A tool widely used to prevent purchasing second hand stolen iPhone or iPads has abruptly and unexplainably been removed from the iCloud website.
The activation lock status tool could search for a serial number of IMEI of an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and find out if it is secured with activation lock. This would help identify if a device is locked to another user and extremely helpful before buying a second hand device to make sure it wasn't stolen.
The activation tool would show a device as activation being turned off which meant it was safe to purchase and begin using. With activation still left on, it was a good sign the device was stolen.
The iCloud page where the tool was available now returns a “Not Found” page. Previously, the following guidance was listed on the Apple website referenced as the Find My iPhone support document but has since been removed:
How do I check for Activation Lock before purchasing a used device?
"When you buy an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch from someone other than Apple or an authorized Apple reseller, it is up to you to ensure that the device is erased and no longer linked to the previous owner's account.
You can check the current Activation Lock status of a device when you visit icloud.com/activationlock from any Mac or PC."
Interestingly, Apple have not offered an explanation as to why the useful feature was removed from the website. Activation lock still exists on a device and is enable enabled automatically when you turn on Find My iPhone. It is designed to prevent anyone else from using your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch if it is ever lost or stolen. Even if the device is wiped, it still requires the previous owners credentials to lock in and activate it. With the functionality still present, it seems odd that the checker has been taken offline with no explanation.
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