Activation lock on a repaired device

[Dylan_YYC]

Good morning!
We are starting to have an increasing issue with activation lock on devices, that were previously "repaired" at a local Apple Store. When we get the refurbished device, i have no way of linking the old device serial number that would be in our proof of purchase to the new device. How do you get around this issue? When emailing the unlock team they ask for a proof of purchase, but since i dont technically have that, im in a bit of a bind. Thoughts?
Regards,
Dylan_YYC

[ktrojano · Accepted solution]

This happened to use frequently before DEP. I just tell the unlock team that it was a device replaced at by Apple. I give them the name of our local Apple Store that handled the repair. At that point they typically ask for a picture of the back of the device that clearly shows the serial number. Once they have that, they unlock the device.

[blackholemac]

We had this problem so bad when DEP first came out that we required our third party insurance company to handle any whole device replacements they had to do with a check instead of a replacement device. As such, we take money in that account and buy new stuff from Apple directly to short circuit DEP issues.

Our insurance company hates that, but it works for us now. The good news is that any device can be added to your DEP portal using Apple Configurator 2.5 and after 30 days it's as if the device was DEP enrolled from the get go. Check out this post for more details:

https://www.jamf.com/jamf-nation/discussions/25416/configurator-2-5-and-enrolling-ios-11-devices-in-dep

[Dylan_YYC]

hey @Ktrojano thanks for the recommendation! ill give that a try and see what they come back with. @blackholemac i have done the enrolling via AC2 but i wish it worked for more devices than just iOS ones!