If you don’t remove it from your account it will stay there. Apple can’t remove it from your account.
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Someone bought a refurbished MacBook Pro I returned to Apple and it is still linked to my Find iPhon
- Thread starter oratowsky
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of course they can
if that were true then every refurbished mac could be locked to someone else's account
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Isn’t that why they advise you to remove find my iPhone when you want to sell your iPhone.
Just curious, since this has now gone on for a while, what have you done vis-s-vis removing the MBP from your iCloud account? The new owner must be pretty frustrated at this point. And, while I have never done business with Newegg, I am surprised they haven't returned it.
Yes, but when you sell your phone, Apple isn't in control. In this case, they should have removed it from the system themselves BEFORE reselling it.
That being said, things happen and sometimes things can slip through. No biggie, just work with the other person to remove it and move on.
In order to remove a device from Find My Device, the device must first be erased.
I think the owner was trying to make a time machine backup in order to do that but couldn't figure out how.
I don't think the new owner is very tech savvy, I told them that this was a serious breach of privacy and security but I'm not sure they understood or cared.
I told him he should take this up with Apple and or Newegg and they would almost certainly replace the computer because this was so crazy, but he seems reluctant to for some reason.
I don't know if I would file this in the 'no biggie' folder
If this happened to someone and the previous owner was a bad guy, they could really screw things up. Data ransom, GPS tracking, etc.
In order to remove a device from Find My Device, the device must first be erased.
I think the owner was trying to make a time machine backup in order to do that but couldn't figure out how.
I don't think the new owner is very tech savvy, I told them that this was a serious breach of privacy and security but I'm not sure they understood or cared.
I told him he should take this up with Apple and or Newegg and they would almost certainly replace the computer because this was so crazy, but he seems reluctant to for some reason.
I don't know if I would file this in the 'no biggie' folder
If this happened to someone and the previous owner was a bad guy, they could really screw things up. Data ransom, GPS tracking, etc.
I would...
I doubt the owner has had the laptop long enough to really get a lot of "data" on it and he could have simply called Apple and shown the receipt that he got from NewEgg as proof of purchase to have it removed from your account. It really isn't a big deal and as previously mentioned, usually this doesn't happen.
Lastly, if that happened to me and Apple wasn't willing to budge, I would just return it to NewEgg and explain the situation. They are good about returns, so again, really not a big issue other than a little hassle.
First thing I would have done would be to get it off my account. I wouldn't even go down the route of locking it.
Yeah, same.
What I don't get now is how the new owner is supposed to do anything with it or back something up. Isn't it locked at this point?
"this was a serious breach of privacy and security"
This has been repeated over and over in this thread, but for some reason the situation hasn't been resolved. It can't be that serious. Neither party seems to be really that adversely affected by what was obviously an outlying mistake.
This thread was stated weeks ago and is still not resolved! How can that be?
If discovered that an old computer I previously owned and now in possession by a new owner is still showing up in my account, it would have been removed in less than 60 seconds. Period. Gone. To me, it is a security risk to have some unknown person using a machine that is identified to me in any way.
Seriously OP, it is time to remove it.
If discovered that an old computer I previously owned and now in possession by a new owner is still showing up in my account, it would have been removed in less than 60 seconds. Period. Gone. To me, it is a security risk to have some unknown person using a machine that is identified to me in any way.
Seriously OP, it is time to remove it.
guys:
-- when I first saw it on my find my mac i didn't know what it was which is why i locked it (i thought maybe someone was using my icloud account.)
-- when the new owner contacted me i told him the code
-- i can't remove it from my account before erasing the device, and he can't figure out how to make a backup of his data to do it. I have offered to help him. I encouraged him to contact Apple and or Newegg.
If any of you bought a FACTORY REFURBISHED MAC and you discovered that the previous owner could lock it, erase your device, and see your physical location, I think you would be pretty pissed?
I posted this story here because I am a long time apple user and enthusiast.
I wanted to bring it to this community's attention and see if anyone else had heard of this before because to me it's exceptional.
It's not "serious" in this case between me and the new owner because I am not a bad guy.
It's serious because if this happened to someone else, and the previous owner WAS a bad guy, they could lock the device, erase the new owner's data, and see their physical location.
how you guys don't think this isn't a bad situation and have mostly replied "who cares" or "this is your fault" is bewildering to me. But at least it's documented here.
Peace out and sorry for any misunderstanding
-- when I first saw it on my find my mac i didn't know what it was which is why i locked it (i thought maybe someone was using my icloud account.)
-- when the new owner contacted me i told him the code
-- i can't remove it from my account before erasing the device, and he can't figure out how to make a backup of his data to do it. I have offered to help him. I encouraged him to contact Apple and or Newegg.
If any of you bought a FACTORY REFURBISHED MAC and you discovered that the previous owner could lock it, erase your device, and see your physical location, I think you would be pretty pissed?
I posted this story here because I am a long time apple user and enthusiast.
