PvtJoker704

Q: Company Devices - Tied to Former User's Apple ID

Hello,

 

We have various Apple products we use within our company.  One device, an iPad, was used by a now former employee.  When wiping the device, I found that it was tied to his apple ID and could not be removed until he disassociated it from his Apple account.  Luckily, he left on good terms and was able to do this for me without any issues. 

 

Say someone doesn't leave on good terms and has his/her apple ID associated with a device that refuses to remove said account.  Do we now have a device we can no longer use or is there a way to remove the account without their assistance?

 

What do others do in this instance?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

iPad, iOS 8.4

Posted on Jul 13, 2015 7:55 AM

Close

Q: Company Devices - Tied to Former User's Apple ID

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Roger Wilmut1,

    Roger Wilmut1 Roger Wilmut1 Jul 13, 2015 8:03 AM in response to PvtJoker704
    Level 9 (77,925 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 13, 2015 8:03 AM in response to PvtJoker704

    You should be aware that if someone sets up Activation Lock on one of your iOS devices then he is the only person who can remove it. It's been suggested that if you take a device locked in this way to Apple with documentary proof that you own it, they will unlock it. I've not seen anyone confirm that this has been done. Certainly they won't unlock a device when someone has bought it second-hand only to find it locked.

     

    Failing that the lock is un-bypassable. There's no easy technical way of preventing your staff from doing this - the device is designed for single person use - but locking it before leaving is morally equivalent to bashing it with a hammer. Probably you need to take disciplinary steps to make sure that a leaver returns the device in working condition - something you should check before, for example, you issue their final salary payment.

     

    Apple have provided a method of checking that an iOS device isn't Activation Locked:

     

    http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/10/01/activation-lock-status-check/

     

    Basically you just go to https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/ and enter the IMEI or serial number and a captcha.

  • by nsdjoey,Apple recommended

    nsdjoey nsdjoey Jul 14, 2015 3:13 PM in response to PvtJoker704
    Level 3 (955 points)
    Jul 14, 2015 3:13 PM in response to PvtJoker704

    Hi PvtJoker704,

     

    I manage a fleet of iPads for a large school district and we have had numerous students tie their Apple ID's to devices and enable Activation Lock. Fortunately, Apple now has the Device Enrollment Program (DEP) which we use to supervise our devices and allows us to use our MDM (we use Casper) to remove Activation Lock if a student enables it on their device. Here is one of Apple's articles on using MDM with Activation Lock:

     

    Use Mobile Device Management and Find My iPhone Activation Lock

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202804

     

    I recommend that you enroll your company in DEP and use an MDM to manage your iPads. You can do quite a bit of management OTA with an MDM which will save you time in the long run, especially if you have a large number of iPads.

     

    Hope this answers your question!

    ~Joe