without the key in the first place.

Aperron t1_j6n2zcm wrote on January 31, 2023 at 2:36 PM

If keyless but otherwise drivable cars were piling up in storage lots the way apple devices have been since iPads started featuring activation lock have been at recycling depots, they wouldn’t start shredding all the cars up, they’d be changing out the ignition tumblers and coding new keys.

There’s no reason a server side mechanism at Apple can’t be put in place to release activation lock after notifying the registered email address and a waiting period passing with no response. As part of such an unlock, a secure erase of the storage would mean there are no security implications and usable hardware would be diverted from becoming needless waste.

SezitLykItiz t1_j6n77qk wrote on January 31, 2023 at 3:06 PM

I can't believe you're serious right now. You're saying Apple should keep a database on when each computer was locked, and after a certain point automatically erase and unlock that computer.

For all we know the computer would have been in use the whole time and just not connected to the internet. I myself have a computer that's in my storage for one year and I don't want anyone touching it/erasing it. Yes I have back ups but I still dont want that.

Aperron t1_j6n7zr7 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 3:11 PM

Apple already has a database matching devices with their iCloud email addresses that were used, that’s why it’s possible to log in and release the lock on your own devices.

All they need to do is have a web portal where a recycler can submit a list of serials for hardware they have, push an email or notification to the registered account and check if it’s been marked stolen using FindMy and allow an unlock and wipe if everything checks out after a set period of time.

SezitLykItiz t1_j6n8b2u wrote on January 31, 2023 at 3:13 PM

The recycler can already do this without Apple's help.

Aperron t1_j6n8wzo wrote on January 31, 2023 at 3:17 PM

No, they cannot. Sometimes they can even wipe the storage using the recovery boot menu, but as soon as the device contacts apple when connected to a network it’s going to prompt for iCloud credentials and not allow any further use without them.

You clearly have zero experience in this area, this is and has been a very well known issue with iPads entering the waste stream for a very long time, and everyone involved knew it was coming to computers as well when Apple announced the T2 chip and how it was going to be integrated with activation lock.