“Refurbished” AirPods tend to be nostalgic for their previous owners. Some 30,000 pairs of AirPods had to be put aside by a reconditioned specialist.
Apple’s security policy does not only have advantages, especially for refurbishers. According to a report by Business Insider, a refurbisher was recently forced “to shelve over 30,000 AirPods” because of the Find My feature. To maintain an important place on the market, Apple multiplies the models (AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max…); and new features for its wireless headphones. Shortly after iOS 15 rolled out, Apple added the ability to locate its headphones on the Locate network.
Good news to make it easier to find a lost device, which offers additional security. By linking his pair of AirPods to his Apple ID account; it is not possible to reset lost or stolen AirPods and associate them with a new account. This layer of security only concerns recent models and complicates the resale of these headphones.
Refurbishment specialists find themselves with many headphones still linked to the Apple ID of their former owners. New buyers see a message like “These are not your AirPods.”
GoTRG, which handles returns for Walmart and retailers, says the issue affects “about 8 out of 10 AirPods”. Another company specializing in refurbishment, R2Cell, has even decided to stop selling refurbished AirPods because of this problem. A major difficulty for these companies while Apple products are generally highly sought after in this segment. For its part, Apple is turning a deaf ear and would not have responded to the requests of reconditioners. We also observe that AirPods have a reputation for being difficult to refurbish; despite the fact that they sell in the millions and can have a relatively short lifespan.
The solution ? Unlink AirPods from Apple ID
In fact, however, there is a simple procedure to avoid experiencing this kind of mishap. The original owner simply needs to unlink the AirPods from their Apple ID before selling them. Finally, it remains possible for the new buyer to use these AirPods with his phone.
However, he will still see a message to tell him that these headphones are already associated with another Apple ID. In addition, the former owner will be able to remotely track the new user’s journeys via the Locate network.
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