daughter has died - advice ref her MacBook please

[KathrynSheridan]

Hello,
My lovely brave daughter killed herself (age 23) in February 2021. She had never set up an Apple “legacy“ contact because this feature wasn’t available then. We really wanted to get copies of her photos and, luckily, I have managed to log into the computer because she had shared this password with me. So, I have successfully managed to save photos we want to have remember her by onto an external hard drive. I am now trying to restore the MacBook to factory settings because we could really do with a pc (our old one broke a couple of years ago and we have been managing with iPads but there are certain situations where you really need a pc) We used to use my husband‘s work laptop occasionally, but can’t anymore because he has had to leave that job due to being too devastated about our daughter’s death. He has got a new job but it doesn’t pay well and we no longer have a work computer.
I have read that you should de-authorize the computer from Apple ID and sign out of imessages and turn off “find my” for the device. I am having trouble doing that because I don’t know her Apple ID password, and the “forgot your password” link sends an email to her Google gmail account that needs logging into. To log into her gmail account, the “forgot your password” link sends a code to her mobile phone which has been disconnected now.
I have thought about taking it into an Apple store, along with my daughter’s death certificate, and my own photo ID, and her birth certificate to show I am her mum. But I’m not sure that would work because of the strict laws surrounding it, without designating a “legacy contact”. I officially own the MacBook because I paid for it when my daughter was a student, and I still have a receipt for it. But I’m not sure who has the legal right to the MacBook. Is it the person who bought it or is it the person signed into it?
Also, is there a way you can restore the MacBook to factory settings without de-authorizing it / signing out of Itunes Etc? And if there is, would this allow me to then set up the macbook using my own Apple ID?
We can’t afford a new computer, since my husband left his job, so we’re hoping there’s a way to utilise my daughter’s, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated
kind regard
Kathryn

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

If you’re somehow able to wipe it the device will still be locked to the AppleID rendering it useless. Best bet is to call Apple but I doubt there’s a workaround.

 

[KathrynSheridan]

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. That’s a blow! I half suspected that might be the case. I just wondered whether, because it is my device (as in I purchased it), it might be that I can have help via Apple to wipe it and set it up with my Apple ID.
Ah well, at least I managed to save the photos which was the main thing.

 

[AZhappyjack]

If you can locate the original sales receipt that shows the serial number, it's possible that Apple will help you...

 

[dukebound85]

If you can locate the original sales receipt that shows the serial number, it's possible that Apple will help you...

doubt it unfortunately

best bet op is to buy another used machine. The security in apple devices is not meant to have work arounds

 

[Dave Braine]

If you know your daughter's Apple ID and password, you can log in her account and you should then be able to change her ID email, credit card details etc to yours.

Safari should have saved all her passwords. Go Safari Preferences>Password. If it asks for a password then use the one for the computer. All passwords should be there.

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

Hello,
My lovely brave daughter killed herself (age 23) in February 2021. She had never set up an Apple “legacy“ contact because this feature wasn’t available then. We really wanted to get copies of her photos and, luckily, I have managed to log into the computer because she had shared this password with me. So, I have successfully managed to save photos we want to have remember her by onto an external hard drive. I am now trying to restore the MacBook to factory settings because we could really do with a pc (our old one broke a couple of years ago and we have been managing with iPads but there are certain situations where you really need a pc) We used to use my husband‘s work laptop occasionally, but can’t anymore because he has had to leave that job due to being too devastated about our daughter’s death. He has got a new job but it doesn’t pay well and we no longer have a work computer.
I have read that you should de-authorize the computer from Apple ID and sign out of imessages and turn off “find my” for the device. I am having trouble doing that because I don’t know her Apple ID password, and the “forgot your password” link sends an email to her Google gmail account that needs logging into. To log into her gmail account, the “forgot your password” link sends a code to her mobile phone which has been disconnected now.
I have thought about taking it into an Apple store, along with my daughter’s death certificate, and my own photo ID, and her birth certificate to show I am her mum. But I’m not sure that would work because of the strict laws surrounding it, without designating a “legacy contact”. I officially own the MacBook because I paid for it when my daughter was a student, and I still have a receipt for it. But I’m not sure who has the legal right to the MacBook. Is it the person who bought it or is it the person signed into it?
Also, is there a way you can restore the MacBook to factory settings without de-authorizing it / signing out of Itunes Etc? And if there is, would this allow me to then set up the macbook using my own Apple ID?
We can’t afford a new computer, since my husband left his job, so we’re hoping there’s a way to utilise my daughter’s, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated
kind regard
Kathryn

I am sorry to hear about your daughter, my sincere condolences.

with Apple you should be able to provide the death certificate and personal ID and they *should* be able to take her account off the laptop. take it to an Apple store with proper paperwork ID etc. and speak to the manager/Genius Bar manager.

