Seller seems legit but the listing is kind of sketchy.

[RomantheFabulous]

Found a listing for an ipod touch 6th gen for "parts only". It looks as if the ipod works but the description says "FMI is on but the lcd still works". Only thing I can think that "FMI" could stand for is "Find My I-pod". Is it being sold for parts because its potentially stolen or a "finders keepers" type thing or am I missing something?

[PowerPCFan]

2 minutes ago, RomantheFabulous said:

Found a listing for an ipod touch 6th gen for "parts only". It looks as if the ipod works but the description says "FMI is on but the lcd still works". Only thing I can think that "FMI" could stand for is "Find My I-pod". Is it being sold for parts because its potentially stolen or a "finders keepers" type thing or am I missing something?

I think that's what FMI means - I wouldn't buy it because it could be iCloud-locked or stolen - but you never know. 

[8tg]

Wouldn’t recommend buying an iCloud locked iPod, usually they’re not stolen, they’re just items that went through some recycling process and the original owners never cleared them. There’s not a whole lot you can do with it.

[Needfuldoer]

iAvoid iCloud locked devices. They're pretty much only useful as parts donors.

 

If you're looking for just a portable music player, look into used iPod Classics. iCloud locks aren't a thing with those.

[WhitetailAni]

11 minutes ago, RomantheFabulous said:

Only thing I can think that "FMI" could stand for is "Find My I-pod".

It stands for "Find My iPhone", regardless of the device that it's applied on. Apple calls it "Find My" but everywhere I see it's called FMI, or Activation Lock, or IC (iCloud) Lock

 

It means that the device is useless. If you try to set it up you'll be asked to sign in to the Apple ID that it is tied to... and it doesn't show you the email so you can't email the person and ask. Annoying, I know - but it's not Apple's fault. They don't have the full email!

 

IC locked devices are only useful as parts devices. In the case of the touch 6, there's basically nothing that can be easily replaced anyway.

 

I'm curious why you want a touch 6 though.

[demonix00]

It's being sold for parts because that is all that it is since it can't be used as intended.

 

The logic board is effectively ewaste because it's account locked.

[GoStormPlays]

Yeah, all the other posts are right. There are illegit bypasses for this specific model, but it's against the rules on here to show them. 

 

As for a legitimate way to remove the iCloud lock, this Reddit thread shows a way to submit an Activation Lock removal request to Apple and have them accept it without the original receipt of purchase. I tried following the steps in the guide, and I was able to get Apple to unlock an iPhone 4S that I had. All this is done through Apple, so it's completely legitimate and legal to do it this way.

 

As for whether you want to buy it, that's up to you. However, I would probably only buy it if it was under $30. Even if you got it unlocked, the 6th gen Touch only supports up to iOS 12, somewhat limiting your ability to play music on it.

[GoStormPlays]

3 hours ago, WhitetailAni said:

Annoying, I know - but it's not Apple's fault. They don't have the full email!

No, it is entirely Apple's fault. They have to have the email of the previous owner, because they would have to be able to verify that the email you entered into the prompts in Activation Lock is the correct email. And even if it's only bots at Apple that have the email, then Apple would very easily be able to have a bot message the original owner to see if the previous owner intended to have the device locked or not.

 

 

[Windexerr]

13 minutes ago, GoStormPlays said:

No, it is entirely Apple's fault. They have to have the email of the previous owner, because they would have to be able to verify that the email you entered into the prompts in Activation Lock is the correct email. And even if it's only bots at Apple that have the email, then Apple would very easily be able to have a bot message the original owner to see if the previous owner intended to have the device locked or not.

 

 

Im pretty sure apple has no clue what the email is but their servers have to have a encrypted version that it checks against, I dont think they'd just sit there with a list of every email that is connected to a iPod or iPhone, with the possibility of it being breached. But I'm dumb so I'm probably wrong. 

[cooky560]

1 minute ago, Windexerr said:

Im pretty sure apple has no clue what the email is but their servers have to have a encrypted version that it checks against, I dont think they'd just sit there with a list of every email that is connected to a iPod or iPhone, with the possibility of it being breached. But I'm dumb so I'm probably wrong. 

