A look through Apple’s support forums, Reddit and even popular Apple websites reveals a significant issue that is affecting many Mac owners. Activation Lock, the feature that protects your Mac from being stolen by ‘binding’ it to your Apple ID is rendering many modern Mac laptops useless.
As explained over at Macworld:
Activation Lock associates a device with an Apple ID, and that Apple ID username and password have to be entered to gain access to the Mac, even if it has been erased.
With the used Mac market being quite lucrative, there are many people who sell their old Mac to partially fund their new upgrades. But unless they break the link between their Apple ID and their Mac, the new owner is stuck with a beautifully designed objet d’art and not a functioning computer.
Apple’s latest Macs, featuring the M1 or M2 system on a chip are also equipped with T2 security chip (it was actually introduced in 2018), can’t be used, even if they have been completely wiped before sale or disposal.
While some parts can be salvaged from a locked, much of the machine remains useless ending it’s likely to end up in landfill, disrupting Apple’s vision of a circular supply chain where parts from old machines are disassembled, recycled and reused.
What’s needed is a process that enables Apple and Authorised Repairers to bypass Activation Lock when the original purchaser authorises it. Apple does offer some support for bypassing or disabling Activation Lock but the process is relatively complex. And if the new owner of the Mac can’t contact the original owner then they could be completely out of luck.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.