If Apple Really Cared About The Environment They Would Stop Doing This

[@ThomasShaneHynes]

The amount of people missing the point of this video is insane. He isn't saying remove activation lock, if you have lost your phone or reported it stolen it should stay locked which is just good security. He is saying for phones that haven't been marked lost or stolen they should be able to be reset i.e people who have forgotten their details aren't going to mark the phone as stolen

[@tonyconpint1342]

Also they should provide a way for old owners to contact new owners to get the device back if it was lost. But apple knows that if that happens they wouldn't sell as many iphones.

[@MarioUrquilla]

Pretty common thing here: you don't care for the account linked to your phone until your phone is lost or stolen…

[@erzanis]

Its user fault for not rembering password. In my country, activation lock isnt a problem

[@Dwivil]

@@erzanis victim blaming

[@DT-Nicky]

A Better solution to activation lock or iCloud lock is to either not use it, or stop buying the newest device that comes out. That way when it gets recycled it is beyond the point of which the phone can be used.

[@CryArc11]

This was a massive problem at my old workplace. Customers would buy an iPhone and because we had a 30 day change of mind policy, they could try out the phone and return it. The amount of brand new bricked phones we got back was out of this world

[@d4n93r]

I ordered a iPad once and they put a warning on a piece of paper with instructions how to remove icloud from the device. The warning said that you wouldnt receive a refund if you didnt follow these steps before sending the device back or might even have to pay for damages.

[@syed1x]

you shouldn’t have offered a refund unless it was unlocked

[@absolutely1337]

Yeah. It’s a hassle buying used. You have to add the phone to your account prior to purchase because of activation locked.

[@_hector__]

Those people are retarded holy

[@CryArc11]

@@syed1x whenever it was my shift I always made sure whoever was at the register call me up before returning the product to avoid this issue. Problem was though the majority of returns were at night and on weekends. Majority of the staff were teens that didn't know or care about the issue, no matter how much management pushed for it.

[@kalebv.1414]

Working at a repair shop one of the number one victims of this design is the elderly who don't necessarily understand how the system works. Can't tell you how many times I've had to tell an elderly person their device is bricked is astounding. Then they don't know why we can't fix it and get upset and mad.

[@Tom2404]

"What is an Apple ID? I don't need that. I Never had to enter a Password."

[@rkvkydqf]

In many post-Soviet countries, some repair shops and stores will pair phones to their Apple ID, holding the devices ransom when the Activation Lock comes up. I feel bad for old people being forced into a complicated system of digital bureaucracy only to then be blamed for the expected results of these policies.

[@qvmdaboss]

@@rkvkydqf they also do this to install paid apps on their customers' devices

[@Ferrichrome]

My phone was bricked because the person who owned it passed away. Luckily, her daughter had the password to her iCloud, and I was able to unlock the phone

[@AnonYmous-tr4cu]

Exactly, imagine going to another country or another state. Committing a crime and then trying to say “well i didn’t know”. That’s no excuse! Understand how things work. People want to lack accountability for their own stuff then blame others when shit hits the fan.

[@snowfox7739]

As an Apple fan, I'm glad you brought light to this issue. I'm REALLY hoping that the culture changes for the better after Tim Cook leaves Apple.

[@jm206206]

As an Apple fan, you've put up with their bullshit for 30 years, you'll keep drinking their koolaid, anti-repair, and child slavery exploitation for the next 30 years as well.

[@snowfox7739]

@@jm206206 oh great, another edgy anti-Apple warrior 🙄

[@forcews]

I too hope when Tim Cook leaves, dies, fired then garbage called activation lock is removed after certain years have passed(if phone is old enough then stealing is useless, but can be re used at least) Lets say, world catastrophe comes then Apple servers might be unreachable, but phone service is running within communities still and every phone has to be usable. People must think bigger and even think for worst case scenarios.

[@JustAnotherAwesomeGuy]

It probably won't. Money is their goal. Not making users life easier. The more bricked phones, the more apple fans but more iphone. It's just business

[@gemtun2]

tim cook completely ruined the company

[@remurdereht]

I feel like another thing to consider (albeit less important than the E-waste issue) is simply collectability and legacy. Sure an iPhone 7 might not seem like a big deal now, but in 20 or 30 years it might be a cool piece of retro tech. Imagine if you fired up the original 1984 Macintosh and it needed the original owners login information to function. They're basically insuring these devices will never be worth anything ever again.

[@baraodascolinas979]

I use an Iphone 7 still, with the nightmare situation all around with apple tech post-2010, i am never letting him go away from me.

[@impulsiveurge5837]

And how would this benefit them? You make no sense.

[@wibs0n68]

@@impulsiveurge5837indirectly telling customer to just buy new iphone

[@4444aa]

The legacy issue actually is a lot worse than that, in order to use the phone it needs to be "activated" which can only be officially be done by Apple. As soon as the servers shut down every iPhone ever reset from then on will never work again.

[@Cra3ier]

Apple should allow to uninstall IOS when this happens to let anyone to run android on it

[@HughJeffreys]

Unfortunately lost the keys to my house the other day. Couldn't get a new lock or set of keys because my house was "FindMy" locked. I have lived in it for years but I am not the original builder so there wasn't anything I could do. The house had to be demolished. Obviously this story is fiction and sounds ridiculous but is an analogy to what is happening to Apple's devices. As explained at the beginning of the video the devices pings Apple to check its lock status when you attempt to set up the phone. At this point Apple knows its reset and locked. They actually know the date and IOS version too. I confirmed this with someone at apple years ago. The suggested "fix" i proposed at the end of the video is that when it's reset and it makes the initial ping to Apple it triggers an email. Similar to the mock up one i created. Alerting the account holder that the device is reset and locked. Giving them a link or buttons to put it in lost mode or remove it from their account. If no action is taken within a set period of time its removed. I said 30 days but maybe it could be longer eg. 60 or 90 days. Is this the perfect solution? Who knows I am not Apple. Thats for them to consider and ultimately decide. I just wanted to show that this issue could be mitigated.

[@andrewriley7655]

lmao

[@ThomasShaneHynes]

People are missing the point you are making entirely and it's so frustrating

[@bonefetcherbrimley7740]

Makes me glad I don't buy apple.

[@SeaLevelTZ]

Yes I agree. It would be nice at least if apple gave a warning that if you don't sign out the phone will be bricked if you ever want anyone else to be able to use it. It does seem very intentional.

[@pAceMakerTM]

You didn’t lose the keys. You decided to forget what your key looks like. There are lots of tools and ways to prevent this.

[@DavisMakesGames]

I work in IT and this is the most infuriating thing. Gotten probably hundreds of perfectly capable devices, bricked because it's too hard for Apple to enable them in software I guess...

[@joshuabowen6139]

Exactly fucking this. As an IT Manager this grinds my gears.

[@Zendukai]

IMO Apple has done the right thing, security wise, made it fricking hard to get the phone back to useable. But, you should still be able to take the phone into a apple store so they can identify you with 100 points of identification, even if you have lost access to the email account to verify its you, they can get your access back, at the very least a full reset you lose everything but you get the phone back to use again. Apple did admit to slowing down older phones to make people think they had to buy a new phone. So, with the security and slowing down the phones I would say its a way of generating more $$$$

[@i.t21b_alphonso_luis_vallejo]

Apple is literally a God of Selfish/Greediness

[@Hxmza]

Question is would u pay for software to remove the iCloud lock if it was a thing as a technician who repairs phones

[@TheAntho199]

There is a way to reduce (not fix the root cause) this problem. If you setup a MDM on a device before giving it to the user, you can reclaim ownership of the phone since you (the compagny MDM account like with cisco Meraki for example) counts as the primary owner. I am only letting you know so you can diversify your knowledge, not to argue since it is a very real problem outside the business sector and even inside said sector.

[@BobbyDukeArts]

They took the charger out of the box for their newest phones to cut down on profit losses.

