Distant shut down

[S Cee]

My son in law worked for a company that required him to use a MacBook. He bought a M1 MacBook Pro then claimed it back as expenses. So now 2 years later he works for a different company.

I have been offered the MacBook. He was told his former company may be able to shut the MacBook down and render it useless.

I believe this is possible if you have lost your device. My question is do you think it's possible for his former employer to do this. Bearing in mind that its almost 2 years since he left them.

Steve

 

[chrfr]

My son in law worked for a company that required him to use a MacBook. He bought a M1 MacBook Pro then claimed it back as expenses. So now 2 years later he works for a different company.

I have been offered the MacBook. He was told his former company may be able to shut the MacBook down and render it useless.

I believe this is possible if you have lost your device. My question is do you think it's possible for his former employer to do this. Bearing in mind that its almost 2 years since he left them.

Steve

It’s absolutely possible for a company with a managed computer, as this one probably is, to lock and erase the device. It’s also likely that the computer will connect to their management system and apply settings based on how the company that owns the computer wants their computers configured.

 

[S Cee]

It’s absolutely possible for a company with a managed computer, as this one probably is, to lock and erase the device. It’s also likely that the computer will connect to their management system and apply settings based on how the company that owns the computer wants their computers configured.

It was a Chinese company that had plans on Europe but as things went sour in China they pulled out of Europe. Would any settings on the MacBook show that it is a managed computer ?

Reason I ask is that it would be pointless accepting it as a gift only to have the machine erased and locked out.

 

[canuckRus]

My son in law worked for a company that required him to use a MacBook. He bought a M1 MacBook Pro then claimed it back as expenses. So now 2 years later he works for a different company.

I have been offered the MacBook. He was told his former company may be able to shut the MacBook down and render it useless.

I believe this is possible if you have lost your device. My question is do you think it's possible for his former employer to do this. Bearing in mind that its almost 2 years since he left them.

Steve

Error. My bad.

 

[dmccloud]

It was a Chinese company that had plans on Europe but as things went sour in China they pulled out of Europe. Would any settings on the MacBook show that it is a managed computer ?

Reason I ask is that it would be pointless accepting it as a gift only to have the machine erased and locked out.

From the Apple Support site:

Mac: You can go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Profiles and look for this line at the top of the window: “This Mac is supervised and managed by [Organization name].”

If there is a profile listed there, the original company would first need to unenroll the device from their MDM system. Simply erasing and reinstalling the OS would only cause the device to reregister with the MDM service on setup.

 

[S Cee]

Superb, check done and the profile section is void of any organisation.

Thanks for helping out.

Steve

 

[chrfr]

Superb, check done and the profile section is void of any organisation.

Thanks for helping out.

Steve

That's not necessarily a comprehensive check. There are some ways to temporarily bypass management systems but later operating systems are particularly aggressive about it.
With the computer connected to the internet, run this command in the Terminal app:

sudo profiles status -type enrollment

Enter your account password when prompted. If it returns the following then the computer is most likely not managed:

Enrolled via DEP: No

MDM enrollment: No

 

[S Cee]

That's not necessarily a comprehensive check. There are some ways to temporarily bypass management systems but later operating systems are particularly aggressive about it.
With the computer connected to the internet, run this command in the Terminal app:

sudo profiles status -type enrollment

Enter your account password when prompted. If it returns the following then the computer is most likely not managed:

Enrolled via DEP: No

MDM enrollment: No

Another method, brilliant.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my issue.