Determining your Mac model. Find out the whole truth about any Apple product How to find out the year of manufacture of a MacBook

Fair, not overpriced and not underestimated. There should be prices on the Service website. Necessarily! without asterisks, clear and detailed, where technically possible - as accurate and concise as possible.

If spare parts are available, up to 85% of complex repairs can be completed in 1-2 days. Modular repairs require much less time. The website shows the approximate duration of any repair.

Warranty and responsibility

A guarantee must be given for any repairs. Everything is described on the website and in the documents. The guarantee is self-confidence and respect for you. A 3-6 month warranty is good and sufficient. It is needed to check quality and hidden defects that cannot be detected immediately. You see honest and realistic terms (not 3 years), you can be sure that they will help you.

Half the success in Apple repair is the quality and reliability of spare parts, so a good service works directly with suppliers, there are always several reliable channels and your own warehouse with proven spare parts for current models, so you don’t have to waste extra time.

Free diagnostics

This is very important and has already become a rule of good manners for the service center. Diagnostics is the most difficult and important part of the repair, but you don't have to pay a penny for it, even if you don't repair the device based on its results.

Service repairs and delivery

A good service values ​​your time, so it offers free delivery. And for the same reason, repairs are carried out only in the workshop of a service center: they can be done correctly and according to technology only in a prepared place.

Convenient schedule

If the Service works for you, and not for itself, then it is always open! absolutely. The schedule should be convenient to fit in before and after work. Good service works on weekends and holidays. We are waiting for you and working on your devices every day: 9:00 - 21:00

The reputation of professionals consists of several points

Company age and experience

Reliable and experienced service has been known for a long time.
If a company has been on the market for many years and has managed to establish itself as an expert, people turn to it, write about it, and recommend it. We know what we are talking about, since 98% of incoming devices in the service center are restored.
Other service centers trust us and refer complex cases to us.

How many masters in areas

If there are always several engineers waiting for you for each type of equipment, you can be sure:
1. there will be no queue (or it will be minimal) - your device will be taken care of right away.
2. you give your Macbook for repair to an expert in the field of Mac repairs. He knows all the secrets of these devices

Technical literacy

If you ask a question, a specialist should answer it as accurately as possible.
So that you can imagine what exactly you need.
They will try to solve the problem. In most cases, from the description you can understand what happened and how to fix the problem.

Each Apple computer is marked with a special serial number. Using it, you can find out whether the laptop is genuine or not, and whether it is covered by a warranty.

Where can I find the serial number?

In system

The easiest way to find out the serial number is to open the MacBook information window with information about its hardware. This is a kind of computer passport.

To do this:

On the computer case

If the computer does not work or you are unable to log into the system, the serial number can be found on the back of the laptop case (at the bottom). Everything is simple here:

Checking for warranty

So, we know the serial number, which means we now have much more information about the computer. We can find out:

• Is the laptop in front of us genuine?
• Is it serviced by Apple technical support?
• Does it have a warranty?
• And also whether it was stolen.

The first three points can be found out directly on the official Apple page. For this:

As you can see in the screenshot, my computer is genuine. Apple actually collected it and awarded it with this number. But the telephone support period has expired, but this doesn’t bother me much, because in Russia you will be served by telephone, even if the support period has expired. At least that's what I was told by one of the Apple employees who cordially helped me format the hard drive of a non-working laptop a year after I bought it.

It also says that the extended warranty, or rather the right to repair and service, has expired. The thing is that my computer is already more than two years old. Apple gives a one-year warranty on its devices, and Russian legislation provides for another year of protection from above. Therefore, do not even think about buying an extended warranty from any M-Video. You've had it for two years already.

Apple devices in Russia have an additional one-year warranty

Checking if the laptop is stolen

The device serial number can be used to verify that the computer belongs to its owner and is not reported as stolen. There is a special database of stolen devices for this purpose. True, it is important to understand that there are cunning attackers there who add completely fraudulent devices to the database of stolen goods in order to extort money from the owners.

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When a user wants to upgrade his MacBook or send it in for repairs, it is important to find out the exact model of the laptop. And also the year of its release. A link between the model and year of manufacture allows you to understand which parts to order for replacement and how much they will cost.