[@Just_Lou722]

Man did I not expect to see you here Bobby. Dayum!

[@underscoredotpng]

duh

[@maskedrebel9670]

BOBBY DUKE!

[@Micchi-]

And samsung copied it after mocking apple

[@RimFaxxe]

Why are you here?

[@noob4head]

Everytime Apple makes a claim regarding right to repair, "security", reducing E-waste, etc. I just laugh cause all they do is make excuses to increase their sales even more. I will never say Apple products are bad but I will say that I find Apple as a company and the way they treat their customers bad. Apple basically has this mindset that if your device is broken, damaged, locked, etc. just buy a new one. Especially with phones this is unacceptable, you already pay a very steep price for a device, you'd at least expect that it would be able to be fixed. If my phone breaks, no matter I'll just buy a new budget phone or have it repaired for a reasonable price. If an Iphone breaks ... Have fun emptying your wallet having basically no option, instead of buying a new one

[@shanepatrick641]

Disgusting isn't it? So glad I got rid of my SE 2020. Battery was trash. And after updates it slowed down.

[@مصعب-خ8ه]

@@shanepatrick641 It was possible and assumed for this iPhone the lowest cost of drawing a good image for new users but Apple continues in its forced and coercive policies

[@Dr-Random]

It’s like this is implemented the way it is so that you do what Apple wants you to do: just get a new phone. Even worse, it’s typically your only option.

[@TheSpotify95]

If your iPhone breaks... at the moment Samsung is offering at least £100 trade in for a Galaxy S24 on any phone in any condition. So for your broken iPhone you trade it in (as long as it isn't software locked or activation locked) and get a better alternative as an upgrade.

[@SalemTechsperts]

Great video Hugh. I own a repair shop and work with one of the largest electronic recycling companies in my area. They have hundreds of iCloud locked iPad's from organizations where the IT department was careless in wiping the data, and left iCloud lock on. I want to make this clear, there IS a workaround. But it involves jailbreaking the device using the physically unpatchable Checkra1n exploit. And it only works on certain devices (iPhone 5s through iPhone X, and some older iPad's). It's ridiculous that, time after time, consumers have to rely on sketchy exploits to take control of a device they outright own. We see it with John Deere, Tesla, Samsung, and Apple. Thanks for making this video.

[@jackkraken3888]

Hold up. If even IT departments are failing to remove icloud accounts how are they expecting average users from doing better? WTF?

[@redstone0234]

THE GREATEST TECHNICIAN THAT EVER LIVED is here

[@Constabruity]

There’s a reason it goes “reduce, REUSE, THEN recycle”.

[@HughJeffreys]

To some it goes: Consume -> Throw away

[@elfedorausado]

Reduce, reuse, repurpose and THEN recycle

[@MrWildchild21]

Apple has another It's our way or the high way, You buy, it dies, we win you lose Please Come again.

[@MrWildchild21]

Produce, Refuse, Total Control and Ewaste then Repeat-Apple Care(not)

[@tylern6420]

@@HughJeffreys they should make find my enter an idle state after a month (maybe a comfirmation prompt asking if you would like to keep it on for another month at

[@RDKLInc]

Great video Hugh! Thanks for drawing much-needed attention to this issue! Probably 800 of every 1000 iPads I buy from recyclers are either activation locked or remote managed, which has the same effect (bricked). Institutions dump millions of phones/computers/tablets to recyclers assuming they will be destroyed, so they just don't bother logging them out. Sure, theft does occur in the world, but the vast majority of locked devices were not stolen. And if the recycler goes to Apple and says "hey, we have 1000 legitimately acquired iPads that are locked, can you help us?" Apple does absolutely nothing for them. One argument is that this is a data destruction issue, but every one of the iPads in my video was wiped and restored (by me, or the previous institution), so clearly this has nothing to do with data destruction. Thanks again!

[@showbizwisconsin8350]

Exactly. I've gotten many phones from recyclers and obviously there is no proof of purchase or way to contact the owner. I have a mint condition iPhone 6 that is locked which is particularly maddening

[@baraodascolinas979]

Apple will not change, we the common people need to hire some serious hackers from anonymous or russia etc and digitally revert the process and restore the iphones. Maybe with a pirate server site to download software instead of apple if needed.

[@dash8brj]

I was on a local pawn broker the other day buying a second hand camera lens. At the loans counter there is a big sign that says "You must sign out of Google or Apple ID before applying for a loan on or to sell your Android or Apple Device". So seems they have been stung by locked devices in the past too.

[@bitelaserkhalif]

For android, it is said to be easy to bypass... (FRP Bypass) iPhone OTOH....

[@1999tacotrd]

@@bitelaserkhalif androids easily bypassable

[@Joesgamesntech]

@@1999tacotrd it really isn’t depending on security update version, it can be almost impossible on newer devices

[@1999tacotrd]

Haven't seen a android yet that wasn't bypassable. As to icloud them peices of sh*t is impossible for most part

[@XDboyLolz]

does android also have that too

[@Spacemonkeymojo]

I recently went to have my iPhone 8 battery replaced and the Apple employees were very particular about the condition my phone had to be in to get the battery replaced. It actually felt like I had to jump through hoops to get the battery replaced. Now I know why, the bastards wanted me to buy a new phone. When I was younger I used to think Apple were a shady company, sort of like that person who is just a little *too nice* that it makes you question their motives. I forgot that in recent years but this video reminds me they’ve always been shady bastards.

[@calamitythewiz]

I worked at a nonprofit tech store that sold repaired refurbished (we fixed ourselves) donated/recycled phones,tablets and Computers and the amount of how many Apple devices we had to scrap because of Activation Lock was insane and it was such a shame because I could see some going to nice homes

[@parodylover999]

you didn't have to, there's guides to bypass, you just had to attach a note saying to not update or reset it

[@raine_tay]

If Apple really cared about the environment, they would stop making the back glass almost imposible to replace, pairing parts to the phone, making fragile cables and actually making the device easier to repair.

[@KofaOne]

If Apple really cared about the environment, they would stop releasing a new phone every frikin year

[@jeremyocampo1529]

@@KofaOne And You think they care? I bet even a lawsuit won't make them change their mind.

[@tylersmith1468]

@@jeremyocampo1529 fr tho. a Brazilian court ordered Apple Pay 4 mil for not including a charger. Apple hasn’t changed

[@raine_tay]

@@KofaOne that really isn't a problem if they even try to make older devices usable/reusable. Slowly releasing phones won't change the fact that old but still usable phones will get bricked by resetting it.

[@jeremyocampo1529]

@@tylersmith1468 right I forgot about this lawsuit.

[@harjoat]

Hope the EU implements regulations to force apple not to remotely lock devices that haven't explicitly been marked as lost or stolen

[@CrazyPlayer-pf2hv]

@@recitationtohear pls be quiet young man said the priest, he was literally the one who made the among us joke in the first place.

[@just-a-bajan6643]

It amuses me how some ppl think. Your phone gets stolen on a train to work, it’s taken to a “repair/refurbisher “ and one hour later some one else has a new Samsung Galaxy, ooops. Stop making excuses for thieves to thrive. But I guess there is no Samsung e waste.

[@CrazyPlayer-pf2hv]

Ur hope is worthless, the EU will never do something good theyre idiots. And if they would do it like 5 planes full of Apple products per refurbisher are loaded xD

[@alastairgreen_Nexus]

Indeed since not all people can memorise their passwords, hopefully EU and ACCC can look into this

[@just-a-bajan6643]

Hope your phone gets lost or stolen.

[@Ghoulstille]

We shouldn't ask these companies to do better because it will not happen, just cut the crap and force them to do it because we all know asking a corporate entity to something nicely is like asking a horse nicely not to freak out when it see's a snake.

[@guts4347]

Want them to do better? Stop giving them money. Buy yourself an Android device and Windows/Linux PC/laptop.

