Yeah, that’s the real issue here. Erasing the encryption keys will safeguard their deleted data on disk, there’s no reason to perpetuate the myth

That’s definitely not good. Supposedly they’ll unlock them if you provide proof of purchase but I never dealt with that so I take it it’s not as simple as it sounds.

Of course, if you’re a legitimate owner (as in, there’s no chance they were stolen and resold) you should be able to unlock them.

I’ve bought plenty of used Apple devices over the years. That’s how I could afford my first iPhone and iPad as a student.

The only reason they’re accumulating is because the previous owners didn’t do their due diligence before getting rid of the devices. Removing activation lock when wiping a device is not hard.

The worst part of this is misled corporate owners who believe the myth that they have the destroy the computers/drives “for security reasons” when erasing the encryption keys does the job of safeguarding their deleted data on disk.

When you erase an Apple device it says right there “remove activation lock”. Isn’t that an obvious way to disable it?

If they had done literally nothing, their devices and users would keep getting targeted for theft (obviously they still are, but to a lesser extent)

I am perfectly familiar with that, I just don’t get the argument that activation lock (a useful security feature that has effectively reduced theft due to its reputation) shouldn’t exist because some users or orgs can’t be bothered to deactivate it.

Just recently I bought a couple outgoing iMacs from work, including a model with a T2 security chip, and IT obviously went through “the trouble” of resetting the device to factory settings and removing the lock. It’s not that hard, and leaves the device perfectly capable of being used by others.

It’s not Apple turning devices into e-waste, it’s users who left their credentials on a computer before disposing or selling it.

If they give you (the original user) a way to unlock it and you just choose to ignore it, how is that on them?

Apple devices are targeted for theft more than probably any other brand in the world due to high resale value. Activation Lock being a PITA makes them potentially worthless to would-be thieves.

It’s only an effective deterrent if it can’t be bypassed by anyone but the original user. Otherwise those bypasses can be exploited.

What do you mean “cannot be removed?”

What you’re describing is exactly what happens when the user clicks “erase all content and settings”: it wipes the encryption keys, removes activation lock and resets the device to factory settings.

Is your argument that anyone should be able to do this when they stumble upon a locked Apple device? How would it prevent theft then, if the thieves could simply wipe the device and set it up as their own or resell it?

The responsibility is on the original owner to wipe the device properly and remove activation lock if they intend to resell it or donate it.

I don’t understand how Apple is responsible for IT managers not doing their jobs properly

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.

How so? The IT managers at these companies can easily disable activation lock when resetting the MacBooks, thus allowing them to be resold or donated to be used by others.

It’s not Apple’s fault that they didn’t do their jobs properly

This is not Apple’s fault. In order for Activation Lock to be an effective security measure and theft deterrent, it must be strict. If it could just be bypassed, then thieves would know how to do it.

The IT managers of these companies can easily unlock the devices when wiping them so they can be resold, donated and generally used by others. They’re the ones at fault here

If it’s consecutive days I usually don’t feel the need to (always stop at chapter breaks).

If I’ve been away from a book for more than a few days/a week, I’ll usually skim the previous page.