Apple produces the same MacBook models over the years, but parts are regularly modified for them and new ones are produced. That’s why it’s important to have an idea of ​​how to find out the MacBook model before you start upgrading and ordering components.

How to identify a model by serial number

The serial number on Mac OS is displayed in the “about this Mac” section, which can be found on the tab with the Apple logo in the upper corner of the screen. It is also written on the box your computer was in when you purchased it. Recorded on the accompanying receipt. Yes, and it is on the body of the laptop itself. Finding the serial number is not a problem. You can find out the model and year of manufacture by doing a number of simple steps:

• Find the serial number.
• Go to the Apple website.
• Go to the "check your service eligibility" page.
• Enter the serial number in the field in the window that appears on the page.
• Enter the captcha on the same page to confirm that you are not a robot.

After this, information about your MacBook will appear on the screen: year of manufacture, exact model, even screen diagonal.

You can get the same information through the website if you check your MacBook by serial number in the “technical specifications” section. To make the search field appear, you will need to click on view technical specifications for products. And instead of the model, you enter the serial number of your MacBook in the text line that appears.

Defining a model by other parameters

If for some reason you cannot check your MacBook by serial number, you can use another method: check it by configuration, model number or model identifier.

You can get an ID through the system. In the Apple menu, you need to find the “About This Mac” item, where you will find the “Hardware Properties” tab. This is where the information about the model ID of this MacBook is located. The ID number is compared with similar ones in the table on the Apple website.

The configuration is written on the MacBook box. It contains information about the basic amount of RAM, hard drive capacity, screen diagonal, processor model and frequency. If there is an optical drive, it will be listed in the configuration information on the box. Once you know this data, you can easily find the corresponding model in the plate on the website.

In our VKontakte social network group, we received several reviews about the article and requests to write similar instructions on how check MacBook before buying from hand. Well, they asked, we answer :) Read more about how to properly check a MacBook before purchasing in this material.

You can check the macbook or macbook pro you are going to buy at our service centers:

How to check MacBook? Basic moments

When choosing to buy a non-new computer that was previously used by another owner, be prepared that you will have to spend a certain amount of your time and effort on the choice. By buying the first option you come across that you like, you run the risk of suffering with it in the future if the computer has any defects that seriously affect its operation. Therefore, to begin with, we will give some recommendations on how check MacBook during the first inspection and what you should pay special attention to.

External inspection and assessment of the condition of the hull.

Carefully inspect the MacBook case from all sides. Ideally, it should not have any consequences of a fall or mechanical fall (chips, dents, etc.). Take a particularly close look at the side edges of the topcase (the bottom of the laptop) and the metal around the perimeter of the display lid. According to statistics, during falls or impacts, these are the parts that suffer most often.

Turn the laptop over and inspect the bottom of the case. Make sure the bottom cover mounting screws are in place and the rubber feet are in place.

Checking MacBook by serial number.

On the official Apple website, you can use your computer's serial number check MacBook to check for a current warranty, as well as to identify the exact model of the device. Naturally, the model indicated on the website must fully correspond to the information on the box from the computer (if there is one) and the configuration data of the MacBook, which can be viewed inside the MacOS operating system after turning it on.

Turn on the computer and evaluate the loading speed of the operating system.

Turn on your computer and evaluate the loading speed of the operating system. For a MacBook with a hard drive, the average boot speed of a clean MacOS, depending on the system version, should be from 40 to 90 seconds; models equipped with an SSD should boot much faster (from 5-8 to 20-25 seconds).

If the loading time significantly exceeds these figures, it is worth considering. It is likely that problems with the installed drive may “resurface” in the future (especially true for laptops that were released before 2012 and are equipped with a hard drive rather than an SSD).

A detailed introduction to the MacBook configuration.

Once your computer is turned on, it's worth checking your MacBook in more detail by reviewing the computer information inside MacOS. To do this, you need to click on the Apple logo on the left side of the top panel and select "About This Mac." On the first screen of the system window you can see information about the central processor, the amount of RAM and the video chip. For models with integrated graphics and an additional video card, which switch between them automatically depending on the load, the name of the chip currently in use will be displayed. By clicking on the "System Report" button, you can obtain more detailed information about the computer configuration and installed components.

