MacBook Pro 16-inch logs show prior use despite being factory-sealed

rakibulhasanrana wrote:

Bought a "factory-sealed" MacBook Pro 16" — its own logs show it was powered on once, 64 days before I set it up. Did Apple or the reseller do it?

[...]

MY QUESTIONS

1. Does Apple's factory QC ever boot a finished retail unit to the customer Hello screen ~5 weeks AFTER the factory image was mastered (May 21 -> June 27), and then force it off? Or does a truly factory-sealed Mac's install.log begin with the customer's own first boot?

Yes. it is only logical to conclude that some percentage of factory fresh Macs get booted at the end of production and before they are sealed and shipped. That would be a common practice for QC purposes to ensure that assembly errors don't affect high numbers of units.

2. If not Apple: is "charger plugged in, no input, forced off after 6 minutes" consistent with an importer/reseller bench test - i.e., a US unit opened, tested, re-packed and re-sealed before export?

No. Since these Macs are sealed at the factory it would not be consistent with any sort of importer/reseller bench testing. "Charger plugged in, no input, forced off..." would be consistent with manufacturing and the QA process.

3. Is there ANY way to tell where the June 27 boot happened, given the machine was on factory-default clock and never touched a network?

4. Anything else I can check locally to narrow down who did it?

Nope, and nope.

I'm in agreement with the conclusion of our friend, @Grant Bennet-Alder; you are in possession of a new, previously unused, authentic Apple MacBook Pro. Apple's own record shows your purchase and their registration of the warranty to you. I see no reason to suspect shenanigans.

1 - We are users like you. We have no way to know how Apple QC handles finished products. Speculation would not be an answer and in any event is not allowed here.

2 - No reseller/importer should *ever* open a factory sealed unit. That would void the whole purpose of factory sealing.

3 - No

4 - No

If you have any doubts about this unit, return it immediately and get a refund. There is no sense taking chances with unknowns.

It is completely possible to open the box and then reseal it to make it look "factory sealed."

Three charge cycles is VERY typical, but higher numbers in the single digits are occasionally seen, on computers that are unmistakably NEW. That is like getting a new car with less than 100 miles on it. It's still new, they just tested it to be sure it was working properly.

Your report of the log contents suggests that no one ever used this Mac for anything. No setup was done, leaving you with the "hello in twenty languages" screen at power-up. No keyboard or trackpad input, No User account was created. No Apple-ID was entered.

The date&time could have been wrong initially , so you can't count on that being right. An automatic connection to a date server via Wi-Fi could have fixed that, and thrown what appears to be a huge calendar GAP into the log. The entire log COULD have taken place in a much shorter calendar time.

I think you are reading out the last step in the manufacturing process, checking to see whether This Mac will power up and work properly. This is done to assure that you get the best results possible, and there are no latent defects.

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Suppose instead that someone has deliberately opened this computer and powered it up at the dealer.

If that were the case, they never did anything with it, it does not show signs of being a demonstrator or floor model.

Summary: you have your warranty staring at the moment of sale to YOU. [in my opinion] that is the first sale and first non-factory use of the computer, and it is, in fact NEW.

Several posters here have mentioned "gray market seller" but is this an Apple Authorized Seller or instead a "gray market" seller? If it was sold by a seller acting as an agent of Apple, I think you are fine. You may still be fine, but checking the warranty might be something worthwhile:

Allan Jones wrote:

Can you confirm the warranty date using this method?:

View Coverage - AppleCare & Warranty

Do they even have Apple Stores in the location you are at? Maybe a gray market seller is the best one can do in some parts of the world.

I just purchased and set up a new Macbook Pro M4 Pro for my daughter's business in January 2026 but it was bought at an Apple Store and I did not think to check that log file. By now it is long overwritten I am sure. That said, I recall checking that several years ago on a new Mac my employer got me (from Apple directly) for work. When I checked that (it was several years ago so I can't provide an image or anything like that) I recall seeing that it had a very short power up similar to what you describe (I assumed it was at the factory for final testing) with one or at most a few battery cycles, then nothing for a few months until there was a longer "session" that was from my employer configuring it as an MDM machine, maybe about an hour. And then ... nothing until it arrived in my office.

