MacBook erase blocked by old Apple ID in Find My

Looks like you didn’t know or forgot to change your Apple Account (formerly called Apple ID) from the old to the new on your iPad. Now Find My is blocking a reset without the old credentials. Unless you have the original sales receipt as proof of purchase you may be unable to resolve this issue. See if the link below is of any help. Apple is very hard nosed about preventing resetting of devices because of possible theft and/or fraud and it’s why they always require valid proof of ownership before intervening.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/108934

iamahmadsaleem wrote:

I don’t own an iPad. This post is about my MacBook.

The answer is the same, whether Mac, or iPad, or iPhone.

I wasn’t aware that the old email was still linked somewhere in the background. It only appeared when I tried to reset/erase the MacBook, and the system asked for the old Apple Account to turn off Find My.

That’s exactly when Activation Lock manifests, too.

Details on Activation Lock on Mac:https://support.apple.com/en-us/102541

Regarding the MacBook, I purchased it in 2022 from a local tech market. The receipt was manual/handwritten, and unfortunately I no longer have it.

Yeah, you bought a device locked to an Apple Account not yours. That’s Not Good.

At this point I’m just trying to understand what realistic options I have.

If the person holding the associated Apple Account is no longer available, then there are no good option here, as Activation Lock is intended as a theft deterrent, and intentionally difficult to bypass. We can’t help, and — absent proof of ownership you don’t have — Apple won’t help.

Here is what needs to happen to transfer ownership (and didn’t happen): https://support.apple.com/en-us/102773

iamahmadsaleem wrote:

The old email on this macbook is mine, but older, deleted, i bought this macbook box pack, i just forgot the password of that old email of mine, and apple won’t let me reset the password because apple says this email is invalid.

You will need to regain account access to the Apple Account and that access possibly via account recovery, or present a purchase receipt from Apple or an Apple authorized reseller (that you likely don't have).

Activation Lock is intended as a theft deterrent, and is intentionally difficult to bypass.

We can’t help, and — absent proof sufficient to convince Apple — Apple won’t help.