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A letter signed by leading right to repair and consumer advocates is calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to crack down on manufacturers’ use of activation locks in ways that hinder re-use and repair. A letter sent from US PIRG and MacBook refurbisher (and long-time iFixit Answers guru) John Bumstead explains how factory reset locks, an increasingly standard practice in the smartphone industry, are preventing refurbishers from reusing good quality, refurbishable or repairable equipment.
The letter is in response to an FCC request for comment on their new carrier unlocking rule, on which iFixit also weighed in, calling on the FCC to end the practice of carrier locking altogether. The new rule would require carriers to “unlock” mobile devices after a 60-day period, allowing them to be used on compatible networks, thereby promoting consumer choice and market competition.
But refurbishers, repairers, and recyclers have called on the agency not just to address carrier activation locks, but to move broadly to crack down on software locks that prevent reuse and drive electronic waste. Nearly every cell phone manufacturer now has some method of preventing reuse: Apple calls it “Activation Lock.” Samsung calls it “Reactivation Lock.” Google, Motorola, and LG have a “Factory Reset Protection Lock” that works essentially the same way. If a recycling facility receives a phone with one of these options enabled, it cannot reset the phone for further use—it must simply disassemble and shred the device.
As the letter explains, the Wireless Alliance, an electronics recycling facility located in Lafayette, Colorado, runs more than 30,000 phone and tablet donation programs across the country. The Alliance said it received over 66,000 reusable iPhones that were activation locked between 2015 and 2019, resulting in otherwise functioning phones being scrapped instead of reused because of the activation lock.
These locks are often unintentionally left active when devices are donated, making them unusable for refurbishers and recyclers. This results in the mass scrapping of devices that could otherwise be reused, contributing to significant environmental harm and reducing the availability of affordable used phones in the secondary market.
The FCC letter calls on the agency to “create a system whereby manufacturers and refurbishers can verify donated phones are not stolen and have the activation lock lifted so it can be used by someone else.”
Whether the FCC takes up the call, it’s clear that for the sake of the planet, we need a way to enable reuse of donated phones—even when the owner hasn’t remembered to remove their lock. And if you’re recycling or donating a phone? Make sure you figure out how to turn off that lock before you say goodbye.
More News
Farmers tells FTC Right to Repair Needed: At a roundtable in Longmont, Colorado farmers shared their struggles with equipment repairs due to dealer consolidation and limited access to parts and mechanics. And despite commitments and press from farming companies about making repair more accessible, farmers are stressing the need for federal right-to-repair legislation. U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, both Democrats, joined FTC Chair Lina Khan in listening to the farmers’ concerns, emphasizing the importance of such legislation to support agricultural productivity and competition.
Senators call on FTC to investigate car companies’ data collection: Two U.S. Senators: Ron Wyden a Democrat from Oregon, and Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, are calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate how car companies collect data with an eye to identifying violations of federal law. In a July 26 letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, Wyden and Markey called on the FTC to get to the bottom of automakers data harvesting activities. Recent reports have highlighted lax practices. Those include the Mozilla Foundation’s September 2023 analysis of more than two dozen automakers that declared cars the “worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy.”
Global challenge launched to design fully recyclable products: The #cocreate Circular Design Challenge 2024, launched by the Mission Network of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa and the Craft and Design Institute, aims to inspire Cape Town’s designers, innovators, students, businesses, and non-profits to develop zero-waste, fully recyclable products through workshops and competitions, fostering innovation and sustainability while creating job opportunities.
2 Comments
nice artilce
seron89412 - Reply
The ability to allow anyone to remove the "activation" lock makes every device insecure.
It doesn't matter how positive the motive is to make this happen. You will be putting everyones device and data at risk.
The moment you give a master key to anyone you need to make a lock for the key. And there are professionals that will find a way to open those locks without the key. Or someone at the agency that has access to that key could use it inappropriately.
Giving that key to anyone is to much power.
Creating the lock is to much of a risk because of the exploit that it can create.
Unlocking the device also allows for repeated attempts to gain access to the device and data on it.
Our personal data is under assault every moment of every day. Giving a master key to unlock the backdoor that would allow for repeated attempts to gain access to the devices that contain that data… Can't be allowed.
d0gg - Reply