Apple Watch 10 bought at AMZN with real-time surveillance?

[bear_in_mind]

I'm sharing this to see if others have had a similar experience, and the privacy / security implications of what I experienced.

I tried a new AppleWatch 10 for three days, not loving it, so attempting to return it to AMZN.

I normally buy Apple products directly from Apple, but I was lazy (read: stupid) this time.

So, I go to AMZN website to request a refund, but it won't proceed to the RMA screen. I was confronted with an interstitial screen (see attached screenshot) which read:

"This device requires a factory reset before being returned
Contact an expert and confirm that you have completed a factory reset of your device to remove your personal data before returning it. They can help you reset it if necessary."

I understand the necessity of logging out from iCloud and resetting the device before physically returning the device. I was going to do it as soon as they issued the return authorization. But this raised some questions that I wanted to pursue.

I communicated with AMZN via chat, eventually being referred to a manager. He confirmed that AMZN is not allowing the RMA to proceed because the watch hasn't been deactivated w/ iCloud and had the factory reset.

Which means: AMZN knows, in real-time, if your Apple device is actively logged into iCloud. Not just the IMEI of the device, but its status and who knows what else?

Let that sink in...

Q: How long is AMZN allowed to track in real-time the Apple device they sold you?

Q: Exactly what data does AMZN have from the device? Does it include location? Location history? Apps? Contacts? Websites visited?

Curious to hear others' experiences.

 

[doogm]

My guess is that Apple allows authorized resellers access to activation status for this very reason - so they can verify that a device has activation lock removed before they authorize a return. Otherwise the item that they receive back is a paperweight to them and cannot be re-sold. (Perhaps they have to contact an Apple rep to check on activation?)

But I am just guessing. It seems like a reasonable allowance, though.

 

[BigBlur]

My guess is that Apple allows authorized resellers access to activation status for this very reason - so they can verify that a device has activation lock removed before they authorize a return. Otherwise the item that they receive back is a paperweight to them and cannot be re-sold. (Perhaps they have to contact an Apple rep to check on activation?)

But I am just guessing. It seems like a reasonable allowance, though.

Exactly this. There's nothing sneaky going on here. Amazon knows the serial number, so they can check with Apple on the activation lock status. I know cell carriers are able to do this as well.

We even used to be able to do this ourselves a while back to check other devices we didn't own, but Apple took the site down because it was being abused. (It was intended to be a way for us to check the activation lock status of a used device before buying it, to make sure a seller wasn't selling a useless/stolen device.)

For reasons unknown, Apple takes down theft-deterrent Activation Lock web tool

Apple recently took down its web tool for checking if a used iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch was stolen. The firm gave no explanation for the move. The link to the Activation Lock webpage no longer works and the support document detailing the feature does not contain...

www.idownloadblog.com

 

[arc of the universe]

I'm sharing this to see if others have had a similar experience, and the privacy / security implications of what I experienced.

I tried a new AppleWatch 10 for three days, not loving it, so attempting to return it to AMZN.

I normally buy Apple products directly from Apple, but I was lazy (read: stupid) this time.

So, I go to AMZN website to request a refund, but it won't proceed to the RMA screen. I was confronted with an interstitial screen (see attached screenshot) which read:

"This device requires a factory reset before being returned
Contact an expert and confirm that you have completed a factory reset of your device to remove your personal data before returning it. They can help you reset it if necessary."

View attachment 2471153

I understand the necessity of logging out from iCloud and resetting the device before physically returning the device. I was going to do it as soon as they issued the return authorization. But this raised some questions that I wanted to pursue.

I communicated with AMZN via chat, eventually being referred to a manager. He confirmed that AMZN is not allowing the RMA to proceed because the watch hasn't been deactivated w/ iCloud and had the factory reset.

Which means: AMZN knows, in real-time, if your Apple device is actively logged into iCloud. Not just the IMEI of the device, but its status and who knows what else?

Let that sink in...

Q: How long is AMZN allowed to track in real-time the Apple device they sold you?

Q: Exactly what data does AMZN have from the device? Does it include location? Location history? Apps? Contacts? Websites visited?

Curious to hear others' experiences.

mobile carriers of course have access to a distributed world wide data base of what mobiles are locked or unlocked or locked to a carrier, or whatever.
in fact, you yourself can also check this, by going through (usually paid) websites that provide this checking service.
great to see amazon uses it to protect itself and the person buying it. and, as well, the person returning it, to make sure the watch is wiped of data.
not so much in real time (usually), might take 48 hours for the updated status to propagate to all carriers throughout the world.

 

[TKSX]

Amazon can probably track you via the use of its app. For the watch, they can track you (the purchaser) via the serial number. They can probably pull the activation status of the watch from Apple's secure website in real time to confirm whether it is locked or not.

I once brought in my wife's old iphone inside an box of an activated iphone for a trade in at apple store (I needed something safe to store the phone). The sales rep at apple store scanned the iphone box out of habit and told me my wife's phone still have activation lock. I explained to the sales rep to scan the phone and not the box. (Heck who trades in the latest model phone anyway).

 

[QCassidy352]

FYI, I got this same message with a pair of AirPods that I tried to return to Amazon, and they had never been unsealed much less linked to my iCloud account. So I wouldn’t conclude that Amazon actually knows anything - I think it’s a stock message they have to make returning Apple products more difficult.

 

[someoneoutthere]

Nothing out of the ordinary there. If you were to trade-in or return an Apple product at Best Buy, for example, they will ensure that you turn off Find My and sign out of your iCloud account before they finish the transaction (they would also help you factory reset the device.) Doing so ensures that 1) the device is no longer associated with your Apple ID and 2) removes the activation lock so that the next user can activate the device with their Apple ID.

 

[Menge]

This just looks like a blanket warning for Apple products which support Activation Lock to ensure they don't get a brick back from customers.

I wouldn't worry about it.