This seems to be an extremely rare situation. OP did not lock the device to their account and left it free. Someone else picked it up, wiped it, and locked it to their own account. That stranger could have also poured apple juice on the macbook or just not responded to the request to send it back. Once someone else has their hands on your device, there is a risk it's just gone.
As a Macbook user I'm not at all concerned about this happening to me since I have find my set up and my mac has stickers on it so I can clearly identify it as mine and avoid this mixup.
And I also benefit from the theft resistance features.
Here is a better example: try to take the radio out of any modern car and stick it back in yourself. When power is lost it will require an activation code from the dealership. This is an anti-theft feature that consumers pay for when they buy the car.
If you fail to register your purchase (harder to do with a car, but stick with me) and go to the dealership, you won't get the activation code. This is literally what happened to OP.
I would have gladly disabled that misfeature on my old car if I could've. It was always a huge pain to find the activation code, and having to contact a dealer and jump through their hoops is a huge hassle.
The funny thing is that for this particular car, removing the radio (really the full navigation head unit) would have been a major undertaking, requiring specialized tools and quite a bit of time. If a thief has that much time and expertise, losing the radio is the least of my worries.
I am a licensed locksmith and consult on auto theft. If you have dealt with a dealership that provided unlock codes without proper paperwork feel free to shoot me an email (in my profile) and I will get it escalated up to the manufacturer.
He has it back in a broken state. The person who took it rendered it inoperable before returning it. Even without activation lock there are numerous other ways if you are holding the laptop in your hand.
True, but at the same time, it's not performing the function that was advertised upon which the purchasing decision was made. A reasonable person would believe that if it wasn't subject to physical harm (impact, water, heat, excessive voltage, etc.) then it would perform the advertised functions for a certain useful life. "Anyone who briefly possesses it can destroy that function without physical harm" wasn't advertised. IANAL but I think a judge would see it this way.
For non-Apple laptops (ie, Dell) it's also possible to effectively brick the device by setting BIOS passwords that can't be undone without replacing a chip or similarly invasive means
The question isn’t: “what are the numerous ways someone can break someone else’s laptop if they physically have possession of it?”
The question is: “how are people apologising for the fact that Apple are refusing to support individuals who are locked out of their own devices?”
The question you are answering is an irrelevant hypothetical whereas question being asked is a very legitimate consumer request.
It’s like dismissing a mugging by saying “it’s ok because they didn’t stab you”. Both are legitimately wrong but only one of those scenarios is being discussed.
UAE is a huge purchaser of 0days and hacking tools. If they were able to add their own icloud account and were "kind" enough to send it back. I wouldn't touch it.
As a Macbook user I'm not at all concerned about this happening to me since I have find my set up and my mac has stickers on it so I can clearly identify it as mine and avoid this mixup.
And I also benefit from the theft resistance features.