Hacker News Reader

Comment by abeppu | Hacker News Reader

> Owners can now remove devices via web site I think. So if folks are saying these are just broken, have owner turn off activation lock

For this to work and for the device to _see_ that it has been removed from an account requires that even in it's locked that it must be able to start up and allow the person with physical access to at least configure some network details right?

View on HN

Yes, but this makes perfect sense as activation lock only comes into play when the device is working. So when you go to reset the device it checks activation lock during install.

> Owners can now remove devices via web site I think. So if folks are saying these are just broken, have owner turn off activation lock

I expect that some means to "phone home" is required. I just had to spend an hour on the phone with Asurion to avoid a $300 fee for returning an iPhone for warranty replacement where the Activation Lock wouldn't turn off despite removing the device via the web site.

I don’t think asurion spends the time to do the reset flow if the lock is showing as on. In most cases users don’t turn off lock after the fact. I thought reset flow was needed to get network connectivity back which is needed to check lock status.

I think you used to be able to run stolen phones back through insurance claims as broken but I think that has stopped being possible as they take a harder line.

On my call, the rep put me on hold for a few minutes and came back saying that they could verify I'd removed the device, even though the activation screen was showing. It may have also just them giving me a freebie since I've been paying them for well over a decade.

I'm not saying they can't figure it out, but there is a lot of repair flow stuff that may not do that because if the person didn't unlock before mailing not that many will unlock after mailing? Or even know how to?

Find My relies on BLE and other devices in that mesh network to transmit location (and “make sound” requests) in case the device is offline/soft-off, maybe Activation Lock has a similar implementation? Find My just hangs onto a cryptographic proof to disable Activation Lock and other devices around it deliver it in case there’s no internet connectivity.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com