Apple is one of the few companies out there that makes some pretence at privacy. It wouldn't suprise me in the slightest if the details are encrypted in such a way that Apple can't decode them, and such only knowing the original authentication details will remove an iCloud lock.

[GoStormPlays]

3 hours ago, Windexerr said:

Im pretty sure apple has no clue what the email is but their servers have to have a encrypted version that it checks against, I dont think they'd just sit there with a list of every email that is connected to a iPod or iPhone, with the possibility of it being breached. But I'm dumb so I'm probably wrong. 

Well in that case the system that is able to decrypt those emails for use in Activation Lock should also be able to email the original owner to see if it's a legitimate request or not.

[Likwid]

21 minutes ago, GoStormPlays said:

Well in that case the system that is able to decrypt those emails for use in Activation Lock should also be able to email the original owner to see if it's a legitimate request or not.

Why would you want to contact owner if he has locked device?

Is it: "I got your stolen stuff, can you unlock it"
Or better example "I stole your car, but can you give me keys because you won't be using it"

[GoStormPlays]

3 hours ago, Likwid said:

Why would you want to contact owner if he has locked device?

Is it: "I got your stolen stuff, can you unlock it"
Or better example "I stole your car, but can you give me keys because you won't be using it"

It's not always a given that it's stolen. In fact, in a lot of cases it isn't going to be stolen. 

 

I know for a fact that most people don't know this exists, so how could disable something that they don't know exists before they give their device away.

[WhitetailAni]

1 hour ago, GoStormPlays said:

They have to have the email of the previous owner

They do not. They only have part of it - to them anyway. The full email is encrypted and only available to be read to devices signed in - otherwise it compares to a hash I believe.

[GoStormPlays]

2 hours ago, WhitetailAni said:

They do not. They only have part of it - to them anyway. The full email is encrypted and only available to be read to devices signed in - otherwise it compares to a hash I believe.

When an idevice that is linked to an Apple ID is reset, the Apple ID info is erased; the info is not on device anymore. Then, in setup, when you connect to the internet, the device contacts Apple’s Apple ID server (code named Albert) and gets a token for whether the device locked or not. Until that point, the activation records aren’t on the device. You can further see this when (on modern devices) you can see the “Hello” on the Lock Screen, whereas after you connect the device to the internet and activate for the first time, it shows the lock icon on the Lock Screen. Thus, the activation info can’t be stored on device.

 

Plus, if you enter in the correct Apple ID and password when you receive Activation Lock, the iCloud account is no longer linked to that device; implying that the device wasn’t signed into the Apple ID anymore, but rather at a gate for signing out.

 

Heres some info from AppleTech752 (someone who used to be very prominent in the space): 

“In simplest terms, Activation Lock occurs when an iOS device does not have valid Activation Records and Find My iPhone (FMI) is turned on. There are multiple ways to cause Activation Lock. The first and most common is by restoring or erasing an iOS device that has Find My iPhone turned on (typically with iTunes or 3uTools). Activation Records are Setup.app repellents, they are what prevent the Setup screen from appearing (so long as they exist), and when you restore an iOS device without retaining user data, everything is erased, including Activation Records. Without Activation Records, iOS will by default load the Setup Assistant (Setup.app).

Activation Records are required to a) pass the setup screen legitimatelyand b) be able to use the most important parts of your iOS device(cellular data, calls, notifications, FaceTime, iMessage, Siri, iCloud, etc). As it turns out, the ONLY way to get activation records is from Apple (yes thats right, Apple controls your ability to use YOUR device). After a restore, all iOS devices attempt to make themselves useable by connecting to Albert, (the name of Apples activation server- the ultimate dictator of every iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch on the planet). Albert then gets to decide whether he wants you to be able to use your device or not. His decision is based entirely on a single fact- whether or not Find My iPhone is turned on.Using the Unique Identifiers of your device, he makes his choice. If FMI is on, he says YOU SHALL NOT PASS and throws an HTML page we all know as Activation Lock. If FMI is off, he says We can be friends, have a nice day, and hands your a cryptic golden ticket that a) tells Setup.app to finish up and get lostand b) tells all the essential functions of your device (including the Phone itself) they can start working.”

 

I’d link this page, but the same page also goes over how to hack activation lock and remove it, which goes against rules on here.

Edited February 20 by GoStormPlays