If I were in your shoes, I would accept this as a new Mac. You do want to be sure as these are expensive! But it sounds like it is brand new.

My only concern is the state of your warranty. If obtained from an Apple Authorized Seller, I would think you should be fine, but you can check that at View Coverage - AppleCare & Warranty

How exactly was it “sealed” ?

And is this an Apple-Authorized reseller ?

Find Locations

There is no need for a reseller to “open and power-up” a device.

Any attempt to subsequently “seal” the unit certainly raises “questions.”

Thank you for the log info.

A quick “startup / shutdown” as part of normal factory production sampling makes VERY good sense.

I too am part of the general consensus that you do indeed have a “new” factory sealed unit.

The thought of obtaining a warranty repair on a gray market device does give me some pause, but I have no basis to be able to judge it either “pro” or “con” for the practices in your particular locale.

(I was very thankful for my own Apple “zero-pushback” full warranty coverage of 2x otherwise very pricy repairs on my older Intel MBP)

Chattanoogan wrote:

Re: “… Several posters here have mentioned "gray market seller" but is this an Apple Authorized Seller or instead a "gray market" seller? …”

It was mentioned because the OP specifically answered in his initial post and 1st reply it was “U.S. Spec” Hardware … sold outside the U.S. … by a “Not Apple Authorized” reseller.

Chattanoogan, thanks for pointing that out, I tried to read everything carefully but must have missed that.

Ok, if that is the case, then this Mac was purchased by someone else and was sold to the current owner, officially that makes it a used or pre-owned Mac even if the first owner never turned it on.

That said, it looks like the present owner has the warranty based on other images posted by the OP. So that's good. The warranty stays with the serial number so it transfers to new owners when a Mac is sold or transferred.

Personal preference -- I would never purchase something as expensive as a MacBook Pro from a not Apple authorized reseller, unless I was in a location where there is no other way. Will the laptop have to mailed off to some distant place if it ever needs warranty service? Again, maybe there was no other way.

The information posted by the OP seems to indicate that this Mac was not powered on or used by the first purchaser; it appears to have been directly resold to the current owner. So that's good also.

By the way, all the emphasis on "factory sealing," it is not hard for third parties to replicate that nowadays.

Thank you for answering, your images of the broken seals appear nearly identical to my own M5 MBP.

As has been pointed out, these seals could still have be counterfeited.

(If you had answered Factory Shrink Wrap) we’d have known conclusively it had been re-sealed as Apple doesn’t shrink wrap)

So … perhaps others here might chime in with something more substantive about those “first power-up” log entries you’re seeing.

Perhaps it’s all perfectly normal. I suspect that few new owners check these sorts of details early-on with a brand new computer.

Your call.

As has been pointed out, you shouldn’t have any questions after paying “Full Price.”

Not having purchased from an Authorized Apple Reseller is always going to leave some level of doubt.

And warranty coverage for a U.S. computer sold abroad on the gray market is a big concern … especially for a laptop w/ quite expensive parts.

Where on your Mac is that log you referenced ???

I find no “install.log” on my own Mac.

I also know from almost exactly the date/time of my own 1st bootup …

… as well as the approximate date the computer left the factory in China.

Thanks for ringing in. 👍

Any idea where I might find on my own “newish” MBP the log referenced in the OP ?

(Really only for my own info; but possibly for comparison w/ OP’s log)

I’m logged-in as the administrator used on 1st boot but am coming up empty.

<< where I might find on my own “newish” MBP the log referenced in the OP ? >>

If more than a day or two has passed since unboxing, those logs are rolled into a temporary directory, before being deleted completely.

Otherwise your Mac would be completely over-run with log files!

I do not know specifically.

I would launch Console and look as far back in System Log as was available. (on my Mac at this writing, that's TODAY, just after midnight.

if I select system log and choose "Reveal in Finder' it shows I am reading from:

/private/var/log/system.log

where there are also older files named :

system.log.0.gz

... through .6.gz at this writing

double-clicking one of those simply unpacks it to Downloads folder.

double-clicking on the unpacked "download" gives me "no Application to open..."

I can choose to open with Console, and there it is in a new window.

My oldest opens at 25 August with BOOT_TIME entry (Date 'at this writing' is September 1)