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Somebody's been using my new MBP...

C

cobalt79

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 18, 2010
73
0
I recently purchased a new MBP at the time of the update.

I went to sync my iPhone 3G to the MBP and backup prior app purchases.

When I went to do so, it said that the 3G was not authorized on this MBP. I went to authorize it, only to find a random e-mail address in that field -- as if someone had previously synced another iPhone to my MBP.

I googled that e-mail address and came across a Chinese Facebook user page.

Clearly, someone used my MBP before I received it. It was built in China, so one would figure it was at the production facility.

I spent $3,000 on this MBP! I wanted a new MBP! Since it was used, I have 2 questions:

(1) Is it safe to continue to use it? Any chance this random guy embedded some malware on there?

(2) What is the proper recourse? Have Apple send me a new one?

And random third question:

(3) Should I set up my new iPhone 4 to the MBP -- since the set up asks for the last 4 of my ss#?

Thanks!
 
You should email him/her and become very best friends. That way you will have some inside information about new apple products that you can share with us.

Or... call apple and see what they have to say about this.
 
Well, reinstall from scratch seems to be the best bet. At least I'd have peace of mind.

But, that doesn't explain that I bought a NEW MBP from Apple, not a one-time used MBP

I should receive something from them, in the form of a discount or otherwise.

They are giving away iPods now, is an iPod an appropriate form of consideration here? What about an iPad?

Bottom line, if you bought a new car, and it turned out that someone drove a hundred miles on it, you'd be looking for some dough and want to know what happened.

To be honest, I really should receive a new CLEAN MBP here...
 
Why did it take you 6 weeks to attempt to sync your phone?

If you've had the computer since April, have you had the laptop available for others to use at work, home, etc.? If you have kids, maybe it's one of their friend's accounts.
 
I don't sync my phone regularly and was using the MobileMe trial, so it became even less an issue for me to plug in and do a formal sync.

I am the only one to use it, and haven't used it all that much as I'm converting from being a PC User.

What is the appropriate recourse here? I received a used machine at full retail -- and may have been subjected to potential identity theft.

Doubt that Apple wants that story on CNET.com
 
If you purchased from the Apple retail or online store, why not just call Apple and speak to AppleCare or customer relations?
 
I would run THIS software to see how many battery cycles the laptop has been through.

If that information looked good (i.e. very few cycles) I would probably just reformat it.

But I have to say, if this happened to me I would consider taking it back to have it replaced.
 
Chill

Don't you think you might be over-reacting just a bit? Even a new computer is not a never turned on computer. The OS has to be installed, hardware checked out, etc. I've no idea if what you noticed was unusual. Check out the browser history, cache, etc. Is there any other evidence of use?

There are no field reports of the kind of malware you fear. The warranty is still completely valid. For peace of mind, go ahead, wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS if you wish. And chill...

BB
 
I don't want to overreact, but once you start worrying, its hard to stop.

The battery indicator is giving me more or less 6-7 hours estimated remaining time. Of course, it varies from time to time, and I seem to be getting more than that.

Is that what everyone else gets?

I have a call scheduled with AppleCare today at 12:30.
 
cobalt79 said:
I don't want to overreact, but once you start worrying, its hard to stop.

The battery indicator is giving me more or less 6-7 hours estimated remaining time. Of course, it varies from time to time, and I seem to be getting more than that.

Is that what everyone else gets?

I have a call scheduled with AppleCare today at 12:30.
Click to expand...

Nooooooo, that's not what I get. I got my 15" i7 MBP a week ago, and I only get 4-5hrs of battery life. I'm a little jealous.

And I agree, you might be overreacting a bit. It's definitely strange that someone else has an email address associated with the machine, but I would definitely listen to what the Applecare rep has to say before coming to any conclusions. Worst case scenario, they'll replace your machine. Honestly, I doubt they'll provide anything (i.e., ipod, coupon). I've heard about situations like this before, but it's never been a huge deal.
 
That was interesting, in that it took me through the regular first-time startup routine. That's when I set up my mobileme trial!
 
I have a new 15" i5 MBP that I just got 2 days ago. Yes, the battery gets about 6 hours on medium settings which is good but it's always important to condition the battery by allowing it to fully run down until the computer goes into hibernation mode if possible, then recharge it.

Honestly, OP, you don't have a leg to stand on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks to be that you bought this computer back in April and you're now saying that you think it's been used? I didn't want to post this story because I don't believe in creating threads like yours, I just deal with the manufacturer but I will tell you my recent story.
I bought the 15" Core i5 and last week I received it, it was USED, really USED. It came straight from the china factory and the box was sealed. Upon opening it there were a LOT of dust speckles underneath the plastic that covers the MBP. Then I noticed the seal on the plastic had been broken. Still, I didn't think anything of it. Upon removing the plastic there was dent on the bottom of my MBP, there were actual scrapes next to the trackpad as if someone took a nail to it, there were fingerprints on the trackpad and the screen had a thumb smudge on it.
I was livid, I called Apple immediately to tell them and to get a replacement. Yes, they were very concerned, they set up my replacement, offered me something for my troubles but I certainly wasn't looking for them to give me anything, most companies won't, they will just replace the machine.