I wanted to bring it to this community's attention and see if anyone else had heard of this before because to me it's exceptional.
It's not "serious" in this case between me and the new owner because I am not a bad guy.
It's serious because if this happened to someone else, and the previous owner WAS a bad guy, they could lock the device, erase the new owner's data, and see their physical location.
how you guys don't think this isn't a bad situation and have mostly replied "who cares" or "this is your fault" is bewildering to me. But at least it's documented here.
Peace out and sorry for any misunderstanding
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Wipe it and delete it from your account. If it were me, that's what I would do. I would not want a device no longer in my possession or control still linked to my iCloud account. Based on what you have conveyed here, you have been more than patient enough. If this new owner could find the money to purchase the machine he could find $50 (or less) to obtain a USB drive and run TimeMachine or Carbon Copy (better option in my view and they offer a free trial period so he could do this without additional cost after obtaining a drive for the backup).
Again, based on what you have told us, you have been more than accommodating to the new owner. Get it off your account.
Again, based on what you have told us, you have been more than accommodating to the new owner. Get it off your account.
This story is a bit on the far fetched side. First, the 2014 refurb being left on your account, and next a guy that can't figure out how to back it up after several weeks.
I'm starting to call BS here.
Pretty pissed? No... It was a used computer and it happens. Again, I would have just called Apple to get it sorted and if they couldn't, I would box it back up and return it. I think you are trying to make more of this than it really is. He can easily get it sorted without your help with a simple call.
Why do people want to go over the top with things like this that happen? It baffles me.
Interesting thread.
apple can access their own iCloud system and remove an iCloud lock. However, I would assume that apple would need a key like an Cloud id, imei or a serial number. I would think that apple would not do that in order to maintain a sense of infallibility in their security system.
apple can access their own iCloud system and remove an iCloud lock. However, I would assume that apple would need a key like an Cloud id, imei or a serial number. I would think that apple would not do that in order to maintain a sense of infallibility in their security system.
Hi, I found this thread searching this issue ,
I have had the exact same thing happen to me as OP
Not sure why everyone is giving the OP so much hate --- this is a serious problem
I returned an Intel macbook as part of Applecare replacement and a few weeks later it showed up across the country on my FindMy app
I did lock the device and get in touch with the owner -- and it was the same story -- they said they purchased it from newegg
Yeah, that's a big ****ing problem ~ Apple not wiping the devices properly , taking them back and then selling them to newegg? The newegg customer location can be track, data erased, etc ~
I have had the exact same thing happen to me as OP
Not sure why everyone is giving the OP so much hate --- this is a serious problem
I returned an Intel macbook as part of Applecare replacement and a few weeks later it showed up across the country on my FindMy app
I did lock the device and get in touch with the owner -- and it was the same story -- they said they purchased it from newegg
Yeah, that's a big ****ing problem ~ Apple not wiping the devices properly , taking them back and then selling them to newegg? The newegg customer location can be track, data erased, etc ~
I think Apple has different capabilities from one of their third party companies that process returns/trade ins. I sent in a phone one year on IUP and got and email asking release it from Find-My. The upgrade was the processed. Apple likely has the capability to remove from another account as do their store managers.
Had this happen to me.
In this case, it was a company that had bought the laptop from Apple and was in the process of getting it ready to sell it to someone else. They contacted me and let me know that it was still connected to my account and I couldn’t remove it no matter what I did. So I had to first click the erase, and then it let me remove it from the Find My.
The weird thing is, I know I removed the laptop from Find My before I give it back to Apple. It appeared back anyway.
In this case, it was a company that had bought the laptop from Apple and was in the process of getting it ready to sell it to someone else. They contacted me and let me know that it was still connected to my account and I couldn’t remove it no matter what I did. So I had to first click the erase, and then it let me remove it from the Find My.
The weird thing is, I know I removed the laptop from Find My before I give it back to Apple. It appeared back anyway.
People don’t realize that when you send in your item for a trade-in it’s not going to Apple. It’s going to a third-party company.
This is why it says to remove it from your account. What should’ve happened is when the person that traded it in failed to remove it from his account they should’ve denied the return and sent it back. Clearly some slip through the cracks.
This is why it says to remove it from your account. What should’ve happened is when the person that traded it in failed to remove it from his account they should’ve denied the return and sent it back. Clearly some slip through the cracks.
I'm happy there's some renewed interest in this story and I see I'm not the only one.
Yeah, or they should have removed it themselves.
I think this is a serious breach of privacy and security.
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I agree, but ultimately it’s the end-users responsibility for their own data. This doesn’t only happen in the Mac world. I just bought a used computer at Goodwill, and the owner failed to delete any data off of it. It had full name, SSN, date of birth, address and every other imaginable bit of information. Of course I wiped the drive, but not every person would’ve been so nice.
The bottom line is, if you’re putting your personal information on a device you have to take responsibility to delete it before selling or trading it in.