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I googled "how to resell macbook" and found this article on how to properly do it and reset all the T2 security chip stuff. It seems trivial to do before selli

I googled "how to resell macbook" and found this article on how to properly do it and reset all the T2 security chip stuff. It seems trivial to do before selling your Mac https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/erase-your-mac-mchl7676b710/mac https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/erase-your-mac-mchl... These macbooks need to be treated like a used car now. I've traded in 2 cars and they look it over and take it for a 5 minute drive to make sure it is okay then give me the money. They aren't going to take my word that the car is fine. Anyone buying a used macbook needs to verify that the machine has been properly reset. This should probably take a minute or less. Price for Macbook that has been properly reset = $500 - 1500 Price for Macbook that has NOT been reset = $0 Not that complicated.

sdflhasjd 4y ago
The process of recovering lost documentation for a car (at least in the UK) is much easier than recovering an Activation-Locked macbook
wrldos 4y ago
Actually it's a little more nuanced than that. If you buy an activation locked MacBook from a registered business in the UK and have an authentic receipt for it, Apple will unlock it. I know someone who has been through that process. If the device is marked in lost in iCloud though, it isn't happening. Ergo if you're going to risk it, stick it on a credit card.
LeifCarrotson 4y ago
For an individual, this is absolutely worth it. The problem is corporate/education IT departments do not operate on the same economics as you or I. You'd think that you can just multiply 60 laptops by their value as "for parts" versus their value as used, properly reset devices minus the intern's hourly rate. Clever you, you've found a way to make money! But big corporations don't think that way, they already know how their bread is buttered and don't have flexible processes in place to reward the elimination of inefficiencies or creative discovery of new income sources. I've bought a number of used Thinkpads, laser printers/copiers, workstations, etc. that were previously owned by big companies. They don't go through the wiping process. If it has a removable drive caddy the whole thing comes out and goes in the trash, and you need to find a spare part that costs as much as the whole used laptop if a lookalike isn't available. They don't care whether the BIOS is locked, that doesn't have their data on it. The intern saddled with unloading the pallet of old laptops is never going to see any of that hypothetical $500-$1500. And who would ever give an intern the local admin password to run erase assistant, potentially letting them decrypt the data of a senior employee previously logged into the Mac, just before covering their tracks by deleting the access logs?
jillesvangurp 4y ago
It is if you are a company that needs to refurbish laptops from employees that have left, which is a thing. They just hand in their laptop but they might not be around to do things like wiping their laptop properly. There are all sorts of legitimate reasons to want to do that and wipe a laptop. There are also companies leasing laptops that need to worry about what happens when the lease ends and the laptop comes back. Their target audience is a mix of all sorts of users, most of which are not necessarily be capable of erasing their own laptop properly. Because of this article, I'm updating our internal employee off-boarding check list to make sure we don't end up with a lot of bricked hardware.
- gowld 4y ago
  If it's a corporate-owned device, you have the password. You should update the recycling checklist to unlock the hardware.
- lizknope 4y ago
  I will state that I have never used Macs in a corporate environment. Every Windows laptop I have ever had has an employee has so much extra corporate security software on it that they can remotely lock me out, reset it, wipe it, etc. They don't need the password I use for anything. Does Apple or any third parties make software to do this? Essentially the T2 security chip needs to allow 2 passwords so that both the user AND corporate IT can reset the machine etc. If a company is leasing laptops then they need to treat this process like an apartment security deposit. When I rented my first apartment I had to pay one month's rent up front. I moved out 4 years later and they inspected my apartment for damage and after they found nothing wrong they gave me my original security deposit back.

sdflhasjd 4y ago

The process of recovering lost documentation for a car (at least in the UK) is much easier than recovering an Activation-Locked macbook

wrldos 4y ago

Actually it's a little more nuanced than that. If you buy an activation locked MacBook from a registered business in the UK and have an authentic receipt for it, Apple will unlock it. I know someone who has been through that process. If the device is marked in lost in iCloud though, it isn't happening. Ergo if you're going to risk it, stick it on a credit card.

LeifCarrotson 4y ago

For an individual, this is absolutely worth it. The problem is corporate/education IT departments do not operate on the same economics as you or I. You'd think that you can just multiply 60 laptops by their value as "for parts" versus their value as used, properly reset devices minus the intern's hourly rate. Clever you, you've found a way to make money! But big corporations don't think that way, they already know how their bread is buttered and don't have flexible processes in place to reward the elimination of inefficiencies or creative discovery of new income sources. I've bought a number of used Thinkpads, laser printers/copiers, workstations, etc. that were previously owned by big companies. They don't go through the wiping process. If it has a removable drive caddy the whole thing comes out and goes in the trash, and you need to find a spare part that costs as much as the whole used laptop if a lookalike isn't available. They don't care whether the BIOS is locked, that doesn't have their data on it. The intern saddled with unloading the pallet of old laptops is never going to see any of that hypothetical $500-$1500. And who would ever give an intern the local admin password to run erase assistant, potentially letting them decrypt the data of a senior employee previously logged into the Mac, just before covering their tracks by deleting the access logs?

jillesvangurp 4y ago

It is if you are a company that needs to refurbish laptops from employees that have left, which is a thing. They just hand in their laptop but they might not be around to do things like wiping their laptop properly. There are all sorts of legitimate reasons to want to do that and wipe a laptop. There are also companies leasing laptops that need to worry about what happens when the lease ends and the laptop comes back. Their target audience is a mix of all sorts of users, most of which are not necessarily be capable of erasing their own laptop properly. Because of this article, I'm updating our internal employee off-boarding check list to make sure we don't end up with a lot of bricked hardware.

gowld 4y ago
If it's a corporate-owned device, you have the password. You should update the recycling checklist to unlock the hardware.
lizknope 4y ago
I will state that I have never used Macs in a corporate environment. Every Windows laptop I have ever had has an employee has so much extra corporate security software on it that they can remotely lock me out, reset it, wipe it, etc. They don't need the password I use for anything. Does Apple or any third parties make software to do this? Essentially the T2 security chip needs to allow 2 passwords so that both the user AND corporate IT can reset the machine etc. If a company is leasing laptops then they need to treat this process like an apartment security deposit. When I rented my first apartment I had to pay one month's rent up front. I moved out 4 years later and they inspected my apartment for damage and after they found nothing wrong they gave me my original security deposit back.