Apple is making it difficult for fraudsters to sell stolen or useless iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices with the introduction of Activation Lock Status.
The company has launched a new page on iCloud.com, where users can enter the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) or serial number of the device to check the Activation Lock status.
Activation Lock is a part of ‘Find My iPhone’ feature in iOS 7 and iOS8, which was introduced by the company to prevent the usage of stolen iOS7 devices.
To turn off Find My iPhone feature or reactivate the device, users have to enter the correct Apple ID and password activation code.
Before the introduction of Activation Lock, the only way to prevent the usage of stolen device was through ‘Changing the Apple ID and password’ option.
American police lauded Apple for the introduction of an additional security feature which has helped reduce the theft of iOS 7 enabled devices by up to 30%.
Apple has outlined some steps for users to switch off Activation Lock on its website, but there is a catch; users need to be in touch with the original owner of the device if he/she still has rights to the handset under the feature.
