Ask HN: How do I unlock the Activation Lock on my M1 MacBook?

[ericreyes217]

It’s been over two years since I last used my M1 MacBook Pro, and I’ve completely forgotten the password. Now when I press the power button, it asks for the Activation Lock password and I can’t get past that screen. Can you please help me unlock it or let me know what options I have?

[vitovito]

If you still have your proof of purchase (if you bought it from Apple directly, they should also have it), you can take your receipt and the laptop to an Apple Store and they'll remove the activation lock. They may wipe the machine in the process, I don't recall.

(We had some company iPhones in our device lab, not on MDM, and people would attach them to their personal accounts, so this was an occasional hassle.)

[reliefcrew]

Interestingly, this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_T2#Security_vulnerabilit...

reads as though it is possible using "checkra1n". But again... it might be easier to just buy something else :-/

[haunter]

You don't that's the best part of it!

You can try to reset your iCloud password https://iforgot.apple.com/ If that doesn't work either then it's a paperweight and you can sell it for parts

[reliefcrew]

> If that doesn't work either then it's a paperweight and you can sell it for parts

C'mon! It can't be that dire... at worst you should be able to reinstall or reset to factory defaults somehow. Granted the data may be lost, but the whole is still more than the sum of its parts :-)

[haunter]

Trust me it’s impossible. All Macs are iPhones are like this nowadays. You can’t do anything to bypass the activation lock.

[reliefcrew]

I find "impossible" hard to believe. Perhaps it's so difficult that it's not worth the opportunity cost though.

You may have to remove the disk or use a JTAG programmer, or heck... maybe even re-solder something.

The more nuanced question in these situations isn't "is it possible" but "is it economically viable".