My ex remotely locked our family mac mini

Question

My ex remotely locked our family mac mini

Can anyone please help me unlock our family mac mini? My ex has locked it out of revenge and bitterness. The judge in our divorce stated if a child uses it, it belongs to the child therefore the mac remained with the children and I after divorce. His icloud account was attached to it and he has now remotely locked it. This computer has been in our possession for a year and a half, and he has only now locked it since I was granted full time custody of the children. This man is aggressive and not nice and only hurts the children with his behaviour as this is my son's computer. Any help is appreciated.

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Posted on Mar 30, 2020 9:04 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

QuickPost

Level 10

103,365 points

Mar 30, 2020 10:37 AM in response to determined1906

Hello,

Unfortunately this Mac is now useless to you. There is nothing you can do to unlock Activation Lock. He would have to be the ones who would have to disable Activation Lock. If and when he disables Activation Lock, most likely all of the information on the computer will no longer be accessible (as remote lock often will erase the device). Hopefully you had a backup of your Mac. If he unlocks Activation Lock then it is very important that you sign out of his Apple ID as so this never happens again.

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Answer 2

Mar 30, 2020 10:21 AM in response to QuickPost

It has been locked with a pass code and states it has been "locked with find my mac". I cannot unlock it unless I have access to his cloud account which, I do not. This mac mini has family photos on it which he had stored on his cloud account therefore, he had access to all of this and now he has taken it away from us. The judge made clear in court the computer should stay with the children. This computer has been with the children and I for nearly two years but has been in storage and he locks it now we are set up completely since divorce and trying to use it.

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Answer 3

QuickPost

Level 10

103,365 points

Mar 30, 2020 11:03 AM in response to determined1906

While I do not know both sides of the story, it does seem quite unfortunate that he has prevented them from using their Macintosh especially in these times when we are all having to work/learn from home.

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Answer 4

Mar 30, 2020 11:21 AM in response to determined1906

determined1906 wrote:

Thank you for your advice. I thought this might have been the case. The behaviour will never cease to amaze me.

If there was already a court ruling on the matter, you should take this up with your attorney.

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Answer 5

Mar 30, 2020 11:43 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Not worth spending a fortune with lawyers and courts for a computer. Trust me, I have been to court with this one, one too many times and it is exhausting. The stress and money for legal fees is just not worth a computer. He has broken so many court orders and court agreements, I am very familiar with the system and it is more stress than anything else. Thank you for reaching out.

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Answer 6

Tesserax

Level 10

152,236 points

Mar 30, 2020 12:01 PM in response to determined1906

Although I know the following is what you would try if the device belonged to a deceased owner, it may still apply for this case as well.

In the deceased owner situation, you would need to take the device (probably not advisable at this time due to the pandemic) to your local Apple Store. You would need to bring along a copy of the death certificate, proof of purchase, will (where the deceased offered to provide you with this device upon their demise), and your photo ID. In this case, a court order could potentially be sufficient for the death certificate/will.

A lot of trouble, I know, but may be worth pursuing later.

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Answer 7

Mar 30, 2020 12:38 PM in response to Tesserax

This is a good point. Although, the court order did not mention every item split in detail. The judge stated if "a child uses it, it belongs with the child". So, not sure if this would allow Apple the right to recover. Thank you for your help, I may still try this when I have time and the world is set straight again.

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