A friend is considering bidding on AirPods from an auction house, but the listing says they are "ID locked." From what I understand, the previous owner may need to remove them from Find My, and Apple Support generally cannot remove that association without acceptable proof of ownership. Would an invoice or receipt from the auction house be enough, or is it better to avoid the hassle even if the price is attractive?
3 Answers
An auction receipt usually only proves that the auction house sold the item; it may not prove the original retail purchase or give Apple a basis to remove the lock. Unless the AirPods are removed from the previous owner’s account before purchase, I’d treat the lock as permanent and factor that risk into the price.
Be careful with the information you found online: Apple’s documented proof-of-purchase process for removing Activation Lock applies to certain devices such as iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Macs—not AirPods. Apple generally can’t remove the Find My association from AirPods for you, so the original owner needs to remove them from their account.
That clears things up. I’m mainly familiar with Samsung devices, so I didn’t realize the listing’s “ID locked” wording was referring to the previous owner’s Find My association.
The AirPods can still potentially play audio after being reset and paired with another device, so the lock may not make them completely unusable. However, the previous owner’s Find My association can remain, and you may not be able to fully claim them as your own or use every account-related feature. I’d only bid if the price is low enough to justify receiving them with that limitation.
So the main issue is Find My: the safest solution is for the person who added them to their account to remove them. I wouldn’t assume Apple or an auction receipt can fix it afterward.
It’s frustrating, but that limitation is the point of the security feature. A cheap purchase may not be worthwhile if the account association can’t be cleared.