[@circuit10]

@@guts4347 People will still buy them for various reasons (not knowing, not caring, not having a choice, other factors like features and cost outweighing the issue) so we still need regulation too

[@raheem2809]

You can easily bypass FRP by Google

[@baraodascolinas979]

Apple will not change, we the common people need to hire some serious hackers from anonymous or russia etc and digitally revert the process and restore the iphones. Maybe with a pirate server site to download software instead of apple if needed.

[@baraodascolinas979]

@@guts4347 individual consumer activism is ineffective for systemic change, unfortunatelly. It failed in every historical occasion, since slavery (just do not buy cotton or coffe grown with slaves!). The answer is either state regulation or people revolting themselves to change the status-quo (i say we need to hire some serious hackers from russia anonymous or etc and digitally revert the process to make the iphones useful again, maybe setup a pirate site to download software without apple too).

[@srinish1849]

Apple: We are carbon neutral Also Apple (Behind the scenes): We are neutral about the environment.

[@silencer51]

As a tech, I can safely say that the security aspects of Apple devices and relevant services (Apple ID etc.) are the most user-hostile in the industry. Now, while this might be good from a security standpoint, it doesn't help the 75 year old grandma who's locked out of her ipad and has thrown away the receipt. And trust me, there's a lot of those out there. Plus, whenever I've needed to assist customers with password recovery, my experience has been that things never work exactly as they should (cryptic error messages, timeouts on apple id servers, etc). I get the whole 'we care about privacy' thing. But its ironic, on one hand, to have single-handedly created and nurtured an entire generation of essentially computer illeterate people that are unaware they are illiterate under the auspices of 'ease of use, flashy UIs and buzzwords, one sign in for everything, one ecosystem' and then to expect them to be able to keep up with convoluted, obfuscated, draconian security measures, as if they were working for the CIA; Most of their client base are everyday, not computer savvy folk that just want to use their Macbooks to edit family holiday photos in Lightroom or to pass their old Iphones on to their kids etc. tl;dr: yes, this is another way to generate revenue and waste perfectly good devices

[@snowfox7739]

"As a tech, I can safely say that the security aspects of Apple devices and relevant services (Apple ID etc.) are the most user-hostile in the industry." THIS. I was at the ER not too long ago and my iPhone was in my bookbag but I had my Apple Watch on me. Given that I was waiting for a while I wanted to download a game to play but the only thing preventing me from doing so was.....having to put in my Apple ID password even though my watch was unlocked and had a passcode on it....just ridiculous man.

[@parodylover999]

why not make a fake receipt?

[@FloppyDiskMaster]

The environmental hazard caused by millions of working devices being sent to landfill is sad to hear, so sad that it made Tim Cook cry, so he used a few $100 bills to wipe his eyes

[@techguy3236]

@Floppy Dish Master the phones we use are going to end up in the landfill regardless of activation lock.

[@FloppyDiskMaster]

@@techguy3236 after they've exceeded their useful lives. Obviously nobody's gonna keep a shoebox of dead, broken phones around. The problem is that Apple is software locking phones that are still perfectly usable.

[@urgae9125]

@@techguy3236 so perfectly usable phones, iPods, tablets, and computers should just be thrown into the trash, rather than fixed up, and given to someone who could use them, cannot afford the super expensive brand new versions, and given many more years to their lifespan? What a backwards way of viewing items. Do you also complain that “no one makes things like they used to”?

[@2010ngojo]

What a lie. He does not cry enough to even use a single bill. More like wiped his ass with it. Or tears of joy, maybe.

[@daudmeer6852]

@@techguy3236 your brain belongs to a landfill

[@zorbratron]

I have worked in IT now for almost 8 years and every company i worked at has a pile of bricked iphones. I think your suggestion of a grace period is awesome, i could reuse about 30 of the bricked phones that i have at work but they sit in a box. I occasionally power them on in a hope that the previous employee has removed them from their apple account.

[@RyderCragie]

I also work in IT and it is frustrating.

[@DangaRanga]

Me: thinks back to previous employers with self made apple ID's also Me: laughs in ewaste and wasted company money

[@brandonlui]

Phones enrolled on Apple Business have activation lock reset on your MDM portal

[@RyderCragie]

We don't use Apple Business, unfortunately. But I have been looking into it recently. I'll discuss this in our next meeting.

[@All-sk9qz]

@@RyderCragie why not use a jailbreak tool with a Mac computer if the device is older then the iPhone 11 you can bypass iCloud lock it turns the iPhones into iPods so you loose cellular service forever and Face ID and Touch ID won’t work but it’ll be more useful then before

[@timmyfagan9925]

So well said. Disgusted by these massive corporations that know what they’re doing, but ignoring the problem with it.

[@ktomcruz]

If they would simply allow the enrollment of alternative emails upon setup or even allow people within the same family sharing group grant access to activation, I think that would help save a ton of devices that are bricked due to them forgetting their passwords.

[@lanesmith2853]

They just implemented that in iOS 16, so that’s a start

[@97nelsn]

I see this exact problem at thrift stores as well too. While I see older iPhones/iPads, sometimes a more recent model is in the store such as an iPhone 7, 8, 2020 SE or an iPad 6th generation and they’re donated without having the activation lock removed making them useless bricks instead of a useful secondhand device for someone who either wants to fix the iPhone/iPad to its former glory or have someone buy a working iPhone or iPad that’s in a way, affordable. Before I purchased my “new” iPhone (which is used being that I didn’t want to pay full price for the 13 Pro Max), I wiped out my old phone and removed activation lock which made the phone useful for some who plans on buying it (I traded it in with the box which help offset a great portion of the cost of the replacement phone). People who donate these items need to have their devices wiped and unlocked before donating Or else just contributes to the problem of e-waste, but I also think that we should have the ability to remove the activation lock even if the original owner forgets their password, although there are limitations (one time I saw an iPad mini 6th generation at the thrift store with its original box but once it was turned on it was actually marked as stolen so activation lock does have a purpose). Still, I’d rather see a bunch of older apple devices be in use than put into e-waste. It’s how the iPod community has flourished and how even DankPods started.

[@mattelder1971]

Yep, I process the electronics at the thrift store I work at, and I have a bin full of devices that are locked. WAY too many people don't realized that without removing their info, they are donating an expensive paperweight.

[@mjetektman9313]

Yeah, a friend of mine donated me a 6s with broken screen, home button, camera and needs a replacement battery, so far I fixed both home button and screen, now I’m waiting for the camera to replace the remaining parts, it almost turned into a brick since his friend that donated the phone almost forgot the Apple ID password, but still had the phone PIN so I could use it as is for a while, we were both glad he remembered and we could both log out the Apple ID and also wipe it, now I’m using it on daily basis outside home or during bus trips due to living in a dangerous country, I also love bringing new life to e-waste since it’s very useful but also harmful to environment

[@mjetektman9313]

Also it helps me a lot since I love diy repairs and been using old phones to train my repair skills, I miss having the freedom of Android but I’m glad I’m giving this phone a proper use and new life, my friend that donated me this phone also does the same, he did for e-waste iPads, computers, and the list goes on

[@camb9319]

When you have a publicly traded company who is majority owned by firms such as Vanguard, Blackrock, and Berkshire Hathaway you KNOW they don't care about the environment. They only care about their $$ and planned obsolescence is absolutely one of their strategies to ensure a steady stream of devices being sold. Thank you for the video, and all the others trying to spread the word. I agree with you, the ONLY way these deviants are going to change this is by law. Sadly, I'm not sure many governments will do so...

[@gab_v250]

Europe: allow me to present myself. Some months ago the EU council approved for the only universal usb port, the Type C. That means _also Apple_ has to oblige regulations in Europe. And it means that maybe we'll finally get to see an iPhone with a USB C port. I hope that next there is this.