If you truly got a used computer you should've recognized it much sooner than almost 3 months ago (assuming you bought it April). You can authorize as many iPods and iPhones as you need to on iTunes, it's the other way around, each iPhone is unique to the computer it's authorized on.

All I'm saying is, something else should've triggered you that you had a used computer other than seeing someone's email address in your iTunes. At this point checking your battery cycle count is useless, that needs to be done from the day you buy the computer to detect if it's been used. Sorry to be harsh, but if you've had this computer since April and you're just bringing this up, Apple owes you nothing other than warranty repairs when needed.
Come on man, R U serious? An iPad or an iPod for compensation?
 
cobalt79, when you powered on the unit for the first time, what happened?

Did you get the typical OSX 'WELCOME' thing in all the different languages, then set up your user account, etc.?

If so, I thought that indicated a fresh, unused install of the OS.

To the OP, physical damage (scratches, dents, etc.) is another story.
 
On the original boot, there was nothing to indicate the MBP had been used before. The MBP went through setting up languages, time zones, and as referenced above, a trial for mobileme.

There was no physical damage to the MBP -- at least to my eye. It was securely packaged.

I only noticed this issue when I went to sync my new iphone 4.

While I've had the MBP for 3 months, why would I notice an issue like this without going to do the sync?

What if I didn't have an iPhone? I would have never found out!

I understand that you may criticize me for the delay in finding this out. But, what if you purchased a new BMW, only to find out that the car was driven 300 miles, shined up new with the odometer rolled back so you wouldn't notice.

Would you have the same opinion? If so, lay off the kool aid...
 
I had something like this happen when I was first setting up the machine. I don't recall the specific program - it may have been pre-loaded Aperture or the DVD player software - but the "permissible global zone" was pre-set to China.

I thought that this was interesting... but reasoned that someone there was checking whether the system worked with a local media feed. It did not permanently lock my system into a region I couldn't use or anything like that.

JB
 
that one story with the fingerprints, scratches etc. is insane. i'm getting mine tomorrow; if it's used like that i'll be LIVID! i would never keep a machine that wasn't brand spanking, and i do mean spanking, new.
 
cobalt79 said:
That was interesting, in that it took me through the regular first-time startup routine. That's when I set up my mobileme trial!
Click to expand...

If you had to do the full unpackaging, including pulling the clear plastic off the macbook itself and tearing the terms and conditions sticker, as well as going through the initial start up/setup process, then you have nothing to worry about.

I wouldn't even reformat it.
 
This is an interesting story but perhaps not much to fret about. I suspect that the factory QA turns on machines and checks them out before they are sent out. Thus, Apple probably has a way of booting a "clean install" and doing diagnostic stuff, and then shutting down the system while the next boot (the customer) will still see what appears to be a "clean install" with language, time, etc. settings. During the diagnostic check the chinese email may have been entered and then just not cleared before terminating the diagnostic check.

I agree you should let Apple know and then let us know how it went. From everything you have said I do not think you bought a "used" machine, or from your analogy, you didn't buy a car with a rolled back odometer. I think someone at the factory forgot to erase their tracks after checking out the machine- I don't think Apple owes you an ipod or anything. Perhaps you could request free applecare since you are worried that the machine really had been used and the extra warranty will soothe your worries.
 
I can't believe it took 22 posts before someone was able to come up with a reasonable reason for you to stop worrying. I work with heavy duty trucks and it's normal for me to get into a truck as it rolls off the assembly line to do some checks on the control system, sometimes before the truck is even complete. It's still sold as new even though I've been behind the wheel during or after the assembly process to make sure that the truck is built correctly.
 
cobalt79 said:
On the original boot, there was nothing to indicate the MBP had been used before. The MBP went through setting up languages, time zones, and as referenced above, a trial for mobileme.

There was no physical damage to the MBP -- at least to my eye. It was securely packaged.

I only noticed this issue when I went to sync my new iphone 4.

While I've had the MBP for 3 months, why would I notice an issue like this without going to do the sync?

What if I didn't have an iPhone? I would have never found out!

I understand that you may criticize me for the delay in finding this out. But, what if you purchased a new BMW, only to find out that the car was driven 300 miles, shined up new with the odometer rolled back so you wouldn't notice.

Would you have the same opinion? If so, lay off the kool aid...
Click to expand...

If you were referring to me about laying off the Kool Aid, I would say your attitude is getting to be on the rude side, remember you came here asking for what to do and people are giving you their opinions, you have to be open to anything said and not fire back at people with rude replies.

Your car analogy fails, its against the law to roll back odometers. All we know here is what you're telling us, there should be no way your iTunes was used other than the factory testing it before shipping it to you if it appeared factory fresh and the set up assistant came up. How do you plan on proving any of this to Apple that your computer was used based on the fact that an email address was in your iTunes when connecting your iPhone 4? I can't see Apple offering you anything based on that alone. Just reformat the drive and move on. Maybe you should take my story and understand that there are worse things to complain about.
 
Apple only gives away free stuff when there's been pretty significant hassle incurred on your part; and even then, they only give away accessories. They'd never give away a free iPod.
 
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