Roger Fingas
For reasons unknown, Apple has taken down the iCloud Activation Lock status page on its website, which used to offer a convenient method of determining whether a used iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Apple Watch was stolen.
An Apple support document that pointed people to the page was updated on Jan. 24 to remove any reference, and the direct link has stopped working in the past day. The status system let users enter an IMEI or serial number.
The updated support document suggests that people buying a device test Activation Lock hands-on, and have the seller help (in person or otherwise) if it's still in effect. In many cases this is impractical, such as when buying online from someone in another city.
The change could potentially help the black market or even increase thefts, given that sellers have a better chance at pulling off scams.
Activation Lock has been on available on Apple devices since iOS 7, and more recently watchOS 2, meaning that many people buying a used Watch or iOS device run the risk of getting non-functional hardware.
Cities like New York City and San Francisco have regularly had to cope with robbers snatching devices off of unsuspecting victims.
In rarer cases Apple stores themselves have become targets, assaulted in smash-and-grab raids made possible by the company's preference for glass facades.
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55 Comments
Odd move by Apple. Pretty much everyone buying in person rely on the online AL test tool to ensure the phone is unlocked before organising a real-world meet.
Bad move by Apple. Making it difficult if not impossible to determine if an iOS device is activation locked. I hope to hell that they have something better planned that will roll out soon.
Guess many of you haven't seen this video:
https://youtu.be/AYETzuYlEjE
Con artists in China were using this to get around activation lock likely in an attempt to re-sell stolen goods.
More than likely Apple got wind of it and had no choice to shut it down immediately.
The majority and law-abiding citizen suffers yet again. Thanks China!
We need to find real reason why Apple removed such important tool. When buying used iphone, I always use these two tools/sites provided by Apple https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ and https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/# This tool was excellent for helping buyers of used iphones not getting screwed by shady sellers on Craiglist and similar sites. Such tool saves time and agony for both buyer and seller. With IMEI and such tool, one can easily check/avoid lost/stolen iphone on market with icloud lock and also the one Apple will not service because the returned iphone somehow got back on market. So, not sure why Apple would remove it unless replace with better