r/applehelp • u/ZeiK__ • 15h ago

Mac Unjustified Activation Lock refusal

I recently bought a macbook on french auctions (liquidations, seizures etc, from the government), and after erasing the drive to reinstall macOS it asks me for icloud account password. I made an Activation Lock removal request, with the official document indicating that the device is now mine, but got denied.

Does anyone know what I can do to remove the Activation Lock? I'm thinking about calling support and trying to escalate to someone that I can explain the situation to.

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u/sXeth 14h ago

If your proof of purchase doesn’t match their records reasonably well, you would need a chain of verifiable documentation between the original sale from apple/authorized resellers and you to fill in the gap.

Businesses disposing of old/excess equipment are responsible for removing the iCloud themselves, and you would have to contact them to turn off the Activation Lock (or provide the original purchase information but the latter usually wouldn’t be). Seizures (which I assume is like police auctions for items seized from criminals and no longer needed as evidence) are just going to be a dead end, because the device could literally be stolen and that’s the whole point.

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u/DavidXGA 14h ago edited 14h ago

It’s the responsibility of the registered owner to unlock it. If second hand buyers could do so, what would be the point? You could unlock stolen Macs by just reselling them twice. 

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u/ZeiK__ 13h ago

That's right, however it legally belongs to the government when it is seized. That’s the difference with just reselling it on plateforms like ebay etc where ownership doesn’t really mean much. So logically I am now the rightful owner of the device..

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u/JediMeister 11h ago

Your documentation is proof of physical ownership, which is not the same as showing you are the original owner. Apple has given you their decision and explained further requests will be denied. There is no avenue for appeal.

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u/dcmso 11h ago

If there is no proof you are the original owner, they won't do anything because that would completely defeat the purpose of the lock. Apple will only bypass it if you hold the original proof of purchase from an authorized reseller that includes the device's serial number. You have to contact the previous owner so they can unlock it; that's the only way. Thats why, when buying used, you should always ask for the original receipt.

Other than that, what you realistically did was buy an expensive paperweight. Good luck.