My friend has a MacBook that used to be under a corporate MDM system. They did a factory reset and removed all corporate profiles and set it up with their personal Apple ID. Now, they want to trade it in at an Apple Store to get credit for a new MacBook. The thing is, this store often sells devices to that same company. I'm curious about a couple of things: First, does Apple's trade-in process have any way of detecting if the MacBook was previously under corporate management or linked to the company's device registration? Second, are there any hidden checks — like firmware locks or activation locks — that stick around even after a factory reset? Any insights would really help!
4 Answers
Yes, the serial number could link back to the company, so unless your friend has proof of purchase or a handoff document, they might run into issues during trade-in.
The trade-in process wipes devices and checks for things like Find My or lost mode. If everything has been cleared properly and the device isn't still enrolled in MDM, there shouldn't be a problem.
I've removed devices from MDM before, and usually, there's no visible history once it's clean. If the Mac has no firmware locks or activation locks, it should be good for trade-in. However, if the device is reported stolen, that's a different story.
If the MacBook wasn't properly released from the company's management system, they likely won't get trade-in credit. If it boots up to an MDM lock, that's a clear indicator.
Thanks for the insights! So if all checks pass after the reset, we should be safe to trade it in?