[@wiseuphoria]

but I dont see anyone talking about this issue........ aster 8 months

[@Dr-Random]

I don’t even have a positive outlook if we turn to lawsuits and court visits.

[@liviurosca]

It’s a business at the end of the day… There it’s no such things as environmentally friendly, repairability, it’s just all about dollars.

[@SteveMosetiAliyebarikiwa]

Thanks for bringing this up. I volunteer at a donation centre and we get a tone of iphones that people donate with icloud lock and very functional but we have no choice but send them for recycling

[@XRelays]

as someone who mainly works with Xbox 360 hardware, I can say that ICloud Locking is the RROD of Apple devices. pretty much half of all iPhones sold as for parts on eBay are iCloud locked, and half of all 360s sold on eBay are RROD units, only the RROD was fixed and can be fixed, these iCloud locked devices can’t be fixed no matter what. Theft protection is nice and all but more people use iCloud lock to scam people than use it when their phone is stolen.

[@AMN_98]

Hope this blows up and gains media pressure. This needs to be addressed by Apple. It’s inexcusable and I’m a huge Apple guy.

[@janliu7993]

Apple could easily solve this, in the software have a reset called “For sale” which logs out of iCloud and resets the iPhone

[@niiiiiix]

But that would mean.... Less profit for Apple.... So you know what Apple would do unless they got sued.

[@AyrisX86]

That's already what Erase All Content and Settings does. Activation Lock happens when you use a computer to wipe the iPhone, without knowing the Apple ID password.

[@ronaldckrausejr7762]

They "could do it" on future phones, but not on all of the existing ones out there. For each and every Apple phone that exists in the world today... Once that phone is bricked, it is bricked for life - unless the original owner elects to try to unbrick it. There is literally no way around it. Think of it as an advanced variation of BIOS lock, no software out there or update can try to bypass it.

[@AyrisX86]

@@ronaldckrausejr7762 No? Activation Lock is server-side, so changing the way that it works would also allow older devices to be unlocked. Also, there actually are ways around it, though device support is quite limited and the software is usually quite a pain. Most people claiming to be able to unlock devices are scammers though, so look up trustpilot scores and do research about the company beforehand.

[@Spacemonkeymojo]

@@AyrisX86 do people wipe their phone using their computer still? I haven’t bought or sold an iPhone in a while but it seems like the erase content and settings is a hard thing to miss when getting rid of an iPhone.

[@ShirleySerious]

I work for a company that receives old devices, many of them being iOS devices. A good 80-90% of them are locked in some fashion, rendering them all useless as anything but scrap. It's infuriating and it's also a lot of lost money to companies like the one I work for. I wish Apple would do something about it but we all know they aren't.

[@hazza1o1]

Good, I’m glad so many of them are locked because a large percentage of those phones would have originally been lost or stolen.

[@imdyinginside1919]

Phone are one of the most stolen device I’ve seen because it sell for good money even if it’s lock

[@ShirleySerious]

@@hazza1o1 so you're OK with them ending up in the landfill prematurely just because they're stolen? Even if they've been wiped. What's done is done, even lost phones meet this fate. It sucks that so many are stolen, but they shouldn't have to be bricks. Imagine if they did that with cars.

[@shadowcomputing]

@@hazza1o1 Are you insane!?!?

[@REXae86]

@@ShirleySerious no, they should be bricked if it’s stolen. Not many people know they can report their device as stolen, so it's a good thing.

[@spirit.of.truth.818]

I hope that everyone who reads this posts a tweet talking about this issue.. I'm tired of big companies trying to squeeze the pennies out of us in hidden ways. As someone who enjoys refurbishing iphones I know how big this really is! #nomarkdontlock (meaning that if it's not marked stolen it's not to be locked)

[@Silver_x86]

The problem with that, is if someone reset the phone and added their account, then it would become theirs. The only way to implement this would be for a timed lockout, and if the owner doesn't do anything within a time period, it'd be unlocked.

[@REXae86]

Don’t care

[@spirit.of.truth.818]

@@REXae86 no one asked if you do 🤣

[@mallenge]

Unfortunately you are missing the big picture here. Places like Brazil where iPhones are very expensive and crime rates are high, having a free market for stolen phones is just too attractive. This is a security feature with purpose. If a student is dumb enough to lock himself out of his own phone, he should have a Nokia 3320.

[@pro-hz7kx]

Same in country where I live. If I get robbed on street in broad daylight, at least I hope that POS won’t be able to use or sell my IPhone.

[@SuperSmashDolls]

Another fun fact: if Apple's servers go down or they go out of business the entire fleet of Apple hardware will brick on wipe. This is because they have downgrade protection that relies on Apple signing *each and every software install* on their servers with a per-device key. Other manufacturers use eFuses to achieve downgrade protection but Apple picked the solution that results in the whole *concept* of the iPhone dying with them.

[@albertdiehl1298]

I think what should’ve been done is that iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks that are on Activation Lock should be eligible to be wiped and unlocked to be activated again after 30 or 60 days of it being Locked. This could help older devices have a new chance of life. But of course Apple isn’t gonna do that. This is a perfect example of Apple not really caring about the environment but instead caring more doing an instant money grab on people. Same thing with their repair program, many people though that Apple was going to do the right thing and make devices much easier to be repaired and fixed, but instead we got a kit that takes almost 100 steps to do and even then they make you go through way too much calibration methods to get features like Face ID, Battery Health, and True Tone back on your iPhone and iPad. Apple even went to the extent of now bricking and locking Trackpads if you replace it on newer MacBooks, Even the new M2 MacBook Air. If Tim Cook and the executives at Apple really do care about the environment, they should stop doing these biased hidden lock methods on people. Other than that, their so called Environmentally green plan by 2030 is a bunch of bogus crappy words to make them richer. Apple needs to keep their promise on not just new devices this year and in the future, but also on older devices that have already been made years ago. Cause this alone will help reduce the E-waste problem significantly! #RightToRepair

[@TaureanSmoke]

When does Apple ever do the right thing anybody thinking apples going to do the right thing just shows that they don't really care about technology or better software they only care about being told what's right and what's wrong! It's just sad that 15% of humans on Earth want to buy a device that literally ruined their life and then they keep buying the same brand of device that ruined their life LOL and then they keep buying the same brand of device that ruined their life LOL

[@EliasSchmid00]

The problem with this is that thieves can nick a phone, reset it and then leave it alone for a month. That’s not good

[@TaureanSmoke]

@@EliasSchmid00 why your comment makes absolutely zero sense is do you see all of these iPhones in this video that are dead and not stolen? Lol come on man. Use your brain. Obviously this is a planned situation on Apple's behalf to force people to buy new iPhones. I bet you in that room alone. If you account for every Apple device I I bet only one iPhone or iPad would have been stolen out of that pile. Stop acting like there's an epidemic of stolen iPhones out there because there's not. And the simple fact that if you feel like somebody can steal somebody's iPhone and get inside of it and wipe the device just shows that you actually as an Apple fanboy don't even understand that Apple security is trash. So why even make that moronic comment. You definitely aren't making Apple look good with your response! Just accept the fact that you're a sheep and Apple got you and one day if you keep buying these mediocre devices, you're going to be a statistic with a bricked device.

[@insanelyliam]

@@EliasSchmid00 You can set the phone to stolen mode. Which could remove the 30 or 60 day unlock until it is taken to an apple store with photo ID for the name attached to the AppleID

[@garrettlison4992]

We've seen this at our shop enough and having to throw our hands up and say to contact Apple frustrates both us and our customers. I know it's supposed to be a security feature but who is it protecting, the customer or Apple? At the very least, I feel that Apple should be helping these recycling centers properly dispose of these devices so they don't just collect dust somewhere and really make an impact on e-waste instead of just using recycled tin for their solder.

[@garrettlison4992]

@Arie death I guess I should have done some more research on the topic, but you're right. It makes me wonder how many devices are they putting into the wild against how many are being recycled on a yearly basis.

