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.
Battery and screen are about all that could be chopped and some imo
> 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 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
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.
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
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.
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
But maybe I was wrong, and locked Macbooks are just as easy to sell as unlocked Macbooks.
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.
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.
Apple already allows you to register a device as stolen.