Perfectly good M1 MacBooks are being scrapped because of Activation Lock [video]
youtube.comI would be pretty annoyed to discover Apple unlocking my Activation Locked devices without contacting me, positively identifying me and getting my permission to unlock them. The whole point of Activation Lock is to ruin the resale value of stolen Apple products.
> The whole point of Activation Lock is to ruin the resale value of stolen Apple products.
Software-locked products are just be broken up and/or sold for parts[0] - so thieves will only be slightly less motivated. The downside is donated and estate sale M1 mainboards will be condemned to the trash heap. Less technical people are also more likely to throw the whole computer away.
0. I do this already to feed my repair addiction. I buy from my favorite charity thrift store, so the goods are not likely not stolen. A device with cracked screen can be fixed by parts from an activation-locked device.
> Software-locked products are just be broken up and/or sold for parts
Yeah, but the value is a fraction of a working machine. Base M1 Macbook Airs are selling for 800€, I doubt you'd get half of that for the parts in an activation locked Macbook. And it would take 10 times as long to sell it, because the market for parts is tiny compared to the market for working Macs.
If there was a big market for used parts, then the M1 MacBooks would not be getting scrapped as the video implies.
> Base M1 Macbook Airs are selling for 800€, I doubt you'd get half of that for the parts in an activation locked Macbook
All true, but the next question is: would a thief not steal a MacBook Air if they are only getting €400[0] rather than €800? IMO, halving the reward won't make a dent on the rate MacBooks are stolen, whole inconveniencing everyone else who cares about aftermarket repairs.
0. Actual thieves are unlikely to sell their wares at anything close to full price, unless it's a an organized ring - so the actual difference might be between getting €200 or getting €100. Either is free money, from thieves perspective
Thieves might need a fence to sell a locked Macbook for parts, but there's no way a thief would sell an unlocked, working Macbook to someone for 200€. It's trivial to sell working Macbooks on local classified websites. You don't need a fence to sell an unlocked Macbook.
In my experience, if you sell it for a good price (10-20% below average) it's going to be sold within days. So the reward would be 800€ for unlocked Macbook vs maybe 100€ for a locked Macbook if you are lucky selling it for parts to a repair shop that doesn't ask questions.
And that's assuming you have a base model: Models with extra RAM and SSD go for higher prices, but if you sell it for parts those upgrades are worthless.
> So the reward would be 800€ for unlocked Macbook vs maybe 100€ for a locked Macbook
As someone who frequently browses used electronics - you're way off on the locked Macbook prices - you probably won't even get a locked iPad (latest 3 generations) for €100 - let alone a MacBook.
A locked 2020 M1 MacBook Air is going for $319[1] on eBay. Compared to $600[2] for an unlocked version of the same model on the same site. So my instinct of about half-price for locked device checks out
I wasn't saying that you could buy a locked Macbook for 100€, I was trying to say that the thief might sell it for 100€ to a dealer, because it's harder to sell a locked Macbook for parts than a working Macbook.
But maybe I was wrong, and locked Macbooks are just as easy to sell as unlocked Macbooks.
I guess one pro to the lack of end user repairability, due everything being soldered to the mainboard, is that the majority of components are permanently affixed to the bricked ssd and security chips.
Battery and screen are about all that could be chopped and some imo
People are surprisingly resourceful: there's an old YouTube video I saw of someone in Shenzen building a working iPhone from parts.
> Battery and screen are about all that could be chopped and some imo
Battery and screen, and case, trackpad, keyboard, speakers, audio daughterboard, ports, touch Id button, hinges.
I dream of learning to do electronics repairs (as a hobby). Were / are you a (former) professional?
I'm a complete noob, I can only do assembly-level repairs: replacing batteries, screens & such. All I do is unscrew things, remove ribbon cables and put things back together - and maybe some terrible de/soldering if replacing a battery.
I only got into it when I had to replace a cracked tablet screen (the Nexus 7 was great!) All you need are basic tools, spare parts, the right YouTube/iFixIt video, patience, and the accepting that you may make a mess of your current project.
If you want to try it out, I'd recommend fixing a broken gadget that would have otherwise been discarded. You'll exercise finding the right repair tools and how to find the spares online
That's great to hear! I've got a few devices laying around that roughly match that description, would like to find a good source for stuff with cracked screens. Until then eBay it is!
