That’s how bad your iPhone and Mac’s Activation Lock is for the environment

Apple is a strong supporter of recycling, but Activation Lock means that an iPhone, iPad or Mac is often thrown away. What is the reason?

Apple introduces Activation Lock

Apple introduced Activation Lock for your iPhone, iPad or Mac in iOS 7. With this lock, the company wanted to prevent theft. Apple devices were very attractive to the black market at the time: they are small – so easy to steal – and expensive devices. As of iOS 7, Apple has therefore made it more difficult to resell stolen Apple devices.

Read also: iPhone theft decreases thanks to activation lock

When Activation Lock is enabled, an Apple ID and password must be entered before your device can be disabled, erased, and reactivated and used. Even if you wipe your device remotely, no one can reactivate it without your permission.

Activation Lock blocks old devices

This is precisely the problem: old Apple devices can no longer be used due to this activation lock. If you sell or give away your old device, the activation lock must be turned off. Otherwise, it will not be possible for the other party to reset the device.

This problem is greatest in companies that replace employees’ MacBooks once every few years. These MacBooks are often handed over to shops or companies, so that they can then be sold as refurbished again. However, this is impossible due to the activation lock, which means that many MacBooks and iPhones are still thrown away. Very bad for the environment of course.

Solution: Disable activation code on reset

In macOS Monterey, Apple has come up with a solution to this problem: you then get the option to disable the activation code when you reset the Mac. You will then have to enter the activation code during the reset. As a result, it is no longer necessary to enter the code when restarting the laptop.

Read also: With iOS 16.3, your iCloud is only really safe, provided you activate this option

In practice, however, this rarely happens, especially with Macs and iPhones used in business. Employees forget to switch off the activation code, making the devices unusable. It is unclear how many devices are unusable as a result, but it is probably a large number worldwide. As a result, good MacBooks and iPhones are often thrown away.

Send email for reset

It is now up to Apple to solve this problem, so that not so many devices are destroyed unnecessarily. This is possible, for example, by sending the old owner an email if someone tries to reset an iPhone and encounters the activation lock. The owner can then agree if the iPhone, iPad or Mac has indeed been sold or given away.

It is to be hoped that Apple is working on a solution to the problem, because it is of course a shame that so many good devices are thrown away. The activation code undoubtedly works well against theft, but must be circumventable with the permission of the old owner. Do you want to sell your device? Read here how you can best sell or trade in the device.

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