[@SteveMosetiAliyebarikiwa]

Of course apple aims to make millions of devices each year and call their "best ever yet".. I don't think they care about "older" anymore

[@TechDove]

When apple started removing things from their phones it was never for the environment it was a cost saving measure. If they cared about the environment, they wouldn't have you print out a piece of paper to cut out a small piece to measure your wrist for their solo loop watch bands, only to discard all of the paper when you're done, for example. As well as pairing components to each phone, removing accessories from the box, creating more waste by causing customers to order their own, with their own packaging, their own need to be shipped etc etc

[@johnnycheung5536]

It's not even about cost saving measures, because Apple would've stopped using fancy things like tantalum capacitors in their power adapters. Apple does it to pad its bottom lines, knowing bloody well that everything they claim to "do" is technological virtue signaling. These days *every single Apple product is disposable - even when marketed otherwise*.

[@realcartoongirl]

We don't need you to tell us the obvious

[@AjrAlves]

As an IT support analyst, I've had countless cases like that when a employee would left the company without properly resetting the work iPhone. A quick call to apple with the original buying proof would solve the problem though!

[@NikolaiCherepanov]

Thank you for pointing this out, people want to shit all over the activation lock without understanding how to remove it properly or getting it removed from Apple

[@AjrAlves]

@@NikolaiCherepanov Apple support can solve (generally) that, but you will need the buying proof (and from the first owner)

[@NikolaiCherepanov]

@@AjrAlves yep I’ve done it numerous times for my customers just takes 15 minutes to fill out the form the. 2-5 days of waiting

[@emehlhar]

It clearly has to mandated by governments (like the USB C issue) for Apple to change. Plus, in addition to all Hugh's points, the issue of broken or orphaned phones left by people expiring. There are so many usable or repairable iPhones that people don't or can't unlock on the cloud. Make it like he said, if not marked as stolen, have the lock removed after a few months.

[@isaiahkern9434]

Honestly the best solution would to just allow the device to bypass activation lock, under the context of sending an email of the apple id owner. If it was stolen, the apple id owner could lock out the device from the provide email, and then track it up to 30 days of it's new activation. If it wasn't, they could choose to press "do nothing" or just, ignore the email. And Or have a auto detection system that if the apple id hasn't been used or logged in for 5 months, that it's considered "disabled" in which the device then gets through setup fine. As the apple id counts as in a no longer active state.

[@JJDaMan808]

Something like this is a real ongoing issue. Hope Apple does something about this! They should implement something like you mentioned in this video. Auto wipe iphone, iPad, etc. So it can be reused or disposed of like devices that were badly damaged or such.

[@gonebutyea]

Thank you for bringing awareness to this issue. This is legit a serious issue. Damaging the environment, wasting money, etc. I hope this video blows up in views. It's a HUGE issue nobody talks about.

[@N0gtail]

I work in a school. We boxes of bricked iPads because of this issue. Our device management software generates a bypass code and I do everything possible to restrict adding an Apple ID but stuff still falls through the cracks somehow. We also get a large amount of donated devices which are more often than not locked with no way to find the previous owner. Even with a proof of purchase it's a pain to get devices unlocked.

[@-next]

And why don't you just prove that you are the owner? I find this lock particularly good because imagine this scenario: in the subway, someone stole your smartphone. At subsequent stations, you notice it, but don't have an iPhone to report it as lost. You must wait to arrive at work or at home (maybe 1 hour after the flight), log into your Apple account (if you remember the password, saved on the iPhone) and declare it lost. Or go down immediately and look for a public computer (good luck) In the meantime, the thief will have reset and sold the iPhone to someone who sees it in perfect working order with no iCloud lock or unlock code.

[@reecearcinas9837]

If that is the case, there should be a grace period (like 7 days). It would then check if the phone was in lost mode. If yes, then the phone will lock, if not, the phone will unlock.

[@darthraider450]

On one hand, I had my iPhone SE stolen abroad and had to get it locked down via my partners' phone as soon as the stolen phone connected to a network. It proved to be a fantastic feature as the cretin thief basically ended up with a brick that had the major parts software locked as well. On the other hand, if I were to legally purchase a second hand iPhone, what would stop the seller or former owner from bricking the phone by reporting it as lost or stolen? There are plenty of insurance scams easily done with contract phones where the iPhones are sold to a reseller by using fake proof of ID, falsely reported as lost or stolen and the perpetrator ends up with a new phone, leaving the buyer with a brick and the reseller being legally screwed.

[@MrOwnaginatious]

How can they mark the phone lost/stolen if there is no longer an iCloud account associated with it? If I were purchasing a phone second hand, I would definitely ensure the previous owner had removed their account before paying.

[@darthraider450]

@@MrOwnaginatious imei reporting to the police as well

[@mactep1]

Some sites (like ebay, and Amazon, i think) hold on to the money for about 30 days and will refund you, if you start a dispute and provide evidence that it is in fact locked, if you are buying in person the you can easily check if its locked. Also when the icloud account is removed, the previous owner loses all remote access to the iphone , and the new account you use to sign in on it becomes the owner account(only account that can remotely mark it as lost or stolen).

[@MrOwnaginatious]

Does that do anything other than blacklist the IMEI though?

[@wailfaridi2070]

My dad upgraded to a brand new iPhone 12 from an iPhone 6. He's not tech oriented, so I backed up his data on itunes and restored it onto his new phone. Little did I know he didn't remember his icloud password so he couldn't use the phone that he bought. I tried to reset his password since we have access to the email address, the secondary email address and the phone number, but Apple's recovery isn't like everything else in the industry, they say you have to wait an X amount of time for them to verify that the demand is "genuine", in dad's case it was 3 weeks of wait, for them to allow him to reset the password... He said he'd never buy an iPhone after that mess.

[@JessicaFEREM]

it would be really cool if it would give you the option to ping the owner's new iphone to ask them if it's okay to unlock.

[@zachyergey3233]

As a long time Android user, I do not hate Apple. They make amazing products and beautiful devices. I'm not sure what it's going to take for their long time users to stand up against this nonsense.

[@MagentaNimbat]

Im sicken that this video barely has over 100K views. This is such a huge problem that More people should be aware of. Great video on shedding more light to this problem

[@jaredkennedy6576]

This is one of the reasons why, as I head back to school to get a degree in mechanical engineering, I want to work towards a focus on building for repairability. Yes, this has the potential to reduce the number of sales to first buyers, but also selling parts and offering refurbishment at reasonable prices can make up for that.

[@ooooneeee]

that's awesome, the world will be better for it.

[@jackkraken3888]

While I admire you beliefs the bottom line is that big companies like Apple make a lot of money from selling complete phones and you're basically asking them to make less money, they aren't going to do that from the goodness of their hearts.

[@aristidispapasaikas1864]

Every day I hear a new thing that Apple does to prevent users from using used or refurbished devices. It's just sad

[@tehdeadmouse]

I ran into a similar issue with my fathers phone. He had accidentally driven over his phone and the screen was demolished. I figured there was no other way to recover his data other than to repair the screen, in which we did. Once i finally got in, i realised that somehow the phone was permanently locked as we had supposedly entered the passcode one too many times. To this day, i don't know how it would've happened. My best guess is that the screen had glitched in a certain way which had random inputs on screen, thus repeatedly entering in random digits on the passcode screen. The amount of trouble I ran into just trying to reset his apple ID was excruciating as well. After some back and forth with Apple's reset system, it soon dawned on me that the phone was now completely bricked, and there was no possibility of recovering the phone or its data.

[@WantBadtime]

The digitizer was damaged and caused the phone to ghost and enter the pass code incorrectly so many times while there was no display.

[@Zerbey]

It may no longer be the case, but about a decade ago I got my kid an iPod, he somehow got it activation locked AND locked himself out of his e-mail. After calling Apple Customer support we explained what happened and the guy asked for the serial number, and then was able to unlock the device for me. They never asked for proof of purchase, so there is some discretion or at least their used to be.

