“There is no simple secure way to buy a used Mac” Apple Store Manager

How is this Apple's problem, or fault? Checking a serial number is useless. Rarely, if ever does that tell anyone anything. Apple may be able to find our who originally purchased that Mac, but what happens after that is both out of their control or knowledge.

Your beef is with Amazon, who obviously set it up as a managed device and then never properly set the Mac back to factory condition before selling it.

Apple cannot help you with this. You'll have to try and resolve this through Amazon.

your response doesn’t have anything to do with my statement

And you made a lot of statements without ever asking a question. With the lack of one, all anyone here could do is try and make a return statement. Out of everything above, the only thing that stuck out was the backhanded way of blaming Apple for this.

After 40 years of Apple loyalty I feel tremendously disappointed.

Which brings us back to, "How is this Apple's fault?"

I also disagree with you that it is not apple’s problem, because after I provided them with the serial number they should be able to determine enough about the initial ownership…

Still not Apple's fault. The only thing a serial number check would tell them is who originally purchased the Mac, which I already stated. It does not tell them what happened to it after that. Which I also stated. They also cannot tell you who the original purchaser was since that would violate federal privacy laws. It's also meaningless to know the original owner if the Mac had already been sold by that person to someone else. Any they to possibly yet someone else again.

My point is that it should be simple to tell if a Mac you are considering it “belongs” to someone else or has been permanently handicapped.

And, again, there's no way for Apple to know that once a device has been shipped to the original buyer. No buyer is required to call Apple and give them that information.

I am surprised they sold you AppleCare on a three year old, used device purchased through eBay.

Regardless, your only position is still to contact Amazon to try and unlock the device. There is no other way.

grayparrot wrote:

I bought a brand new open box MacBook Pro in 2018 on eBay.

the subsequent new user set up process a screen appeared saying my computer was managed by Amazon Web services, and I was asked to provide logon credentials.

... will not bypass the Amazon Web services system.

The machine is bound to Enterprise, JAMF, MDM, active directory list or similar...

To proceed you will have to de-provision the machine, only owner/admin can do that for you, all from their end.

Contact Amazon, or contact Amazon Web Service: https://aws.amazon.com/contact-us/?nc2=h_header

You are under the mistaken impression that Apple actually cares about their users and the ability to safely purchase used Macs. Apple is in the business of selling new equipment and services. Apple has no motivation to provide any way of verifying that a previous owner has removed all ties to a Mac. Perhaps you can get it so the law requires and forces Apple to allow this, but for now there is no way to be reasonably sure a used Mac is free of the previous owner except by purchasing the used Mac directly from Apple or other trusted source.

The one mistake you made when you purchased the used Mac was not to perform a clean install of macOS by first erasing the whole physical drive before installing macOS. This process will at least alert you to the fact that the Mac may have a firmware password lock set and sometimes it can alert you to the fact that the Mac is being managed. However, sometimes you won't see any notices about a Mac being managed until days, weeks, or even months later (if at all) since a PRAM Reset can cause these notifications to be delayed. As you discovered performing a clean install of macOS alerted you to the fact that the laptop is still being managed by a company.

Apple says they are a green company, but in reality they are not since recyclers cannot actually recycle these Macs except by complete destruction of all the components to their basic metals. Usually many recyclers will first try to refurbish used computers to resell as this is the best way to maximize their usefulness, but because of these firmware locks and management locks recyclers cannot refurbish used Macs safely or reliably. Very sad indeed.

FYI, in the mean time you can try performing a PRAM Reset, then immediately boot into a macOS installer and perform another clean install of macOS. Perhaps you will get lucky and you will not get the management screen during initial setup. You may see macOS notifications later about managing the laptop. With our organization's current setup I am able to click "Skip" and prevent our organization from installing any software on the laptop, but this may not be the case for other organization's managed laptops.

At this point the best you can do is try contacting Amazon to see if they are willing to disable the management of this laptop assuming the laptop is not stolen. Your only other option is to change the laws so that these companies are required to provide an easy way for people to confirm an electronic device has no ties to the previous owner. Whenever you buy any used product (sometimes even buying new products) you are always at risk. Of course this won't help you with your current laptop and situation.

MDM overview for Apple devices - Apple Support

grayparrot wrote:

“There is no simple secure way to buy a used Mac”

Was that the thrust of the thread...(?)

There are many resources to buy used Mac/ Refurbished Mac (with warranties, some with extended warranty options.)

buying options—

Apple refurb/clearance:

https://www.apple.com/us/shop/goto/special_deals

alternative used/refurb/clearance options:

https://www.refurb.me/en-us

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Apple_Systems/Used/Macs_and_Tablets

https://www.macprices.net

https://www.decluttr.com/us/store/category/computers-and-accessories

https://www.dvwarehouse.com

Buying off Craigslist, eBay, and the like— you are on your own here.

Apple does have a HelpTopic for any owner selling a Mac— and what needs to be done to make a viable computer for the next owner: hat to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac ...

Apple does not track computers. I think your beef is with whoever stole the computer from Amazon then sold it on Ebay.

grayparrot wrote:

Thanks for at least posting a potentially helpful link, without the derogatory, reflexively defensive pro-Apple commentary 😂

???

I did not read any such replies. I read posts that tried to help you by stating facts. I'm sorry you do not like the facts.

It was not a 3 year old, used computer. It was a brand new, never registered, open box computer still in plastic.

It absolutely is a used computer, or it wouldn't be MDM system managed by Amazon. Nothing comes from Apple that way out of the box. Someone at Amazon had to have set that up.

I have used and updated it for three years without incident,

Irrelevant. It's always been an MDM managed device from the time you acquired it. It wasn't until now that you triggered one of the blocks.

I restate my view that Apple should maintain the ability to erase and restore a macbook for the physical possessor of the macbook, if no evidence or indication of stolen property is present.

And how would you prove that? Just seeing the MDM lock will tell Apple not to touch it. You may not be a crook, but there's no way for Apple to know someone didn't steal the Mac from Amazon and sell it on eBay. By glibly unlocking it for you, Apple would become an accomplice to a crime.

My point here, and on Twitter etc. where I am also advertising this, is to provide documentation of the interesting knowledge that you have tacitly confirmed: there is no simple safe way to buy a used Mac from a third party, no matter how careful you are.

Agreed. But that's true of anything you buy online. I can't even begin to guess how many posts I've seen here of people who bought used iPhones and iPads (in particular) on eBay, Craigslist, and other sites, only to find it in Activation Lock when it arrives. i.e., it's a virtual 100% certainty they bought a stolen device. Other times, what you get isn't what was advertised or even pictured. But rather, some cheaply made knockoff.

What if I had not bothered to do an OS reinstall, and sold it innocently to some third party?

Can't answer that one. I've never had to deal with an MDM controlled device.

It’s a ridiculous situation, one that Apple easily could, and should, either correct, or invent a way for potential buyers of used Apple equipment to ensure that they are buying a legit machine…

Not even slightly easy. Just where would all of this after-sale information come from? How would they collect it? That's like asking Ford to keep a database of every single mod made to any of their vehicles after it leaves the show room floor. It can't be done.

especially if Apple is going to sell Applecare warranties on the machine.

They sold you AppleCare because (from the sounds of it) you bought it in 2018 when it was essentially new. Since their records showed AppleCare hadn't been purchased for that Mac yet, and it was still within the time you could apply it, they sold it to you. And it's still doing what you bought it for; as an extended warranty against manufacturing flaws. The problem you've come across has nothing to do with a warranty, extended or not.

The only possible solution remains the same. You must contact Amazon.