ironchefchris

Q: What happens if I deauthorize my Apple ID from my Macbook?

I'm in the process of selling my 2009 MacBook that is running Mavericks. The person who is very interested in buying wants it to continue running Mavericks because the main program he uses won't function on El Capitan or Snow Leopard. I live abroad and my old Snow Leopard discs aren't available; buried deep inside some unknown box at a relative's house. The country I live in has zero official Apple presence and it would take weeks to have Snow Leopard discs shipped to me.

 

I've created a bootable Mavericks install drive which I will install on a second partition and then overwrite the first partition with zeros using Disc Utility, or once I'm positive I've copied everything I want to bring with me to my external drive I could just zero out the disc and start from scratch on the one partition.

 

I know to de-authorize iTunes, sign out of iCloud, iMessages, iBooks, other software that requires authorization, etc.. I realize that I will need to use my Apple ID when I install Mavericks on the second partition. The buyer realizes that he will not be able to update the software or receive any updates to the operating system unless he purchases Snow Leopard discs. This isn't a problem as he wants and would be happy with Mavericks.

 

My thought is that as long as the new buyer doesn't have my Apple ID password he would have no access to my account. All that would happen is that my Apple ID would be in use on the MacBook for Mavericks only. What would happen if in the future I cancelled my Apple ID and created another as I still have an iPad? Would there be a problem with the MacBook for the new owner (besides the known situation of not being able to update the operating system)? Would the new owner be able to use his Apple ID with iTunes while Mavericks is tied to my Apple ID - one MacBook using two Apple ID's? Any other thoughts on what I'm planning?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Jul 26, 2016 6:32 PM

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Q: What happens if I deauthorize my Apple ID from my Macbook?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 26, 2016 6:35 PM in response to ironchefchris
    Level 9 (50,245 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 26, 2016 6:35 PM in response to ironchefchris
  • by ironchefchris,

    ironchefchris ironchefchris Jul 26, 2016 6:36 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 26, 2016 6:36 PM in response to Csound1

    Thanks. I've read that link. But it doesn't really answer my questions.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 26, 2016 6:39 PM in response to ironchefchris
    Level 9 (50,245 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 26, 2016 6:39 PM in response to ironchefchris

    Maybe you are not asking the right ones, for instance, you CAN NOT sell or give away your Mac with Mavericks on it.

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Jul 27, 2016 9:41 AM in response to ironchefchris
    Level 9 (70,023 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 27, 2016 9:41 AM in response to ironchefchris

    You can't cancel an Apple ID, you just stop using it. So the ID will still exist.

     

    iTunes should work with a different Apple ID.

  • by Phil0124,Helpful

    Phil0124 Phil0124 Jul 27, 2016 9:42 AM in response to ironchefchris
    Level 7 (26,897 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 27, 2016 9:42 AM in response to ironchefchris

    Unless the Mac came installed from factory with Mavericks, you cannot sell it with Mavericks installed.

     

    You must revert to the factory installed OS, and let the new owner update OSx.

     

    The EULA for OSX does not allow for license transfers of system software.

     

    If you decide you still want to do that, know that the Mavericks installation will be forever tied to your Apple ID, and you cannot change this. If the new owner ever wants to update they will require your Apple ID and password to do so.

     

    If the new owner has ever downloaded Mavericks to another Mac using their Apple ID, they can get the installer for it again, and update the computer to Mavericks themselves.

     

    Otherwise what you are proposing will cause a world of problems for the new owner.

  • by ironchefchris,

    ironchefchris ironchefchris Jul 27, 2016 9:57 AM in response to ironchefchris
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 27, 2016 9:57 AM in response to ironchefchris

    As mentioned, I no longer have access to the Snow Leopard discs I purchased, and even if the potential buyer was to purchase them and have them shipped to S. America, he would only be able to upgrade to El Capitan, since the App Store no longer offers Mavericks. Any OS past Mavericks won't play nice with the main software he uses, nor is it compatible with Snow Leopard.

