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Bought Used Mac, what about ownership?

Fellow Apple users,


Greetings from a new Apple-Ecosystem user.


I have a question regarding the new "ownership" of a used MBP 13" 2017.


I formatted the drive, re-installed the latest OS and registered to my apple account & linked in to my iphone.


Anything else I should be aware of? Any potential of the old owner to have any control over the computer if it's still registered to him as well?


Best Regards,

Used laptop macbook

Posted on Jan 27, 2018 8:10 AM

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Posted on Jan 27, 2018 9:18 AM

As long as you used internet recovery to erase the drive and reinstall the original OS version (which is the key here), you should be fine. Using that method will disassociate the Mac from any previous Apple ID; other methods will not. See the info here:


How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


(you want the option that will reinstall the OS that came with your Mac)


What to do before you sell or give away your Mac - Apple Support

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Question marked as Best reply

Jan 27, 2018 9:18 AM in response to JRomnasa

As long as you used internet recovery to erase the drive and reinstall the original OS version (which is the key here), you should be fine. Using that method will disassociate the Mac from any previous Apple ID; other methods will not. See the info here:


How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


(you want the option that will reinstall the OS that came with your Mac)


What to do before you sell or give away your Mac - Apple Support

Jan 27, 2018 8:45 AM in response to JRomnasa

Apple doesn't track device ownership. Warranty and service information is identified to the serial number. You can see if it is still under warranty or AppleCare via Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support


The other identification of the device would be related to what Apple ID it is currently signed in with. Check your Apple ID device list to see where you're signed in - Apple Support

Jan 27, 2018 3:14 PM in response to JRomnasa

Did you follow the instructions here:


https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201351


If you haven't, you need to do it. The reason for all of these steps (both with a Mac and an iDevice) is that anything downloaded from the app store is tied to the Apple ID used to obtain it - forever. That presents a problem for the new owner and it violates the licensing agreement because the licenses for anything from the app store are not transferable. There is only one way to disassociate it from the old Apple ID - that is following the instructions in both links I posted.

Jan 27, 2018 4:58 PM in response to y_p_w

Theoretically there are some software packages that are transferrable as long as there are no other installations elsewhere. However, you would probably need to disassociate the previous owner's Apple ID and use your own. I know I would completely sign out before handing over a used computer.


Unless the software came on physical install disks, no, they are not transferable. Anything downloaded (or by subscription) is not your property to give away or sell - you are simply purchasing a license to use it (you are, de facto, "renting" it). And you cannot disassociate the previous owner's Apple ID and use your own - you would be using pirated software. As I said, the license is not transferable. "Signing out" is not enough.


You may find this an interesting read (see sections 2 and 3 in particular):


http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/macOS1012.pdf


(the licensing agreements are pretty much the same for any newer OS version; they differ in some aspects for applications).

Jan 27, 2018 9:25 AM in response to JRomnasa

Everything seems to be in order. Unless the previous owner does something insane such as reporting it stolen, you should be good. It doesn't sound as if the previous owner installed a firmware password. It's your machine now and the previous owner has no control over it if you wiped it completely.

Jan 27, 2018 2:05 PM in response to babowa

Thank you very much for your reply.



My other concern is regarding the registered device.


For example i gave my old iphone to my father, he has another icloud account now in the phone but i can still see it in my devices.


Will that affect the laptop somehow? Give information if i am online where the pc is located etc if the previous owner has it still registered? Or since there is another apple id he cant access that information?


Sorry for such poor quality questions i am just concerned and its lack of knowledge.

Jan 27, 2018 3:20 PM in response to babowa

Thank you very much for your reply.


Nevertheless I have followed the usefull links you posted and formated the drive and reinstalled OS.

I think i should be ok as I login with my apple ID and no traces from the previous owner exist.


Is it true is one product is registered under one mac id it cannot be registered to a different one? BEcause if that is the case i have complete ownership

Jan 27, 2018 3:37 PM in response to JRomnasa

Is it true is one product is registered under one mac id it cannot be registered to a different one? BEcause if that is the case i have complete ownership


Unless you prepare it for sale to another person, yes, of course it is yours. And unless you prepare it properly, another person would not be able to use their Apple ID on it - they could use the computer as is actually, but they would not be able to do anything that requires an Apple ID such as updating apps or reinstalling the OS.

Jan 27, 2018 4:40 PM in response to JRomnasa

JRomnasa wrote:


Thank you very much for your reply.


Nevertheless I have followed the usefull links you posted and formated the drive and reinstalled OS.

I think i should be ok as I login with my apple ID and no traces from the previous owner exist.


Is it true is one product is registered under one mac id it cannot be registered to a different one? BEcause if that is the case i have complete ownership


It depends on the product. Theoretically there are some software packages that are transferrable as long as there are no other installations elsewhere. However, you would probably need to disassociate the previous owner's Apple ID and use your own. I know I would completely sign out before handing over a used computer.

Jan 27, 2018 7:37 PM in response to babowa

babowa wrote:


Theoretically there are some software packages that are transferrable as long as there are no other installations elsewhere. However, you would probably need to disassociate the previous owner's Apple ID and use your own. I know I would completely sign out before handing over a used computer.


Unless the software came on physical install disks, no, they are not transferable. Anything downloaded (or by subscription) is not your property to give away or sell - you are simply purchasing a license to use it (you are, de facto, "renting" it). And you cannot disassociate the previous owner's Apple ID and use your own - you would be using pirated software. As I said, the license is not transferable. "Signing out" is not enough.



I was specifically thinking about third-party software and not anything purchased through the Mac App Store. When I said "disassociate" I meant that any license to use anything associated with an Apple ID would need to be repurchased.

Jan 27, 2018 8:04 PM in response to y_p_w

They used to have this kind of thing. As well, it is no longer recommended to download anything unless it is from the app store or you know the developer - too many sites include adware or worse. Nowadays, I don't know of any software which can be transferred; 99.9% require a registration number which is valid only for the purchaser. The only transferable software I know of would be my old Aperture, Final Cut, etc. DVD purchases: I can actually give away or sell them as long as I uninstall it on my computer. There is only one small problem: they are not compatible with High Sierra (I am running a much earlier OS on my movie production and image editing machine so I can continue to use them).

Jan 27, 2018 10:49 PM in response to babowa

Maybe something like a donation ware version of Carbon Copy Cloner or the trial version of Super Duper? Definitely open-source software like Open Office or VLC isn't going to have any problems. I'm pretty sure that there's some software that's effectively activated/licensed to a specific machine and legally transfers with the machine.


I still miss Otto Matic, which came installed on my 2001 iBook G3. I'm kind of curious how the license transferred on that if it managed to work on another machine. It didn't work when I used Setup Assistant on my 2005 iBook G4. If I sold the machine, I'm wondering what the rules are on whether or not I needed to wipe it first.

Jan 27, 2018 11:27 PM in response to y_p_w

If I sold the machine, I'm wondering what the rules are on whether or not I needed to wipe it first.


That would depend on the software licensing agreement of that app. As I said, I could sell/give away my Aperture (because it is specifically allowed in the SLA as long as I do not keep a copy installed). Anything Apple downloaded from the app store cannot be transferred - this started when Apple changed to download only which - my personal opinion - was their answer to the never ending software piracy (ebay was one place where you could buy an Aperture registration number 300 times over - I fell for one of those, but wound up getting my money back and reporting the seller. Should have known that something that retailed for $300 couldn't possibly only cost $50)

Bought Used Mac, what about ownership?

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