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No, Apple cannot unlock the machine and that is the point. No government can compel Apple to decrypt anything. If you trade in an old device with Apple they pro
by myrandomcomment 4y ago
No, Apple cannot unlock the machine and that is the point. No government can compel Apple to decrypt anything. If you trade in an old device with Apple they provide detailed instructions more then once on unlocking and wiping before shipping. If you do not follow them, you do not get your trade in credit.
- coder543 4y agoApple can remove activation lock, which is the context of "unlock" here. The person you replied to is not talking about decrypting the contents of the laptop. However, Apple chooses not to do this unless they can establish that it is actually your device. Giving trade-in credit for activation locked devices would effectively be giving thieves an easy way to make money off of these otherwise useless devices, so they don't do that to avoid incentivizing theft. It would be cool if Apple offered a program where these activation locked devices could be returned to Apple for free. Apple could contact the last known owner and let them know their device has been recovered. If Apple doesn't hear back from them, then they could wipe the device and sell it as refurbished, or recycle it (depending on how damaged it is). This avoids creating an incentive for thieves to steal, but also overcomes the e-waste argument.
- myrandomcomment 4y agoThanks for the clarification.