Buying used Macbook Pro from FB Marketplace - What To Check??

[A4orce84]

Hello Everyone,

I am pretty close to pulling the trigger on a used M1 MacBook Air off of FB Marketplace. The guy offered for me to come check out the machine and inspect it before purchasing. So what should I check?

So far I have:
1. Run it unplugged to see how the battery holds up.
2. Wifi / Bluetooth works correctly.
3. Download Coconut Battery To Check Wear Levels.
4. Check if serial number matches MacOS and the bottom of the machine.


What else should I check when buying a used MacBook? Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks,
Asif

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Personally I wouldn't worry about the battery levels, those things were made in 2020 so if you want to check the battery cycles in the system info then fine but those won't really tell you anything either. I think you are overthinking it as a lot of the stuff you're mentioning is highly unlikely. I've sold plenty of Macs and I always wipe them before hand and the most buyers do is connect it to their hotspot, logon to make sure it activates, look for any screen/physical damage, then be on their way. If the person seems shady or their computer is worth more than were they live then you probably shouldn't be buying it regardless.

 

[chown33]

Make sure you can turn off FileVault. I'd even go so far as to turn it off and reboot.

This is roughly equivalent to having a firmware password on an Intel Mac, according to this:

Set a firmware password on your Mac - Apple Support

When you set a firmware password, users who don't have the password can't start up from any disk other than the designated startup disk.

support.apple.com

A number of folks who've bought used Intel Macs neglected to get the firmware password, or neglected to disable it. As a result, they were unable to do complete wipes, use external boot drives, etc. and they visit MR looking for solutions. The only sure solution is to take an origina purchase receipt into an Apple Store, and they can remove the firmware password.

I'd also check there isn't any MDM installed (Mobile Device Management). It might not be obvious if it's present.

Ensure the Mac isn't registered under the seller's AppleID any more, so they can't use FindMy Mac and remote lock to lock you out.

Finally, make sure you get the passwords for all existing accounts, and then confirm that those are correct (logout and login).

 

[Fishrrman]

MAKE SURE THERE IS NO FIRMWARE PASSWORD on it.

Shut down, all the way off.
Then boot up "from off".

If you see a firmware password (or anything other than a regular user account password) to get to the finder, politely say "no" and walk away.

 

[The_Auryn]

Press Command (⌘)-D on your keyboard while booting and run Mac's internal diagnostics test.

Also, the app TechTool Pro 15 has a lot of useful tests in it, including Memory Test, Surface Scan, SMART Check, Partition Map, Volume Structures, Video Memory, Sensors Test, File Structures, Fans Test, Battery Check, and Bluetooth Check.