Is there no serial matching on M1 preventing reuse of mobo and other parts?
To my knowledge - not for laptop parts like display assembly or keyboard. Do you think such system would be a net-positive? I.e. 3rd party recyclers & repair shops having to contact previous owner before they can use parts that have been sitting for months/years on a shelf.
But is it worth it if we create more electronic waste because of it? I somewhat like the idea of the activation lock system, because it makes the devices unattractive for stealing it. On the other hand it creates more unnecessary waste (at least they way Apple implemented it).
A way to unlock them should be provided. Report the serial to apple, they try to inform the owner by mail and/or push and after a 30 days grace period it should be unlocked. Another benefit of such a system is that it might even help to locate stolen devices.
I can already locate my stolen device through find my.
If anything I want Apple to be even harder on this so that no used component could be put anywhere else and work. Ideally I would be able to remote detonate the battery to deter thieves, but there are sadly legal issues around this.
But if somebody were to steal my laptop I would have to buy a new one, which would cause more waste. The best thing to do therefore is to ensure that nobody steals laptops.
If you want your stolen mac to be usable, you are free to remote wipe it and unlock it…
Yes, because fuck you for buying a stolen product? Are you actually perpetuating making stolen goods resellable?
Would it really be that big of a problem if Apple simply allowed you to register a device as stolen? Let's say if a device is not used for 30 days, and the original owner takes no action, Apple would allow reactivation.
Apple already allows you to register a device as stolen.
Actually, they are not “perfectly good”, because they lack provenance. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provenance
Suggesting that someone manufactured a dead MacBook from scratch, just so they could then turn around and strip parts out of it pushes the limits of credulity.
Huh? I don’t follow. Provenance here is being used in the sense of “documented ownership”. If you like you can use “chain of custody” instead.
Apple has been trying to crush repair supply chains for years claiming that any parts entering the country that could be used to repair them aren't legitimate parts, because of infringement of patents, etc...
on parts that Apple made, and put into devices that failed, and were then pulled for use elsewhere.
Provenance is to prevent forgery, there's no forgery going on here... just Apple trying to eliminate the concept and tradition of property rights for someone who buys something from them, using whatever flimsy excuse they can find.
Perhaps the term provenance was misleading. I simply mean that those MacBooks are not perfectly good, because it’s not clear that they were legitimately and willingly sold. The activation lock release procedure is simple to follow during a legitimate exchange, and quite amenable to a follow-up if the sale was legitimate - therefore a MacBook with activation lock is less likely to have changed hands legitimately.
Relatedly, I really couldn’t disagree more with this being an attack on “property rights” by Apple. If anything, I feel like activation lock has given me a strong new right over my Apple property, a right that most laptop owners do not have.
Wait until it breaks, or Apple arbitrarily decides not to support it any longer. You'll likely have second thoughts.
Apple boasts great device security, I refuse to believe that in 2023 it isn't enough to just wipe the storage encryption key. Device will still be usable and customer data protected. Oh well, the problem would be even less severe if these devices had removable storage. This is yet another anti consumer and anti environment greedy move from a company that markets lock-in practices as features.
If you're okay with your stolen device being reused as long as they can't access your data, you can do that, click the "Erase" button on the Find My app.
And for the cases treated in the article, where there's no person to erase such data in the first place? Rare earth paperweights?
Process should be improved at those companies and/or the recycling firms should refuse Apple products that are still activation locked. It will slow down process; but, it is an appropriate route.
As for dead people, a death certificate + 40 days (or a longer waiting period) should be sufficient, imo.
For dead people there's this whole system: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360 + https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208510
I think the point is not (just) data protection, but also to discourage theft by making them useless if stolen.
Apple is doing the right thing here.
This might be avoided if our justice system was willing and able to go after these thieves, despite their relatively low-value crimes.
So again, it's not the mega corporation that is greedy, it's the poor. Wow!
It's no "the poor" its the thieves. Are you insinuating that all poor people are thieves?
No. But most thieves steal because of their financial situation, I would guess.
Most theives are poor, but most crime is committed by a very small number of people who are opportunitiest. Remove the oppertunity and you remove the criminal.
Just to make devices less desirebale for thieves. And it is quite valid point.
And is this preventing theft in what measure? Data at hand?
I'm having trouble parsing what you mean here. Could you elaborate further or use different words?
