Stolen MacBook

[NickYanakiev]

Hi all,

My MacBook Pro 13“ was stolen in London a few days ago. It was the 1799 model too so a rather massive loss...
I contacted Apple to report it as lost and see if they can blacklist the serial number (claimed it was impossible) and reported it to the police.

Is there anything at all that I can do to report the serial number as stolen?

Thanks!

 

[Mattyman]

Can’t you just disable the use of the MacBook. No help to you but at least little value to the thugs.

 

[simonmet]

If it’s a T2 chip model hopefully they’ll have a hard time selling it, but they can still use it for parts.

Is it worth enabling a firmware password for extra protection do you think? Sorry, I know that doesn’t help now.

I’ve put a login message on the login screen to offer a reward and at least try to implore thieves (or anyone else that might find it) to contact me to return it.

I’d like to see that same option added for iOS, because you might not be able to activate “Find My” very quickly.

 

[NickYanakiev]

Indeed....find my MAC was disabled very quickly. I had deleted all of my data anyway as I had recently put it up for sale but ended up with a massive hole in my pocket instead. At least no personal data was stolen.

 

[simonmet]

Indeed....find my MAC was disabled very quickly. I had deleted all of my data anyway as I had recently put it up for sale but ended up with a massive hole in my pocket instead. At least no personal data was stolen.

As someone that lost a lot of data (basically everything) through theft I can assure you the financial loss is a far easier pill to swallow in the long term.

Still sux though.

 

[0128672]

Apple does track in its system devices that have been reported lost or stolen, but they can't "blacklist the serial number." If the person who stole it tried to contact Apple, Support would see its lost or stolen status. I believe some selling sites (like Swappa) also check via serial number whether it's been reported lost or stolen. Apparently there's a global serial number database (according to Swappa), but I don't have any other info than that.

 

[NickYanakiev]

Apple does track in its system devices that have been reported lost or stolen, but they can't "blacklist the serial number." If the person who stole it tried to contact Apple, Support would see its lost or stolen status. I believe some selling sites (like Swappa) also check via serial number whether it's been reported lost or stolen. Apparently there's a global serial number database (according to Swappa), but I don't have any other info than that.

Sadly Apple Support wouldn't even take the serial number off me...felt like a total "it is your problem, deal with it" kind of response

 

[0128672]

Sadly Apple Support wouldn't even take the serial number off me...felt like a total "it is your problem, deal with it" kind of response

Yes, that's true, there is nothing Apple can do and it's clearly in its policy. It's between you and law enforcement basically.

If your Mac is lost or stolen - Apple Support

If your Mac goes missing, these steps might help you find it and protect your information.

support.apple.com