[@mattelder1971]

@@Zerbey LOL, as you said, that was a decade ago. it no longer works like that, and hasn't worked like that for years now.

[@tehdeadmouse]

Then there might be a possibility of recovering the data from the phone. Thanks for that

[@tehdeadmouse]

Then there might be a possibility of recovering the data from the phone. Thanks for that

[@BlueBarracuda]

Goodness, even Google realized how useless this feature was in the long run when they had FRP(Factory Reset Protection) and eventually removed it from later versions of Android. Come on Apple. Do better. Be better.

[@xXxmlg_vacxXx]

At least FRP can be bypassed

[@FoxAvril]

I have never been against the secondary market, and I agree that even an outdated but fully functional device can be used repeatedly as long as it functions properly. Let it lose some of its capabilities, but it is still a working device that can be used. Personally, I would suggest automatically deleting all data from the smartphone if it has not been used for a long time, transferring it to the status of a new user in half a year. As for the theft, I doubt that a completely blocked smartphone cannot be sold or used in any way, even a device with the status of a brick can be sold for spare parts, which is what some attackers use, for them sometimes the value is not the information that is in your smartphone, but its mechanical and electronic components. To be honest, I would not be very upset if I lost my smartphone and someone found it and did not return it to me and continued to use it, provided that all my data and personal information would be deleted automatically without the possibility of receiving and reading it. We are very much attached to material values in this world, forgetting that we are ultimately not eternal and leaving a legacy to our descendants in the form of a mountain of non-working and difficult to recycle garbage was unwise. I agree with the author that Apple should rework its security policy within reason and allow the reuse of its products without harming the environment and the security of its users' data.

[@CardboardGuy]

I recall there was a flaw in this. If you chatted with an AT&T agent and gave them the IMEI, they would tell you the phone number attached. (it doesn’t matter what carrier the phone is on BTW) From there, use the phone number to contact the owner. Or, you can look up the phone number online and see people attached to it and contact them that way. In all, Activation Lock is just sad.

[@vaseline5070]

At my workplace before switching MDM providers, we were unable to block users from logging in with their own Apple ID. Of course company policy said not to but users did. This generated in a box of iPhones being recycled because of Activation Lock. It's a huge problem. Especially when employees leave the company or don't remember passwords.

[@MrJturner74]

The worst part is apple doesn't give you any option to contact the original owner. If Apple knows the original email they can forward a message. The super sinister part is apple doesn't inform people that their lost device has tried to contact them.

[@Akwon408]

It's more the customers fault then anything. Apple should push educating people on what activation lock is. I do a lot of buying and fixing phones on the side and the amount of people who do not want to communicate or work with me on removing activation lock is infuriating. They don't know what this feature is and assume everything is reset and erased but no there's a second layer. I have tried giving them instructions on how to remove it remotely but they refuse to work me and think it's to much of a hassle. By default activation lock should be turned off and only the tech savvy people should know how to turn it off. Hey if they get it stolen, that's on them. They weren't going to get it back anyways because they originally don't even know about the find my feature anyways.

[@MrGarryGrey]

You know they won't change anything till they start losing sales. Even if they ever fix it, no way I'd ever buy an Apple device. They'll always find a way to control their users and devices.

[@nairocamilo]

@Arie death That is true. But, that is only true because Apple users trade liberty for security, freedom of use for comfort (although this has been the case as well for Android) Anyone can safely accuse Apple of conditioning their userbase into total submission.

[@JacenM]

Yknow Google does the same thing to all Androids? Reset it without removing the google account on it and its bricked

[@nameless-user]

@@nairocamilo The thing is, this philosophy somehow _sells._ People _want_ Apple to be the caretaker of their devices.

[@danteerskine7678]

​@@JacenM wtf are you smoking??? I just reset my moto g51 completely and the device hasn't been bricked. android is not as iOS

[@JacenM]

@@danteerskine7678 "Completely" means you wiped the Google account off of it prior to reset. My entire career is phones, I know how Android and iOS work. In fact I use both.

[@airingcupboard]

I sympathise, but as someone who recently had their device stolen, to know that the device can't be used after a wipe without signing out the Apple ID is incredibly reassuring. I changed all my account passwords as a precaution. The device never showed up in Find My again. I marked it as lost but now marked to be wiped. Should someone contact me, I'll refused to allow it to be used at all. It's an old device, so actually my data is worth more than the hardware. They could make an app to explain the process before giving it away or selling it.

[@StormHawksHD]

You are not the point of this. If you have a secure password on the phone they arent getting into your data at all. I'd say if I had a device stolen, I'd be erasing it remotely and then removing it from my icloud account after a year. Since by then any money that could have been made from stealing it has already been done. You need to stop making it about yourself and think about what will happen to that phone after its stolen. Sold for parts regardless of what you do. So stop having a giant stick up your ass and pretending its about data security. (Stop being ignorant)

[@circuit10]

They could definitely improve the situation in some way

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

But it's not either/ or. There are ways to protect people from stolen phones that do not lead to endless piles of e-waste.

[@gergelyleventecsabai7336]

The best solution for this would be if someone resets an apple device which then becomes icloud locked, the owner of that apple id would get an email with two options: option 1: keep the device locked because it was stolen or lost. Option 2: unlock the device because it was sold or they don’t care about it anymore

[@---mj6fx]

That will increase scams because anyone can sell you a iPhone and intentionally keep it iCloud locked

[@kevinwong_2016]

Good

[@mikelund625]

This is an amazing point that most people need to hear and understand, I completely agree with you Hugh! I have piles of and sold piles of perfectly good phones that as you know can pretty much be only harvested for parts, and as you know I'm sure, purchasing a phone in hopes of repair only to have another paperweight! Anyways, thanks for all the great videos, keep up the good work!!! Cheers from the States!

[@OrganicAct]

Great video Hugh! I never realized how much of a problem this was. I had this issue with my MBA when I sent it in to be repaired. It took several steps in a walk-through with support to get the device off of Find My and iCloud. I also experienced it when I sold my previous iPhone to an ecoATM kiosk. I knew how to remove the lock but I can see how someone could miss it or get confused by it all. Thanks again for the video.

[@jakthebomb]

I complain about this with Apple Business Support all the time. I have stacks of iPads and MacBook Pros that we can't use because we can't find the original order forms. Even though our Apple Devices are in Apple Business Manager. I have a stack of 2018 MacBook Pros that add up to nearly $90,000 of paperweights because of this stupid Activation Lock.

[@pablouribe1522]

This feature is built so that whatever happens, Apple will get the better hand: They sell their product as more "safe" but by bricking perfectly working devices, they force people to buy a new device which is it is core business.

[@alc5440]

I think having it default to activation locked after a restore is the most secure behavior and the only real way to guarantee a stolen phone doesn't get activated. I always thought of it as a necessary evil but I really like your idea of having the activation lock expire after a period of time if the device hasn't been indicated lost or stolen.

[@xaverlustig3581]

Permanent deactivation should under no circumstance be done automatically, but only at the legitimate owner's explicit request.

[@Dr-Random]

⁠@@xaverlustig3581 just asking, you say it’s unlawful? Either way Apple hasn’t, doesn’t, and never will care.

[@xaverlustig3581]

@@Dr-Random I'm not a lawyer, and the legality depends on the country you're in anyway. I just think the control should always be with the owner.

[@govecomm]

This is a great security feature added by Apple, and there is nothing nefarious about it. There is no accounting for stupidity and people not knowing how their technology works and how to use it correctly and take responsibility. I know Apple is an easy target to make these critical videos about, but I guess it gets the views and one more comment.

[@Lol5967]

Now I see why Apple wants people aged at least 13 to have their own iCloud account.