Thanks!
Does any data exists that can prove such countermeasure is lowering the rate of theft for Apple devices only, or is it just speculation?
Lots of data. Police departments in San Francisco, New York and London saw pronounced drops in iPhone theft rates shortly after Activation Lock was introduced. https://archive.nytimes.com/bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/1...
Thieves have taken to threatening the people they stole from because they simply aren’t able to bypass the activation lock: https://appleinsider.com/inside/iphone/tips/do-not-remove-ic...
While a device could be scrapped and sold for parts, many components in the iPhone authenticate with each other, which makes it even more challenging to usefully sell the parts. The same authentication has been criticized as obstructing legitimate device repairs, although Apple has been (dragged into) better supporting self-service repairs more recently.
The security is also in the fact that the stolen devices are almost worthless becoming well known.
Yeah, the security of their profit.
No, security on the fact that when thieves break into my office, they leave the Apple computers because they know they are just dead weight with zero resale value.
They grab all of the other hardware though, the ones with no protections.
I'm having a hard time believing that these measures are by any means preventing theft. The scene with a thief going "oh no, it's an Apple device! I am not gonna steal it" is almost comical.
Devices will be stolen anyway and scrapped/dropped instead.
PSA: Enable Bitlocker and LUKS on your devices, folks. Your device is 100% going to be targeted now.
I have second-hand knowledge of a situation where a friend's office was broken into, the thieves left all Apple computers but grabbed monitors and PCs.
The thieves weren't random crackheads breaking in on a whim though, they specifically knew what the expensive stuff looked like (colour calibrated displays, drawing tablets) and left the cheap and impossible to resell stuff alone.
And then you find the place the thief dropped it at, via Find My?
It's a small price to pay as a planet for not getting your laptop (or phone or tablet) stolen, I guess?
Backdoors can (and therefore, will) be abused, so it is better that there is no way around these security measures.
it's doing exactly what it was designed for. you can easily contact the previous owner to unlock them... though it's obviously not feasible if it's stolen.
Whatever the environmental and security arguments pro and con, Apple has a strong financial disincentive to unlock these machines.
I’d assume legal as well, forcefully unlocking a laptop which turns out stolen sounds like a bad plan.
I'm in two minds about this, I am glad that there is no way around activation lock, but of course it produces waste if nobody else can use it.
It would be great if they could engineer a solution in that the device is activation locked and be factory reset and reused.
There was a discussion around activation lock somewhat preventing thefts due to the risk that the device becomes activation locked. But I don't know how truthful that is. As stolen devices are often sold to unsuspecting users with activation lock enabled.
My iPhone was stolen in Kenya. I watched the thief take my iPhone to multiple used iPhone resellers via Find My iPhone, trying to sell my Activation locked iPhone to whatever shop that would accept it.
There are anecdotal stories of thieves just dropping a snatched phone when they see it's an iPhone.
It requires very specific skills to dismantle it to resell-able parts - and even those are hard because the components are linked and can't be sold separately.
> My iPhone was stolen in Kenya.
Then as a deterrent, device lock does not work much.
I am also happy that the thief does not get much benefit for their crime.
The thief may not have known which phone manufacturer I had before they blindly reached into my pocket. If all phone manufactures had device locks, maybe less people would steal phones.
For the impact someone should compare before and after activation lock is launched.
Yes, many studies were already done on this topic. For example, in the six months after Activation Lock was introduced on iPhones, thefts in San Francisco dropped 38%, compared to the 6 months prior. https://archive.nytimes.com/bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/1...
Activation Lock was launched in 2014 with iOS 7. It did reduce theft.
It will as this becomes known.
I think forcing a factory reset while retaining information that it was stolen is a way better idea than just bricking the device. I have no doubt that apple looked at though and decided this was easier better for them than their customer.
Because now the customer needs to get a new laptop whether the laptop is recovered or not. It also eliminates a secondary market increasing demand.
Please no. Making my MacBook less attractive to thieves is something I paid extra for. There is peace of mind in knowing my laptop is just a brick without me, it makes it more possible to recover it.
But I can see thieves making the case that it would be less wasteful to let stolen laptops be more fence-able.
Absolutely not, I don't want my information retained on that device at all, I want it gone if I'm not getting the device back.
This is amazing, as an M1 MacBook owner I see it as a great advertisement to buy Apple products.