I would call apple support first to make sure you have all the proper things before heading to the Apple store.

once again, Im sorry to hear about your daughter.

I wish you the best in this situation.

 

[KathrynSheridan]

If you know your daughter's Apple ID and password, you can log in her account and you should then be able to change her ID email, credit card details etc to yours.

Safari should have saved all her passwords. Go Safari Preferences>Password. If it asks for a password then use the one for the computer. All passwords should be there.

Thank you so much! That has worked! 😃 There isn’t “Apple ID” as such, but it says “apple.com” Is that the same thing?

 

[KathrynSheridan]

Y

If you can locate the original sales receipt that shows the serial number, it's possible that Apple will help you...

Yes, I have the original invoice with serial number, so they may help. It might all depend on whether, legally the ownership of a device is the purchaser or the person signed into it. Thanks for your advice

 

[chown33]

Here's the link to Apple Support's contact info.

Contact - Official Apple Support

Contact Apple support by phone or chat, set up a repair, or make a Genius Bar appointment for iPhone, iPad, Mac and more.

support.apple.com

One of the links there leads you to this page, where you can find a phone number for your location.

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Find a phone number for your country or region, or start a SignTime session.

support.apple.com

I know Apple Support also has online chats you can initiate, but I'm not sure of the simplest way to start one.

"Legal ownership" almost certainly depends on the country or jurisdiction of your location. This would be one reason to speak with an Apple Support person specific to your location.

 

[KathrynSheridan]

Here's the link to Apple Support's contact info.

Contact - Official Apple Support

Contact Apple support by phone or chat, set up a repair, or make a Genius Bar appointment for iPhone, iPad, Mac and more.

support.apple.com

One of the links there leads you to this page, where you can find a phone number for your location.

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Find a phone number for your country or region, or start a SignTime session.

support.apple.com

I know Apple Support also has online chats you can initiate, but I'm not sure of the simplest way to start one.

"Legal ownership" almost certainly depends on the country or jurisdiction of your location. This would be one reason to speak with an Apple Support person specific to your location.

 

[KathrynSheridan]

Thank you, yes, I have initiated a chat with Apple support via message, and have asked the question about ownershi. The agent who responded has not got back to me with an answer yet though.

 

[KathrynSheridan]

Thank you so much! That has worked! 😃 There isn’t “Apple ID” as such, but it says “apple.com” Is that the same thing?

So, I have managed to access the Safari passwords, however they don’t seem to work. It said it was a password which is the one she used when she first set up the computer, and which I knew, and thoight I had tried. Anyway, I tried it and there was a message saying because I have incorrectly tried to enter a password more than once it has locked me out of the account, and sent a link / code to the mobile phone on the account, which is no longer an active phone.

However, I then tried to go to iTunes, where a pop-up asked me to sign in. I clicked on “forgot Apple ID or Password” and it then did another pop-up which said I could change the password if I could enter the password for unlocking the MacBook, which I did. It then allowed me to change the password, and said “Your password has been changed. From now on please use your new password when signing in to your account” . When I clicked on “ok” it then went straight back to the itunes sign in pop-up and when I tried to use the password I had only just set, it was rejected. Any idea why?

 

[coffeym]

Thank you so much! That has worked! 😃 There isn’t “Apple ID” as such, but it says “apple.com” Is that the same thing?

It’s possible. But also, the password list may contain her gmail password, allowing you to get access to the Apple ID (unless she had two factor authentication turned on). If this doesn’t work, I hope Apple can help you.

