MacBooks sold for scrap and Activation Lock.

[Colstan]

I never thought I'd be posting anything from Vice on this forum, but they have a critical article about how newer Macs are being sold for scrap parts because the previous owners aren't deactivating Activation Lock.

Perfectly Good MacBooks From 2020 Are Being Sold for Scrap Because of Activation Lock

It's almost impossible to resell a perfectly functional M1 MacBook because of Apple's security features.

www.vice.com

They're blaming the security measures of the T2, and even stricter security measures inside Apple Silicon Macs. There are always tradeoffs with new features, but the solution proposed is nonsense:

Bumstead offered some solutions to the problem. “When we come upon a locked machine that was legally acquired, we should be able to log into our Apple account, enter the serial and any given information, then click a button and submit the machine to Apple for unlocking,” he said. “Then Apple could explore its records, query the original owner if it wants, but then at the end of the day if there are no red flags and the original owner does not protest within 30 days, the device should be auto-unlocked."

I don't think anybody should have access, period, and it's entirely the previous owners responsibility. It's as easy as selecting "Erase All Contents and Settings", Apple provides a guide on what to do before transferring ownership of a Mac.

 

[dada_dave]

Yeah that’s user error not Apple’s security. It’s the same process as selling an iPhone. If they really can’t figure it out, sell it back to Apple.

 

[jbailey]

Yeah that’s user error not Apple’s security. It’s the same process as selling an iPhone. If they really can’t figure it out, sell it back to Apple.

It's not even user error. The devices in question are deliberately being marked for recycling because they contain user data. The companies that are selling the computers to resellers are breaking their contracts to dispose of the computers. This guy, John Bumstead, is taking advantage of shady practices by the "recyclers" where the sell the supposedly recycled computers to him and he makes money reselling them. His complaint is that Apple prevents this shady (and likely privacy invasive) practice.

 

[theorist9]

It sounds like the problem is not user error but user choice. The IT deparments of these corporations know that, instead of leaving the activation lock on and sending them for recycling, they could wipe the drives, turn off the activation lock, and sell them to a reseller. That would be greener (and possibly more cost-effective), but they choose not to, either because they find wiping the drives and turning off activation lock inconvenient, and/or because there are no resellers set up to to buy corporate-sized lots of these machines for resale.*

*In the latter case they could wipe+deactivate and donate them to the local school system, which would give them some good press.

 

[NT1440]

It’s funny that this story has been all over the place in the last two weeks.

Activation lock has been around for years now, this isn’t a story, but instead seems like a concerted effort to “shame” Apple into weakening an important security measure.

Tech “journalism” is a joke.

 

[Cmaier]

It’s funny that this story has been all over the place in the last two weeks.

Activation lock has been around for years now, this isn’t a story, but instead seems like a concerted effort to “shame” Apple into weakening an important security measure.

Tech “journalism” is a joke.

And as soon as apple loosens the lock, then come the stories about how everyone is getting mugged and having their computers stolen because apple refuses to make the lock stronger.

 

[NT1440]

Honestly it just reminds me of Jim Cramer (the cretin who would be in jail in a Just wold) openly talking about manipulating Apple’s stock price with rumors when he was at a hedge fund back in the day.

I don’t think it’s about the stock though, in our “click driven news” paradigm, saying anything about Apple will generate revenue for someone. That and intelligence agencies are always trying to persuade the public to be against protections that make their jobs harder.