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Apple Business Manager claimed back Apple IDs under our domain, now unable to pass activation lock on Macbook Air

It is quite a story, so i will keep it brief and to the point.


I recently setup an ABM account and configured it to claim back Apple IDs previously created using work email addresses. Now these Apple IDs have been claimed back, however, I now have a fairly new Macbook Air M1 on which the previous owner enabled activation lock for some reason and subsequently forget their password thus using the old password to bypass the lock is sadly not an option.


The Apple ID was removed when it was claimed back. I recreated the account under the same credentials yet am unable to use its new login credentials to bypass the activation lock.


These device is also not listed under devices owned by the account in the account manager.


So unless I am missing something this seems like an issue only Apple is able to fix on their end by un-linking this device from this removed account. Does anyone have any ideas, feedback or suggestions?

MacBook Air

Posted on Aug 23, 2022 9:45 PM

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Posted on Aug 24, 2022 11:03 PM

Ok, so what I ended up doing was going to Apple Support, they then forwarded me to business support which then again forwarded me to the 2nd line.


What appeared to have happened is that the account when claimed back by the ABM was automatically removed, and when manually re-created using the same login credentials somewhere in the back-end it considers it to be a separate new account unrelated to the one tied to the Mac, due to this I was unable to use this new account's login credentials to unlock the Mac, even though it uses the same username/email.


The 2nd line Apple business support provided me with a form I can fill out to remove the activation lock from the device after proving ownership.


tldr: it is a bug in Apple's systems, Apple business support can help you to unbrick the Mac.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 24, 2022 11:03 PM in response to celliott147

Ok, so what I ended up doing was going to Apple Support, they then forwarded me to business support which then again forwarded me to the 2nd line.


What appeared to have happened is that the account when claimed back by the ABM was automatically removed, and when manually re-created using the same login credentials somewhere in the back-end it considers it to be a separate new account unrelated to the one tied to the Mac, due to this I was unable to use this new account's login credentials to unlock the Mac, even though it uses the same username/email.


The 2nd line Apple business support provided me with a form I can fill out to remove the activation lock from the device after proving ownership.


tldr: it is a bug in Apple's systems, Apple business support can help you to unbrick the Mac.

Aug 24, 2022 8:15 AM in response to dennis1248

Is the device listed in your Apple Business Manager? If so, call AppleCare for Enterprise, tell them what is happening, and they will verify the device is indeed in ABM and then assist with the unlock. If the device is not in ABM, you will need to use the old Apple ID that now has a new email address. If the user never set the email address up, they would have a temporary email address as explained at the bottom of this support document: If you are asked to update your Apple ID email address - Apple Support


Apple Business Manager claimed back Apple IDs under our domain, now unable to pass activation lock on Macbook Air

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