[@NatK2010]

I agree

[@mystogan4040]

I also see this daily as an AASP. The sheer amount of Apple appointments we receive is intense. Even to perform/create repairs using Apple's system it requires FMD to be turned off. I find it ESPECIALLY problematic for elderly customers. Forgotten passwords, you would think resetting the device would do the trick but FMD is 99% of the time enabled by default once logged into an icloud account. As a retail company as well we have taken quite a few losses on Apple Products as FMD wasn't removed prior to return and sometimes people don't catch it. I like FMD from a security standpoint ( despite disliking Apple ) but the sheer amount of E-Waste it generates is insane. We have a system at work that informs us by SN/IMEI if the device is locked/reported stolen but I had NO clue that site was removed. Yikes

[@himynameisryan]

As an apple user this annoys the hell out of me, so thank you for saying this I love the idea of removing the lock after 30 days if it isn’t marked as lost/stilen

[@joespice785]

I've been dealing with this issue recently. I've acquired more than a dozen phones online that are perfectly good for use, but are icloud locked. I thought about this many times actually, Apple's greed has ruined perfectly good phones from ever being used again and a lot of these phones are no longer even useful to me. I have 1 phone that has been labeled "Lost" and its a iphone 5 which came out 9 years ago now. There's no way in hell the owner cares about that phone anymore, plus it got wiped.

[@mycemiegh]

i have locked iphone 4s, 5c, and two 5's just because theyre locked by my friends (who lost their apple ID) and its just stupid that apple does this

[@joespice785]

@@mycemiegh Its all about their greed really. Do you think Apple wants you to buy an 80$ iphone 6s for your grandma or do you think they want you to buy their new 1000$ new iphone 14? The Iphone 6s is now the oldest phone that can work on the new networks and its a great phone.

[@hazza1o1]

Those devices you “acquired” were most likely originally stolen or lost. Just cause you got your hands on them down the road doesn’t mean they should be unlocked for you. The original owner is still the lawful owner of them.

[@hopolapopola]

@@hazza1o1 these comments you're "posting" are woefully misinformed and repeating the same lie over and over again won't magically make it the truth 😊

[@hazza1o1]

@@hopolapopola so how about you show me how it’s a lie and misinformed rather than just stating it is so?

[@djuroradulovic1371]

In Bosnia, we buy those devices, remove the lock by tools and then sell them...

[@-next]

Don't talk when you don't know: companies and schools use a (free) Mobile Device Management solution, allowing in particular to delete the unlock code or the Apple activation lock (via a kind of password single system)

[@sdewey4152]

Apple, the God's of ewaste, unless you're an Apple fan...shame it's not biodegradable like an actual Apple. They took the charger out, to charge you the same amount for a phone and have retailers push chargers on you, at a huge premium.

[@jennyc9508]

They have also introduced a recovery code now, where they dont keep a copy generated, your expected to know it. Unfortunately my elderly clients get given the devices set up by shops and are unable to remove the code for reset because they cant find it or remember it and Apple refuse to help because yet again its not following policy so cant help. To me its stupid, they take VAST amounts of personal information off you to set up the Apple store, why not use that as means to prove you are the account holder, so if you loose your email access, mobile phone number the account can still be recovered. Then a device can be unlocked from Apples side and wiped like they are doing, or the password can be reset to let them back in and remove it. Its stupid simple but dont do it and I have no idea why?

[@Sevinki]

The account can already be recovered if you lost access to both the email and phone number. You just need to be able to enter both on a website, but you dont need access to receive any codes.

[@evil1st]

old people just need to stop using phones

[@TheAlphaWoomy]

Yeah and if politicians and CEOs actual cared about the environment and were worried about rising sea levels they wouldn’t be buying beach front property. It’s all about money NOTHING ELSE.

[@exxxo45]

It was pretty telling to me when Apple refused to contact the owner of an iPad I found. I could see a portion of the owners icloud email with the middle part blocked (for security I guess). I contacted an Apple support agent to alert the rightful owner that their device was found and they straight up refused. I provided the serial number of the device and the availabile portion of the email available to me. Their policy is that they don't get involved. At the time I found it very strange but now it makes total sense in the context of what I'm learning about Apple. I kept the device around hoping that either I'd find a way to contact the owner or the owner would eventually remove the iPad from their icloud. A TOTAL BRICK

[@Demondude321]

Thank you Hugh for bring this up, I am a phone collector and I hate it beyond words when I get an iPhone that's activation locked when I spent money on it untested. It's ludicrous how bad Apple designed the activation lock.

[@flashpoint5292]

I'm surprised that a lot of companies still use Apple products since it seems any alternative is way better and easier to use as well as they'd last longer since they don't have to worry about being bricked

[@danteerskine7678]

brand loyalty. this company loyalty is just a joke

[@evil1st]

well they are premium devices, even though apple makes them "disposable" they are still built really well and they have insanely good hardware

[@danteerskine7678]

@@evil1st good hardware and insane build quality don't mean shiit when the software is shiit, in the case of the iPhone, it's a useless paperweight when it's bricked.

[@pro-hz7kx]

@@danteerskine7678 IOS isn’t shit

[@aelaan12]

My experience is similar. I have stopped purchasing any used Apple devices unless I can install it while the previous owner is with me. It is a security feature, but is it going to far? Was it because someone left a phone on a bar and it was discovered and published? As an example: Two months ago I found out my mother in law is no longer using her tablet, an Android device. Within three hours we had it reset and setup for her and she was so happy. Oh, I am just going to buy a new one is something we hear too often. We don't need to when the existing device (less than 6 months old) is perfectly usable.

[@filenotfound__3871]

People: Apple, show aus you actually care about the enviroment and fix this Apple: *pairs the battery to the specific phone (batteries are a wear element, much like a car brake pad) *kills features of the phone when a screen replacement is detected (R.i.P face ID, true tone etc.) *Non replacable SSDs in their laptops (Storage devices are also a wear element, seriously, imagine having to buy a car ebvery time it comes time to replace the brake pads) *middle finger to the self repair program by making it possible but making sure noone would ever do it by making it overcomplicated and cost more than the authorised apple technician *Forcing wireless charging on their phones (The best wireless charger on the market is 45% efficient while the shittiest cable charger you find in a dollar store is 97%, efficient the rest of the power is a waste) *builds in advertisements into IOS (almost as they don't have enough money...) Apple: Damn, people still think we care about the enviroment?

[@prawdziwypanjablko]

Most of the things you have written comes from data securityrity. Congrats! You don't know how  devices work.

[@tristanraine]

@@prawdziwypanjablko None replaceable SSDs are for data protection? My brother in christ there's encryption software for secondary storage for a reason

[@filenotfound__3871]

@@prawdziwypanjablko Fun fact, I am a technician and I sure as hell know how devices work, If other companies don't have to do it, why would apple have to do it?

[@filenotfound__3871]

@@prawdziwypanjablko and how the hell is building advettisements into their operating system for security, same goes for the display, battery, storage device, what it makes your car more susceptible to theft if you replace a w5w light bulb in your headlight?

[@prawdziwypanjablko]

@@filenotfound__3871 there is a lot to explain about 256bit data coding. Read more. No, not the internet but actual IT Security books for pros.

[@Techno-Universal]

A lot of those phones could otherwise be donated to impoverished countries for their populations so their populations can also be connected! :)

[@arjan1995]

I think the 30-day grace period would be really great. If you lose or someone steals your phone, they can't use it outright and you have plenty of time to mark it as lost or stolen. If so, it should be permanently locked, until you've marked it as 'found' (can be by entering your password, since you know that to mark it lost anyways). If not marked, a new buyer may need to wait for up to 30 days, which can be somewhat annoying, but at least the phone will be usable afterwards. Lets hope this will happen, and that older phones will get the same benefits (likely possible, since it's serverside)

[@Mr_Lesbian]

The activation lock itself is bad enough but the fact that you can't check if the device is locked before buying it anymore is awful and I can't think of a single benefit to the consumer of not having this tool. Surely if people can't check that a phone is activation locked this would make it easier for people to sell stolen phones, as people wouldn't be able to check if they were stolen or not.

