> They have steadfastly refused to differentiate between the concepts of abandoned/donated devices vs. stolen ones
This is a valid complaint, but at the same time that differentiation can be messy and difficult to systematize in a way that's not enabling thieves.
Something I've advocated for in the past is a feature in the firmware that allows new owners to request an unlock from the original owner, which could be as simple as an email and/or SMS that the original owner can answer yes/no. This isn't a perfect fix, but it takes Apple out of the loop outside of acting as a relay, and if the original owner in fact abandoned or donated the device in question they'll have no qualms with unlocking it for the new owner.
This is a valid complaint, but at the same time that differentiation can be messy and difficult to systematize in a way that's not enabling thieves.
Something I've advocated for in the past is a feature in the firmware that allows new owners to request an unlock from the original owner, which could be as simple as an email and/or SMS that the original owner can answer yes/no. This isn't a perfect fix, but it takes Apple out of the loop outside of acting as a relay, and if the original owner in fact abandoned or donated the device in question they'll have no qualms with unlocking it for the new owner.