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Released in November 2020, the 13" MacBook Pro features Apple's Arm-based M1 SoC with both an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU. (Model A2338 / EMC 3578 with two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

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How to sell my MacBook logic board

My M1 MacBook Pro is broken due to the keyboard.

I tried to repair it but gave up. It's irreparable. In the end I decided to exit the Apple ecosystem as this is not the first Macbook which got broken for me and they are too expensive and irreparable.

But the logic board and the screen where still in very good working conditions. Can I sell the logic board together with the touch id button? It's a M1 16 GB memory and 1 TB disk.

If I remove the device from Find My Devices is this enough for the potential buyer to be able to use it? Or is it locked? Also, will he be able to read my former existing data on the disk? In theory it should be encrypted but he can wipe it.

I cannot start this MacBook so I cannot delete my old data.

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First remove it from Apples servers so it’s not under your account that way Find My can be set by the next owner.

Then backup and using an external bootable drive delete the partitions and then install a fresh copy of MacOS stop when you get to the setup menu. The next owner will pick it up from there.

As far as the TouchID and the power button keep them as a complete assembly and it must be shipped with the logic board otherwise neither one can be used on its own! They are forever married to each other.

Make sure to ship the board in an anti-static bag and a well cushioned box so it’s not damaged in transit.

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5 Comments:

Thanks! But I cannot start this laptop. So I can never install macOS unless I put this board into another MBP. Is my data safe? I used disk encryption.

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@codrutpopescu - If that’s the case time to take the loss😢 there is no way to be 100% and the buyer would want his money back if he can’t enter it into Find My service as well as running the risk of you locking the system or worse!

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@danj I know how to terminate the risk of Find My, but it's not something I would expect the average person to know how to deal with. When you run into this issue, you at least make sure the Mac isn't in a AL state and then wipe it out before doing anything with it. Can't lock it in recovery if you don't go into the OS. It's crippled so much it just doesn't work. I can always get the job done completely offline if need be using a USB drive too if I know the AL state is clear.

If the board was cheap and sold "as-is" but I know Find My is disabled so I can go into recovery I'd probably buy it. BUT I would want to run for a month to make sure.

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@nick - Sure! But if you can’t start the system you get nowhere ☹️

Did you note he switched to a different beast of burden? And he wants to make sure his stuff is not floating around.

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@danj Yeah. I mentioned it so if someone gets a direct deal and the other party knows you'll wipe it how to get it done.

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Codrut Popescu will be eternally grateful.
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