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Which user(s) can activate erased Mac with their device password after Mark As Lost?

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1 answer
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I have the following 3 users on my M1 Macbook Air 2020: * userA: admin created during macOS installation, no AppleID connected * userB: non-admin, its own AppleID connected, FindMy disabled * userC: non-admin, its own AppleID connected, FindMy enabled ---- After I invoke Mark As Lost in Find My iPhone app logged in with UserB's AppleID and rebooting into Activate Mac, I can Erase Mac without providing any user credentials. After Mac is erased, I need to activate it: * either by providing AppleID and password * OR via Use Device Password option ---- Now the question is: **Which of UserA, UserB, UserC device passwords should be accepted for "Use Device Password"?** ---- **Some further details of my setup:** UserC's AppleID is an adult, non-guardian member of family owned by UserB. FileVault enabled during initial MacOS setup; encryption key not associated with any AppleID. Password reset using AppleID is disabled for all users. ---- **My own experiments** gave inconsistent results: * after Mac was locked when UserC logged in, I managed to activate it with UserC's *device* password * after Mac was locked when UserB logged in, I failed to activate it with *any of* UserA, UserB, UserC *device* passwords: error messages varied between: * Activation lock server cannot be reached * The password for this Mac can no longer be used to remove Activation Lock. The password was entered incorrectly too many times Each experiment takes a couple of hours, so I hope there's official docs / third-party research on the topic.
Asked by yurkennis (1551 rep)
Apr 1, 2022, 03:21 PM
Last activity: Mar 2, 2023, 12:12 AM