Where Art Thou iCloud Activation Check Tool?

We have been working on iPhones since the good ol’ days of the original 2g iPhone. Over the years we have seen how iPhone thieves can profit from others misfortune. Although it may have become quite the inconvenience for the honest consumer, Apple products have become one of the leaders in safety and security. With the launch of iCloud in 2011 ios device users, have either loved or hated the ability to not only track their devices, but remotely lock them if lost or stolen. The people who have hated this the most were of course the thieves ,who thrived on selling stolen iPhones, iPods and iPads. That type of business had been mostly thwarted off over the past couple of years. Due to Apple’s website offering a tool to search the status of an Apple products iCloud lock. So for the most part if anyone had a slight suspicion that the deal they were getting on that used iPhone or iPad was to good to be true, they had the ability to go to the Apple activation lock check page and see for themselves the status of the product. But as of recently Apple has without explanation removed the iCloud check page completely. We would love to find out if this is some sort of mistake or even something better coming. Until then though we have a feeling it is either going to be harder for the consumer to purchase a good functioning used iPhone. Or easier for the thieves to sell a stolen Apple product to unsuspecting buyers. We will do our best to keep everyone updated on the status of the iCloud lock check tool. Until then feel free to come by our Lafayette location with any of your iPhone repair needs.

Thanks and have a great day!

iCloud conversation update 2-9-2017:

It appears that the most logical explanation for the iCloud check tool mysteriously disappearing from Apple’s website is this. The page that allowed people to check if a device they were interested in purchasing had an active iCloud account on it, was also being used maliciously by hackers and thieves. The same way you could plug in a serial number to look up a device was also used to randomly plug in serial number combinations, to stumble across a valid serial number. So, say you have a phone that has been locked by Apple due to iCloud. This information is linked to the serial number. So a simple change in a few characters of the products serial number could then enable someone to re-activate the device. This sounds confusing for sure, but we are completely aware of the possibilities that this could give to people that want to steal devices and or serial numbers. So although losing access to the iCloud activation check tool is very inconvenient, it is also completely understood. Thanks for reading and remember the team at iPhone Repair 4 Less in Lafayette is always here to help!