[@ThomasShaneHynes]

It's not meant to benefit the consumer, it's so you'll have a poor experience from buying used so you'll want to buy new next time.

[@Mr_Lesbian]

@TFUSION I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here, but okay!

[@georgepapas]

Apple doesn’t care about the environment. I purchased and iPhone 12 after being a long time android user. Of course, I needed a charger for it. My iPhone was delivered, the following day my charger was delivered. Two trucks two boxes, two boxes for the boxes. How is this better for the environment? Surely having an option to purchase and iPhone with a charger would make sense or at least to ship them out together in a single package?

[@MissAnimegrl]

I work in Rent-To-Own, and we used to sell Apple products, especially phones and watches. We don't sell watches or phones anymore because whenever we would have customers who went past-due on their Apple items, they'd return them WITHOUT logging out of Apple ID and Apple Lock, or even wiping the device. This caused us to have to either reach out to Apple to try and get them completely unlocked, OR, tossing them. Why couldn't we just get the customer to get it unlocked from the get go? Well, riddle me this-- would someone who refuses to pay $500 backrent want to be helpful to us by letting us be able to resell their item? It became such a waste of money for our company that now we just just sell Apple computers, and policy is now that customers MUST wipe the piece themselves before we take the piece back, else we can't repo it, thus the customer has yet another chance to steal our products. See our issue here? I hate Apple Lock.

[@man_eating_monkey]

Have you thought about signing into iCloud as the store before renting an item, and then only disabling FMI once they have paid it off?

[@MissAnimegrl]

@@man_eating_monkey Can't because then the customer won't be able to sync contacts, apps, and other items they already have on other products. We have to keep the product ready with the expectation they are going to eventually own the item, hence rent-to-own.

[@MissAnimegrl]

It's for this reason rental stores prefer to sell unlocked Android phones. Andriod phones allow us to have a pre-installed security program that locks the phone when a customer is over 7 days past due on a payment or when the phone is legit stolen. A screen displaying the store name and a request to enter a special security code appears and the phones are unusable. Apple won't let rental companies have this program on their phones because they have Apple Lock. So, small PSA: if you see someone selling an Android phone and a lock screen requesting a code is there with a rental store chain's name, then that phone is stolen and you should report it. Or if you buy a phone and this pops up, that phone was stolen and bricked, so, return it or report it.

[@man_eating_monkey]

@@MissAnimegrl Ah thanks for that info. I forgot that there’s a lot more to iCloud than just FMI. I know that Apple lets you use a separate Apple ID for the App Store to iCloud, it’s a shame they don’t let you do the same for FMI. Glad to hear that Android implements locking sensibly though!

[@kralekis]

Wait, so basically my only Apple device that someone gifted me is bricked and I have no way to unlock it because the person gave it to me changed account? How is Apple even thinking of this... I really hope someone skilled at iPhone modding/repairs could change the phone's memory in some way.

[@Whovitaku]

I work as a technician and the whole find my system is insanely difficult if the customer doesn’t know their password. We can’t check a phone in for repair or trade-in if find my is turned on and if they don’t know their password, they either have to reset it or start account recovery which can take up to a week or longer. People often come in begging for the phone to be unlocked but in store we can only direct them to account recovery or call apple support. The system is not forgiving and appointments take longer if someone forgets their password. I wish there was like a way to just wipe the device by using the passcode or for like managed devices have a mass sign out option so all devices can turn off find my that like belonged to a school or company.

[@mattyboy3908]

100% this, Hugh. Well done for highlighting it.

[@deepakkapoor8202]

thanks for making this video, i always wanted to throw some light on this issue but never managed to, you did a awesome job, hopefully Apple responds to this with some changes which get these devices a bit more life and alleviate stress on natural resources and truly make a difference to their green goals that they always like to boast , Apple be responsible and save this planet

[@mirkopacchioni4158]

Really interesting video, it really makes you think about how things, maybe even done in good faith for safety, can turn against you and generate a bigger problem than the one you are trying to fix. Nice video as always

[@grahamgreenegold3470]

In much the same way people use their amazing shiny devices whose lithium batteries were almost uniformly mined by slave and child labour in the Congo to post critical views of the legacy of racism and slavery present in today's culture, we have a situation where the largest company in history can design a system that turns working devices into e-waste under the pretence of security simultaneously proclaiming its ethical and sustainability credentials. Welcome to the post truth age everyone. Irony and self awareness are long gone, a distant memory whilst we are herded toward ever newer game changing devices that in fact perform the exact same function as their predecessors whilst generating huge profits and maintaining a system that has needless slavery and environmental destruction at its very core.

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

Doing the ethical practice hurts apple's bottom line. Thus, they will never do it.

[@filenotfound__3871]

Well, google has theese anti theft locks too, but there are still workarounds, this week, I saved a galaxy a30s, galaxy j5 and a galaxy j3 from the ewaste

[@mattelder1971]

I've tried most of the workarounds for FRP on several Android devices lately and none of the ones I've found worked. Mind pointing me in the direction of one that is actually reliable (and not infected with malware)? I have several devices sitting in a bin at work that I could get working if I had a way around that.

[@filenotfound__3871]

@@mattelder1971 Sure, I found one that works for android 9 - 12, but even worked on a galaxy j5 running android 8, the only problem beeing that I only works for Samsung devices. Also, if I post a link here, youtube will delete my comment, and the program is called frp unlocker, so I'm not sure how to send you the link.

[@mattelder1971]

@@filenotfound__3871 Yeah, well searching for "frp unlocker" comes up with dozens of results, most of which I've already looked at. Thanks anyway though. And many of the devices that I need to unlock are not Samsung devices.

[@filenotfound__3871]

@@mattelder1971 In that case look for android *insert version here* frp bypass, not frp unlock, because hard reseting the phone from settings (after setting up the device) will actually bypass the frp lock because the phone is unlocked, so the phone assumes you are the real owner and let's you delete the previous Google account.

[@mattelder1971]

@@filenotfound__3871 Yes, of course I know that you can easily reset a phone if you can get into settings, but that isn't the case with most of the devices that get donated at the thrift store I work for. We get phones that have likely been sitting in someone's desk for months or years without being charged or used. The people donating them don't seem to realize that these devices are essentially worthless paperweights without being able to unlock them to properly erase them.

[@tonyconpint1342]

Thank you very much for this video! I have gotten a few devices of my own that are locked and are of no use to me. It is a very flawed system and i know apple could fix it easily if they really cared. A few more things I want to add, is that on the activation lock page they should add a "contact owner" feature, where it would, without showing any personal information, send a imessage or email to the owner when clicked so they can remove the device or get it back. The device does have to be connected to internet to check activation lock status anyways. Another thing they should add is for all devices, lost mode included, activation lock should be turned off after 5 or 6 years, from when it was reset, so that way old phones that are still good don't get bricked forever just because they are lost. The last thing is that if apples servers go down or something happens where the phone can't contact apple, the phone is bricked weather it is locked or not. Most Androids don't need internet access to set up, so why can't iPhones be that way as well? Thank you for shedding light on this topic, which does not get anywhere near enough coverage as it should.

[@norvarg712]

They don't care about the environment lol, they made 6.5 billion dollars extra from not including the charger due to being able to ship more devices per shipment.

[@MKRARTSLLP]

I love how u don’t force ad in your videos. !!!

[@nekoyd]

"bricked for life" must be real uncomfortable 💀

[@mwestie12]

As an auto mechanic I'm a huge supporter of right to repair. But I will say that with the future of the automotive industry turning to electric vehicles. I have a feeling that there is going to be a surge in deaths caused by people accidentally getting electrocuted. So I can actually see the right to repair being taken away in the near future.