     

    He wants a Mac and to be a Mac user (with the potential to buy more stuff from Apple!$!$), but it sounds like the only way for him to obtain one would be to find someone selling a Macbook from the time period when Mavericks was the OS bundled with a new purchase. Pretty hard to find in a developing third world country that doesn't have many Mac users. I understand how the license system works, but it's kind of ridiculous to keep someone from becoming a Mac user because of a simple OS issue. An OS that has already been paid for in the form of Leopard and my paid update to Snow Leopard. The potential owner would be more than happy to pay Apple to be able to download Mavericks, but that is not an option. Nobody is trying to pass on thousands of dollars of software - just an OS that is compatible with the users software. Potential buyer is fully aware that he wouldn't be able to update the OS in the future (again, he doesn't want to) and that if he did, he would have to purchase Snow Leopard (another sale for Apple!$!$) and start from scratch.

     

    As far as my Apple ID, what happens if I put a clean install of Mavericks on the hard drive and then remove the Macbook from my account?

  • by Phil0124,

    Phil0124 Phil0124 Jul 27, 2016 11:37 AM in response to ironchefchris
    Level 7 (26,897 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 27, 2016 11:37 AM in response to ironchefchris

    You may not need the original discs.

     

    You can try Internet Recovery to restore the Mac back to an out of box status so the new owner can then set up.

    About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

    How to reinstall OS X - Apple Support

    Choose Reinstall OS X from the OS X Utilities window, then follow the onscreen instructions.

    This installs the OS X that came with your Mac when it was new. This version isn't associated with your Apple ID. The new owner can then use the Mac App Store to upgrade OS X with their Apple ID.



    Mavericks was Free.  The new owner does not have a right to the OS you paid for. i.e Lion. Only to what the Mac came pre-installed with.

     

    He can then update to whatever the Mac supports.    Nobody is stopping him from becoming a Mac user. Its just what he can use, and what he can do to get it that has some limitations.

  • by ironchefchris,

    ironchefchris ironchefchris Jul 27, 2016 2:36 PM in response to Phil0124
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 27, 2016 2:36 PM in response to Phil0124

    The MacBook came with Leopard - whose discs I have right now; I purchased the Snow Leopard discs (the ones stashed away in a box half a world away). Mavericks, as we all know, was updated for free. Apple never intended to make a dime off of Mavericks (not to say they didn't when it was packaged with then new Mac's). I get that it's a whole license thing, but it's kind of funny that we're not talking about passing along software that was once paid for but an OS that was given away for free to those who purchased a new Mac when Mavericks was the latest OS, or those who were updating from a previously purchased Mac and/or a previously purchased OS. Free. I repeat - free.

     

    Nobody is stopping him from becoming a Mac user, but they sure are making it extremely difficult for him since his most used software is not compatible with El Capitan and if he were to buy Snow Leopard (also incompatible) so he could update, Mavericks would still be unavailable to him. It is what it is, and I get that systems progress and others are left behind, but when there's an obvious solution that could easily make this person a Mac convert and customer of other Mac products the general response is 'you can't do that,' so yes, in a way, he is being stopped from becoming an Apple customer. And the easy solution includes letting someone use an OS that already exists on the MacBook. An OS that Apple never charged a dime for and takes nothing from Apple. It's kind of funny to see this policy defended when the only ones who lose out on this are Apple for turning away a potential user who would buy other Apple products and the guy who just wants an Apple but only would buy an Apple if it has an OS that could run his software. It's even the environmentally friendly thing to do - reduce, REUSE, recycle. I can't help but think things like this have contributed to why Apple is more interested in selling consumer electronics that start with 'i' and less interested in computers and those who used to find Apple the only serious choice (such as creative types). I saw that writing on the wall when they ditched Aperture.

     

    This has been like asking "what will happen if you remove the label from the bottom of the mattress?" and people not responding to the question of "what will happen" but with "you can't remove the label."

     

    ::sigh::

  • by Phil0124,

    Phil0124 Phil0124 Jul 27, 2016 3:09 PM in response to ironchefchris
    Level 7 (26,897 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 27, 2016 3:09 PM in response to ironchefchris

    Some computers that came with OS X Snow Leopard and earlier installed can use the OS X Internet Recovery feature after applying a firmware update.


    Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support


    You can try to use Internet Recovery and leave it in a state usable by the buyer.

  • by ironchefchris,

    ironchefchris ironchefchris Jul 27, 2016 4:10 PM in response to Phil0124
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 27, 2016 4:10 PM in response to Phil0124

    Thanks for the suggestion, but Mid-2009 MacBook Pro is not on that list.

     

    Sorry for my attitude. I've always been one of those people more interested and more loyal to the customers of a company that buy the products than the company itself.

     

    Sorry for trying to "Think Different." Wasn't that a corporate slogan for a computer company at one time???