I'm torn on this whole M1 MacBook scrap situation due to Activation Lock. On one hand, I get the need for security. Activation Lock makes Apple devices less appealing to thieves, which is a win for owners. I've seen cases where stolen iPhones are practically useless thanks to this feature. But on the other side, it's frustrating to see perfectly usable tech turned into waste.
Apples does have owner transfer service that works very well, I've used it for a few sales and now there's also a "Legacy Contacts" feature if someone passed away (added 2022).
What would it even mean to "retain the stolen status" if you can reuse it normally?
I mean that when you use the mac with the stolen disk, the status would still be "stolen".
Apple already have an owner-transfer service that I've used many times, the problem is how this would work if someone passed away.
It would make sense to disable some features, even if it's still in "stolen" status, so that it's not completely wasted.
> Apple already have an owner-transfer service that I've used many times, the problem is how this would work if someone passed away.
Did you configure this too? https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360
That one didn't exist when I last used the transfer (Looks like it was added 2022) - Nice one! Thanks.
Make it so the main account it belongs to can't be removed/disabled, but can't be used to install new software, and location history can't be disabled.
Give owners a chance to reclaim it, but allow some degree of use over just bricking it.
I think the main reason for using activation lock is to make stolen products worthless. If there's a way to use stolen devices, then they'll be worthwhile to steal.
There's a middleground between fully useable and brick though.
Not being able to remove or use the main account and having location history always on would go a long way.
People can be trained not to buy a device where the main account can't be removed or the device can't be factory reset, and having the location unable to be disabled would deter a lot of thieves.
I don't want a middle ground, I want stolen devices to be 100% brick until returned to the owner.
If you want to buy & sell used Macs, you need to check them first to see if they are locked. Just like you'd check if the keys work before buying a used car.
> I want stolen devices to be 100% brick until returned to the owner.
Which is just contributing to the ewaste problem. What I proposed has now downsides unless you want to be petty.
- A stolen device that is 100% brick has zero value, so there is no incentive to steal it.
- A stolen device that can be used with some limitations can be sold for a higher price, so there is a much higher incentive to steal it.
Call me petty all you want, but if you steal my Mac I'd much prefer it to end up in a landfill rather than have the thief make money from it. If they can't sell them, they'll stop stealing them at some point.
> A stolen device that is 100% brick has zero value, so there is no incentive to steal it.
Clearly false. The parts still have value.
> A stolen device that can be used with some limitations can be sold for a higher price, so there is a much higher incentive to steal it.
A thief has less incentive to use something that is constantly broadcasting its location in a way that can't be disabled.
> I'd much prefer it to end up in a landfill rather than have the thief make money from it.
Environment be damned, right?
>> A stolen device that is 100% brick has zero value, so there is no incentive to steal it.
>Clearly false. The parts still have value.
Yeah, the current implementation of activation lock does not brick 100% of the laptop.
But nevertheless, since the video is about locked Macs being scrapped, the value of the parts must be pretty low.
> Environment be damned, right?
I assume that the environmental impact of stolen Macs being scrapped is going to get lower and lower as thieves realise locked Macbooks have a low resale value.
> Yeah, the current implementation of activation lock does not brick 100% of the laptop.
Even if it did, the part still have value.
> the value of the parts must be pretty low.
I mean, screens, ram, hard drives etc are worth whatever they are worth.
> I assume that the environmental impact of stolen Macs being scrapped is going to get lower and lower as thieves realise locked Macbooks have a low resale value.
When they steal they don't often know what type of machine they are stealing as they can't see in bags.
The suggestion I made is better for the environment without making things better for thieves.
There's a huge market for second hand Macs and iOS devices. I've bought a few and never had an issue with activation lock, because the seller just deactivates it before selling.
The only people who have an issue with activation lock are people who want to resell devices from questionable sources.
A colleague of mine currently has five MBPs sitting on his desk. He's a foreign contractor, and the MBPs are owned by his agency. They didn't have a good asset management plan when they were purchased, so they were "bound" to the contractor that used them first. When those people moved on to other companies, the agency has no way to remove activation lock.
At least one person claims to have forgotten their Apple ID's password - they don't have any personal Apple products - and the only available alternative is to ship it back to the agency, have them track down the original purchase receipt, and ask Apple nicely to unlock it that way.
