Post #2572524

2026-04-16 06:53 UTC

@can@haz.pink I’m not doubting that there’s a problem of locked machines downwind in the second hand market — people do die without providing their passwords, so there are machines that “died” with their owner, and that is a waste. I’m just trying to understand in what circumstances Apple has the power to do anything about it, if any.

Replies (1)

@can@haz.pink 2026-04-16 07:09

@LoneLocust@mastodon.social Apple can unlock these Macs, and there’s a process to do it. But you need an invoice with the serial number that states that you are the owner of the device. Obviously the rules there are very strict, otherwise every thief would just fake an invoice and get the Mac unlocked, at which point why even bother with the lock. The process works well for people with an original invoice from an Apple reseller (I’ve done it many times myself), but you probably won’t get anywhere as soon as the Mac has changed owners once. Personally, I think it’s a good compromise. The fact that it’s almost impossible for thieves to unlock Macs is a huge win, and *if* people properly dispose of the Macs, reselling/recycling works still.

Open ##2572525