Wiping MacBooks without Apple ID password for Find My Mac?

[Velvis]

I have a couple of old Mac's that need to be wiped but both of them are asking for an Apple ID password to shut off Find My Mac before wiping. Is it possible to get around this?
I'd like to wipe them and donate them to a local church but I don't want them linked to another Apple account.

 

[HCHTech]

Someone wiser than me in the ways of macs may have a procedure, but my guess is there is none. This is exactly the type of behavior their infrastructure is designed to protect against. If there is a way, it probably involves going to the genius bar with purchase receipt in hand.

 

[timeshifter]

Unless you can prove ownership, or get the original owner to help you shut that off I think they're bricks. I'm not 100% sure, but a solid 90% sure.

 

[phaZed]

It's a brick.

 

[Velvis]

Thanks. I may be able to get the passwords; it's just the ones they had me try were not correct and it is not a priority to try and sort it.

 

[timeshifter]

Use the link below to practice signing in when they give you 27 different passwords instead of having to try to do it on the device itself. You'll save yourself a lot of headache testing the passwords on a computer before trying it on the actual device.

Apple Account

Your account you use for all Apple services

account.apple.com

 

[overburnz]

you can't remove the Apple ID unless you are the owner of the account, if you are but can't remember the password, you can reset it

 

[Velvis]

From a technical point, would replacing the SSD get around this? Or is the account tied to the hardware itself?

 

[overburnz]

From a technical point, would replacing the SSD get around this? Or is the account tied to the hardware itself?

it's tied to the hardware, it's a security feature, if it were that simple, it wouldn't be very secure, wouldn't it?

 

[Velvis]

it's tied to the hardware, it's a security feature, if it were that simple, it wouldn't be very secure, wouldn't it?

Yeah, I'm not super versed with Macs and honestly I find the abundant security to be a PITA. I get it on one hand, but so much of their stuff has so much friction to getting things done it's irritating.

 

[overburnz]

Yeah, I'm not super versed with Macs and honestly I find the abundant security to be a PITA. I get it on one hand, but so much of their stuff has so much friction to getting things done it's irritating.

I don't find it irritating, its secure, it has many layers

 

[Velvis]

I don't find it irritating, its secure, it has many layers

Fair enough. I find it overbearing.

 

[Markverhyden]

It was a security feature implemented years ago when iPhones became the hottest item to steal and resell. I had a couple that got a 5 finger discount. It applies to all devices, even things like the Watch. A hash is created for each device and it's registered with Apple's servers tied to an Apple ID. No access to the Apple ID to remove find my there's nothing you can do. I haven 't messed with it in a while bit the were some half baked work arounds. But you still never got full Apple "walled garden". I read a couple of years ago or so someone had figured out a way to edit the bios on the device to work around it. Never bothered looking. To me it's in the same category as getting W11 on old iron. Personally I might want to futz around in a lab environment but that's it. Never used in a production environment. Consumer or Business.

 

[Velvis]

It was a security feature implemented years ago when iPhones became the hottest item to steal and resell. I had a couple that got a 5 finger discount. It applies to all devices, even things like the Watch. A hash is created for each device and it's registered with Apple's servers tied to an Apple ID. No access to the Apple ID to remove find my there's nothing you can do. I haven 't messed with it in a while bit the were some half baked work arounds. But you still never got full Apple "walled garden". I read a couple of years ago or so someone had figured out a way to edit the bios on the device to work around it. Never bothered looking. To me it's in the same category as getting W11 on old iron. Personally I might want to futz around in a lab environment but that's it. Never used in a production environment. Consumer or Business.

At some point I will work with the owner and reset their Apple password to remove the devices from their account.

 

[timeshifter]

I doubt it's that much of a deterrent for thieves unless they're pros going after large caches of systems at once. I doubt a two bit thief will bust open a door and go "oh, a MacBook, it won't be useful, I'll leave it". Sigh.

 

[Blues]

I got a handful of free old iPhones I was going to refurbish mostly for fun as the "profit" would probably be less than my time however when they couldn't give me their code to access I looked into bypasses and the only thing I found talked about a DNS that reroutes the traffic to basically a jailbreak server I found it too sketchy and just tossed the phones. There might be similar options for computers I didn't know it was basically in the firmware for them good to know as I am about to get my hands on an old MacBook to refurb but it was actively used and recently replaced so I expect to get access to this machine.

 

[Markverhyden]

At some point I will work with the owner and reset their Apple password to remove the devices from their account.

As long as they still have access to the registered email account(s) for the Apple account(s) they'll be able to take care of things. And when you nuke and pave leave it at the OOBE level. Then make sure the church creates their own Apple ID. You do not have to supply CC info to do this. After you go through setup, by passing Apple ID, go to the App Store on the iMac. Download a free app. It must be free. Choose None for payment method.

How to create a new Apple Account - Apple Support

With your Apple Account, you can access all Apple devices and services — such as iCloud, the App Store, and more.

support.apple.com