I'm in the United States and have a MacBook that belonged to an elderly friend who died in Spain. I have her death certificate in Spanish and French, but I don't want to access any of her files or accounts—I only want the Mac completely erased so I can use it. I'm planning to visit an official Apple Store in the US. Would a foreign death certificate generally be accepted, or would the document's language and country of origin matter? The Mac only asks for her login password, and I don't know whether that is the same thing as Activation Lock. Her family no longer has the original receipt or proof of purchase.
2 Answers
The login password and Activation Lock are separate. You can often start Recovery, erase the internal drive, and reinstall macOS even if you don’t know the login password. Afterward, though, the setup process may ask for the former owner’s Apple Account if Find My was enabled. If that happens, the Mac is still linked to her account and a simple erase won’t bypass it. Apple Support can explain what documents they accept, but without proof of purchase or legal authority they may refuse to remove the lock.
A death certificate by itself usually won’t remove Activation Lock or prove that you’re authorized to use the Mac. Apple may require the original proof of purchase, or in some cases documentation showing legal authority over the deceased person’s property. A store may not be able to resolve this directly, and translated documents or a certificate issued outside the US could require additional verification. If the Mac is not Activation Locked, you can normally erase it from macOS Recovery without knowing the login password. If Find My or Activation Lock is enabled, erasing it won’t make it usable afterward—the previous Apple Account or acceptable ownership documentation would still be required.
I’m not trying to access her files or Apple Account. I’m mainly trying to understand whether a normal login password prevents me from wiping the Mac, and how I can tell if Activation Lock is enabled.