 

[KathrynSheridan]

I have just tried that, but it does have 2-step verification turned on unfortunately. thank you for your good advice though.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Hello,
My lovely brave daughter killed herself (age 23) in February 2021. She had never set up an Apple “legacy“ contact because this feature wasn’t available then. We really wanted to get copies of her photos and, luckily, I have managed to log into the computer because she had shared this password with me. So, I have successfully managed to save photos we want to have remember her by onto an external hard drive. I am now trying to restore the MacBook to factory settings because we could really do with a pc (our old one broke a couple of years ago and we have been managing with iPads but there are certain situations where you really need a pc) We used to use my husband‘s work laptop occasionally, but can’t anymore because he has had to leave that job due to being too devastated about our daughter’s death. He has got a new job but it doesn’t pay well and we no longer have a work computer.
I have read that you should de-authorize the computer from Apple ID and sign out of imessages and turn off “find my” for the device. I am having trouble doing that because I don’t know her Apple ID password, and the “forgot your password” link sends an email to her Google gmail account that needs logging into. To log into her gmail account, the “forgot your password” link sends a code to her mobile phone which has been disconnected now.
I have thought about taking it into an Apple store, along with my daughter’s death certificate, and my own photo ID, and her birth certificate to show I am her mum. But I’m not sure that would work because of the strict laws surrounding it, without designating a “legacy contact”. I officially own the MacBook because I paid for it when my daughter was a student, and I still have a receipt for it. But I’m not sure who has the legal right to the MacBook. Is it the person who bought it or is it the person signed into it?
Also, is there a way you can restore the MacBook to factory settings without de-authorizing it / signing out of Itunes Etc? And if there is, would this allow me to then set up the macbook using my own Apple ID?
We can’t afford a new computer, since my husband left his job, so we’re hoping there’s a way to utilise my daughter’s, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated
kind regard
Kathryn

I really think you should try going to an apple store if u have one nearby,and explain to them as clearly as you did here.

providing the bill as well as your id card + a proof of the fact she passed away . there are high chances they'll be able to help you

really sorry for your loss

 

[Jack Neill]

Sorry for your loss. What model of MacBook is it?

 

[satcomer]

If you figure out her account ID password you can get all her passwords if you open /applications/Utilities folder/Keychain Access! Once you open that app to show a password you need to enter the account password every time! You can search for Google and then after putting in her password show her password for GMAIL account!

 

[KathrynSheridan]

THANK YOU EVERYBODY for all your advice, and especially to Dave Braine. I’m not sure how I did it but with his help I have managed somehow to sign into iTunes and deauthorise the computer from my daughters Apple ID. Which is great because the funeral set us back a lot and it’s good not to have to buy a new computer out and chuck out a perfectly good one. MANY THANKS 🙏🙏🙏😁😁😁

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I am sorry to hear about your daughter, my sincere condolences. I'm really lost for words. If all the helpful advice fails. Call the Apple corporate number and tell them you want to speak to the executive team. Your call will be connected to them and they will assist you further.

Praying for you and your family and sending wishes your way. 🙏 ❤️ 🪦

1-408-996-1010

 

[KathrynSheridan]

If you figure out her account ID password you can get all her passwords if you open /applications/Utilities folder/Keychain Access! Once you open that app to show a password you need to enter the account password every time! You can search for Google and then after putting in her password show her password for GMAIL account!

Thank you, but now I’ve managed to de-authourize the computer that is all I want to do. The only reason I was wanting to log into her google mail was because that email was the email used as her Apple ID and I thought a reset link might be sent via the gmail address. But now I’ve de-authorised I won’t need to log into google. I think I can now go ahead and restore to factory settings and hopefully be able to then enter my own Apple ID. Fingers crossed it works. Is there anything else I need to do before I wipe it clean?

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

Thank you, but now I’ve managed to de-authourize the computer that is all I want to do. The only reason I was wanting to log into her google mail was because that email was the email used as her Apple ID and I thought a reset link might be sent via the gmail address. But now I’ve de-authorised I won’t need to log into google. I think I can now go ahead and restore to factory settings and hopefully be able to then enter my own Apple ID. Fingers crossed it works. Is there anything else I need to do before I wipe it clean?

deauthorizing iTunes does not remove her Apple ID.

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

click on the settings app/system preferences and see if her name/Apple ID is still signed in.

 

[Nermal]

I have managed somehow to sign into iTunes and deauthorise the computer from my daughters Apple ID.

Unfortunately, deauthorising a computer in iTunes is not the same thing as resetting the activation lock. You'll need to sign out of iCloud too, which will hopefully work with the same email address/password as you used in iTunes. The steps are here.

 

[Yoms]

Basically, before wiping off a Mac, what you need to do is:
- De-authorize iTunes
- Close the iTunes session (just below the de-authorize in the same menu)
- Deactivate "Find my Mac" under iCloud (in System Preferences)
- Sign off from iCloud session (really important)
- Close the iMessage session (within iMessage preferences)

This is the official support page from Apple:

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support

Reset your Mac to factory settings to prepare it for a new owner.

support.apple.com