So no - those are not the only people who have an issue with activation lock.
... and for what it's worth, I like the way it's currently set up.
> at least one person claims to have forgotten their Apple ID's password
I think you can reset your Apple ID password with the device password (unless you already wiped the device).
That particular situation is even more complicated when you dig into it.
The MBP was originally enrolled in the contracting agency's MDM system. They discontinued that, removed it, and it was enrolled in my employer's system. A few months after that person left, it was removed from my employer's system.
The MBP wants an MDM key:
We can't provide that because it was removed from my employer's MDM system. As a fallback, the Apple ID and password of the account previously used would work:Enter your MDM key to activate this device.
We can't provide that because even after tracking down the machine's previous user, they claim to not recall the password. They tried to reset their password, but the password reset email was sent to... their iCloud account, which they can't access.This Mac is linked to an Apple ID. Enter the Apple ID and password that was previously used with this Mac. j•••••@icloud.comAt this point, the only available option is the recovery process through Apple, which requires the original purchase receipt (including serial number!). I'm not sure if it's because of the agency's policy or Apple's, but the agency said they can only do that if they have it physically in their hands at the time.
So, in short, that particular MBP is a brick unless and until it's shipped from my colleague's desk in Argentina to the agency's headquarters - then they should be able to unlock it.
Finally, consider the value of the time involved here. My colleague estimates he's spent eight hours trying to get it unlocked. That was in coordination with the IT folks at both my employer and the contracting agency - so figure a total of ~30 hours burned so far.
Based on the average salary of a "software engineer"[0], 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year, we've spent $1,728.84 already on a dead laptop[1] and haven't been able to get it working. That's already enough to buy a new machine with the same specs as this one. It quickly gets to the point where a smart company will just "throw it away" and buy a new one... because it's cheaper.
0: https://www.indeed.com/career/software-engineer/salaries
1:
$115,256 per year / 40 hours per week / 50 weeks per year = $57.628 / hour
$57.628 / hour * 30 hours = $1,728.84
“Those companies are selling their perfectly good used cars without giving new owners their keys, and since the security system in those cars is really good and can’t be overridden, they’re trash.
Bad carmakers! Could you just allow us to use your cars without keys??!”
Seriously. Blame on the institutions that don’t unlock the devices, maybe they just have no idea. Blaming activation lock is totally silly.
Maybe a way to “ping” an activation lock “owner” for “lock deactivation” and allow deactivation if no answer in, say, 90 days, could be a useful improvement; but the fault of this is not Apple’s.
Some sort of way to contact people who own activation locked devices that have been stolen would be nice, I once got an activation locked Apple Watch in the mail (long story) and tried to return it to the owner and was pretty much told “no you can’t really do that” by Apple, and there’s no way to unlock it back to being a functional watch either which is my second preference if it’s completely impossible to contact the owner. The only thing I could do was sell it on eBay as an activation locked device to someone who will presumably part out the device and toss the main board since otherwise it’s just e waste for my junk drawer.
I'd love to have a cheap used M1 macbook to play with.. but at the same time those activation locks are useful and gave me better resell value for my apple stuff.
Still sucks because there are people who just cant afford a brand new Apple laptop but would make great use of a used Apple Silicon macbook. Instead they are going to get a used thinkpad/inspiron because those are resold for cheap instead of being scrapped. Wasted opportunity for Apple to get people hooked in the ecosystem
How about the facility to connect to WiFi from that screen and trigger an email to the previous owner, ok to unlock this device or is it stolen?
This is the video I would post if I were a fence.
One reason people buy Apple products is because of security. Undermining activation lock would destroy that.
Are these MacBooks stolen?
They aren't stolen, but it's also not fair to blame Apple for bricking them. These are most likely sold by schools and companies in bulk as they replace them for newer models. The sad truth is that "No, these aren't bricked, the seller just couldn't be bothered resetting them".
Don't blame Apple for the MacBooks being scrapped, blame the organisations that resell them without resetting them because they really don't care if they are refurbish or just dumped in the landfill. Apple made a perfectly good anti-theft solution and now people are upset that they forgot to ask for these devices to be unlocked before buying them.
If these buyers are truly that upset about the environmental impact, send them to Apple and let Apple recycle them... But we all know that they won't be doing that, because what they are upset about is losing money.
