Shocking report reveals more than 60,000 donated iPhones were SCRAPPED in the last three years because the anti-theft activation lock was left on, leaving them useless.

Thanks to a feature associated with the Find My iPhone security app, a new report says tens of thousands of fully-functioning iPhones donated every year end up being scrapped for parts. 

According to a report by Colorado Public Interest Research Group, CoPIRG, a feature called 'activation lock' which is meant to lock users' iPhone's in the event that they're stolen or lost, also prevented 66,000 phones from being reused over a three year period.   

The Wireless Alliance, a nationwide electronics recycling facility who was cited in the group's study, said that one in four phones they received in 2018 had an activation lock still present.

While the activation lock is intended to deter thieves by making stolen phones unusable and therefore not worth stealing in the first place, it has also resulted in making a surprisingly high number of donated or handed-down phones unusable, having negative impacts on our environment and the used phone marketplace,' reads the report. 

Most mobile users can attest to the effectiveness of Find My iPhone for locating lost devices; the app allows users to track and secure their phone with an iCloud login using GPS location, by activating a siren so the phone can be located audibly, and, of course, by locking the phone to maintain security.  

The downside is iPhone donors who fail to turn the feature off before handing their phones over for reuse effectively ensure no one — even well-meaning and legitimate owners — can use the device.

'If someone does not turn off the activation lock on their phone before they drop their phone in a donation box, their phone can’t be reused as a whole device and will be unusable,' reads the report. 

The results, says the report, could end up significantly impacting the environment. 

Source: dailymail