I bought a Mac mini today and when I get home it has been set up and has a user name and password. I was blocked of course so pretty obvious it is stolen. I have lost my money but I would like to at least find the owner and get it back to them.
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How can I find a mac's owner?
- Thread starter mclld
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I'd call Apple Support for your country. They should be able to provide guidance. If you're in the US it's 800-275-2273. And if you're sure it was stolen you should of course contact the local police, so that you're not blamed if your location has been determined from the owner's Find My Mac app (which is based on BlueTooth, and thus will work even if you haven't connected to the internet).
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Give it to the Police, Apple shouldn't be giving out anyone's personal information so they can't tell you who the machine is currently locked to. That's for the Police to figure out. If the machine has been reported stolen, they'll have the serial number on file so won't even need to contact Apple themselves.
I think I'd give it to the police and provide the name/contact of who sold it to you.
If you bought it used, it is normal for it to be set up previously.
Maybe the previous owner has forgotten to wipe it (reset to default)....?
Where did you buy it from, ebay, amazon market place, down the pub etc...?
The OP is either leaving out information or has drawn a conclusion (stolen) that isn't warranted. Could be true, though.
The Mac might have a firmware password and the owner could have thrown it away. They may have sold or donated it…not realizing the firmware password rendered it useless.
Is it a firmware password? What does "I was blocked" mean?
The Mac might have a firmware password and the owner could have thrown it away. They may have sold or donated it…not realizing the firmware password rendered it useless.
Is it a firmware password? What does "I was blocked" mean?
Well when he said it has never been set up and was a Christmas gift he didn't want then when I get it home it has a user name that was a different name and a password and he blocks me on messenger I say it is a safe bet something is not right
If you start up from internet recovery (the method varies depending whether it's an Intel-based Mac or not), if you can erase the disk and run through the setup without being prompted to unlock the computer, then it's not locked to someone's account. If you do get a prompt that the computer has to be unlocked to activate, then you're out of luck and almost certainly have a stolen computer. You'd really need to give more detail as to what you've tried so far.
The fact that an account already exists on the computer isn’t necessarily indicative that it’s stolen. Many people have no idea how to reset a computer. I’d go ahead and do a reset/reinstall of macOS on the computer and just use it as long as it all works normally at that point.
Too late now, but there are a lot of contactless options these days like Venmo or Apple Pay. At least you can get those reversed, generally.
If someone requires cash only for a pricey craigslist/marketplace/nextdoor/etc sale, it is a scam 99.9999% of the time.
If someone requires cash only for a pricey craigslist/marketplace/nextdoor/etc sale, it is a scam 99.9999% of the time.
Seller: "I'm not set up to take credit cards, and won't accept personal checks."
Me: "Oh. Well, thanks anyway. Goodbye."
Me: "Oh. Well, thanks anyway. Goodbye."
The seller was wrong about it not being set up, obviously.
However, you still haven't said exactly what happened when you started it up.
However, you still haven't said exactly what happened when you started it up.
If it came in its box with all its documentation, power cord etc etc, it seems unlikely it was stolen.
If it didn't come in its box and you were presented with just a Mac Mini, yet it was apparently a brand-new unused Xmas gift, did that not ring alarm bells, like really REALLY loudly?
To answer your original question, you personally cannot trace the owner.
But also you've already checked with the police and it hasn't been reported as stolen. So, I think you can legit try to get it working without bothering your conscience, IMO.
I would recommend trying to boot from recovery mode and see if you can reset it to factory settings.
If it didn't come in its box and you were presented with just a Mac Mini, yet it was apparently a brand-new unused Xmas gift, did that not ring alarm bells, like really REALLY loudly?
To answer your original question, you personally cannot trace the owner.
But also you've already checked with the police and it hasn't been reported as stolen. So, I think you can legit try to get it working without bothering your conscience, IMO.
I would recommend trying to boot from recovery mode and see if you can reset it to factory settings.
OP wrote:
"Cash and in person"
Well, obviously you won't be getting your money back on this one.
A bit of advice for the future:
Want a "good purchase"?
Then either buy new, or buy Apple-refurbished.
"Cash and in person"
Well, obviously you won't be getting your money back on this one.
A bit of advice for the future:
Want a "good purchase"?
Then either buy new, or buy Apple-refurbished.
For anybody following along (I did not see any clarity on exactly how this machine is locked), it could be one or more of these 3 things:
1. User name and/or PW unknown
2. Drive is encrypted
3. Mac is/was owned by an org and is a managed device
No 1 can be worked around. No 2 and 3 cannot be defeated without more info or documentation.
It would be interesting if Apple would be willing to contact the owner on record and notify them. I doubt they would.
1. User name and/or PW unknown
2. Drive is encrypted
3. Mac is/was owned by an org and is a managed device
No 1 can be worked around. No 2 and 3 cannot be defeated without more info or documentation.
It would be interesting if Apple would be willing to contact the owner on record and notify them. I doubt they would.