Just make there be a transfer ownership key, that the user must request, and the recycler won’t accept without.
Having apple unilaterally unlock the device is not the only solution, just the recycler’s preferred one.
This would also protected unlocked macs from being stolen en route, like in the post.
If I go into my iCloud account and remove the device off my list, does activation go away even if I didn’t explicitly remove it before I get rid of it?
If yes, that would be more than enough at this point.
Yes. It's possible that the device still "thinks" it's locked, but then the person who has it can factory-erase it, and when it contacts the server it will not show up as locked because you removed it from your account.
A bit disingenuous to post these particular macs as a problem when you have mountains of decade old macbooks in background.
All that said, his proposed solution sounds reasonable.
Apple has no incentive to address the issue, as it would upset the original owners. Also, an unlocked device may be resold, resulting in a lost future sale.
Given Apple's limited responsiveness to customer pressure, the best approach may be to involve the original owners in finding a solution. This may involve ensuring that all owners are aware of the problem and providing a simple way to erase the hard drive and set up a generic account and password. Simplicity is key. Additionally, offering a small token of appreciation, such as a Starbucks gift card, could be a nice gesture to those who participate.
Install Asahi Linux?
The system was specifically designed to prevent that too. To install Asahi Linux, you need the macOS user password. You probably don't have it. No worries, just factory-reset it. Now you have to get through activation before you can set a user password.
There's some pre-activation done out of the factory so that the Mac doesn't need to call home and check for lock on first boot out of the box, but if you wipe it, that's gone, and it does need to call home.
More info by one of the engineers who designed the Apple Silicon boot system: https://twitter.com/XenoKovah/status/1504797988358602764
That would not work; the lock is implemented by the SOC at a level higher than macOS- it is done by what is now the integrated features of the T2 SOC, which has its own little RAM and does it's own disk access and encryption and controls the boot-ability of anything off the SSD.
The operating system is not what is implementing the lock.
The device is locked on a hardware level, just "installing linux" won't bypass that.
I think we should tackle this problem by collectively teaching people not to steal.
Legit resale people can be contacted. People who were tasked with destroying equipment, but trying to resale should be upfront about their operations and get unlocks before accepting delivery.
I think we should tackle this problem by collectively teaching people not to steal.
I'm sorry, but do you actually think that people steal because they weren't taught otherwise? I mean, perhaps this works with, say, wage theft but it just doesn't pan out to theft of laptops. Everyone knows this is frowned upon. You can lessen such theft by making sure folks don't feel compelled to steal by making sure you have a robust safety net that allows for pocket money and buying computers and things - but you simply won't get rid of it completely.
In any case, laptop theft isn't a question of "teaching people not to steal". Theft happens worldwide.
Teach people not to buy activation-locked laptops, and thieves won't have anyone to sell them to.
No, we should tackle this problem by improving the mean quality of life of all humans. People steal because they are poor, unless they have a mental disorder.
What do you mean, there's a lot of millionaires and billionaires that are stealing from society at large by shady business practices or tax evasion, and they're definitely not poor .....
Oh. I see your point.
The desire to be a billionaire is a mental disorder.
> I think we should tackle this problem by collectively teaching people not to steal.
Yet again the blame is shifted from the ultra rich corp. to the poor?
Folks, don’t steal!
(I’m doing my part)
Really, this is disgraceful and it's unacceptable that Apple hasn't come up with a work around... Just as millions of iPhones and iPads have been scrapped due to Activation lock, we are now seeing 2018+ MacBooks scrapped at recyclers as well, due to the "feature" being enabled on those devices.
For what it’s worth, the volume of device fraud Apple already deals with is insane.
- If you can provide proof of legal purchase (the receipt must include the serial number etc), you may be able to get it unlocked at https://al-support.apple.com/
- There were a few cases of the owner dying and their relatives being unable to unlock their devices. Starting in iOS 15.2 and macOS 12.1, the owner can designate a Legacy Contact who can access their iCloud data and unlock their devices if they die: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208510 So Apple did make progress in "working around" this problem for legitimate cases.
- If you bought it second-hand... then it's good thing there is no workaround, because preventing resale of stolen devices is the whole point. Return it to the seller and demand your money back.
While this feature exist apple will continue to get my money. Activation lock is awesome.
seems like they'd think its beneficial for them to have people throw away perfectly good laptops