Checking the battery and charging the device

By clicking on the battery icon on the right side of the top sidebar, you can see the current battery charge level, as well as get brief information from the built-in diagnostic system about its status. The battery status indication of the MacOS diagnostic system can be as follows:

• “Normal” - the battery is serviceable and works correctly.
• “Replacement needed soon” - the battery is working correctly, but its capacity has decreased.
• “Replacement required” - the battery capacity and, as a result, the battery life of the computer has decreased significantly and it may soon need to be replaced.
• “Service required” - the battery is faulty or its capacity has reached a critically low value. In such cases, the battery needs to be replaced.

By looking again at the “System Report” in the “Power Options” section, you can get more detailed information about the state of the battery, including its current capacity. Naturally, if the battery condition is poor, you should think about the advisability of purchasing such a computer.

Connect the MagSafe or USB-C power adapter cable to ensure the laptop is properly charged. When you connect the MagSafe cable, it should light up either an orange light (if the battery is charging) or a green light (only when the battery is fully charged). If the battery level inside the system is not full and the MagSafe light is green, then either the power supply is not working correctly or your MacBook may have problems with the battery or power circuit components.

Checking display functionality.

Take a close look at the image on the screen for the integrity of the matrix and the presence of dead pixels. There should be no display glare or black spots on the entire area. The best way to check your MacBook for dead pixels is by choosing a solid black color as your desktop screensaver.

Checking for missing passwords and iCloud account.

Go to "System Preferences" (the gray icon with gears) and select "iCloud". There should not be any accounts registered there. You can check the availability of the administrator password by going to the “Users and Groups” item in the same place in “System Settings”. By clicking Change Password and entering a blank password as the current one, you should not receive any messages stating that the current password is incorrect.

Checking the firmware password.

Setting a firmware password blocks the MacBook from booting from any internal or external drive except the one that was selected as boot at the time the password was set. Without knowing the firmware password, the user will not be able to reinstall the operating system or boot from an external drive if necessary.

To check if your MacBook has a firmware password, turn off the computer, and then turn it on by holding down the Alt key. If there is no firmware password, a screen with a choice of boot options should load in front of you. If a password is set, you will see a corresponding screen and a password entry field.

If you want to buy a MacBook with a firmware password installed, and the seller cannot provide it to you, we strongly do not recommend purchasing such a computer. Removing the firmware password is a long and laborious procedure. However, in most cases this can only be done through official Apple services, having previously proven that the laptop belongs to you.

Checking the functionality of wireless interfaces and external ports.

When the computer is running and the operating system is loaded, check the operation of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth by respectively trying to connect to any wireless network and create a connection between the third-party device and the MacBook through a Bluetooth connection.

Check the functionality of all external USB ports, Thunderbolt, audio output/input, memory card slot and optical drive operation (for models equipped with these interfaces).

Testing the video chip and processor under load.

Some MacBook models have a weak point in the form of a possible failure of the video chip, or incorrect switching between the built-in graphics and an additional video card. Therefore, when purchasing a second-hand computer, we recommend checking the MacBook to see how it processes and renders graphics.

Of the publicly available tools that do not involve running graphics tests, for example, playing videos from YouTube in HD or FullHD resolution is perfect. Launch the video, after 5-7 minutes of playback, minimize/maximize the browser window with the running video several times, move the window in different directions. If artifacts appear on the screen, stripes or the picture crumbles into squares, it may well be that this MacBook has or in the very near future may have problems with the video chip.

If during these steps the computer unexpectedly reboots or freezes, we recommend that you abandon the dubious purchase and spend time looking for another option.

Checking the operation of the trackpad and keyboard.

Check that all keys on the keyboard can be pressed clearly, without sticking or delay. Launch any application that allows text input and check that all keyboard keys work correctly. If while typing you notice that the keys have different strokes, or you hear a crunching or crackling sound when you press the keys, it may well be that liquid was previously spilled on the keyboard. In this case, even if all the keys work, in the future you may end up having to replace the keyboard.

The most convenient way to check the operation of the trackpad is to launch the browser and open a website and scroll through it a little, using various gestures (you can learn more about them by going to “System Settings” - “Trackpad”). The touch surface should be activated over the entire area of ​​the trackpad, and clicks should be processed clearly and without delay. When you press the trackpad there should also be no extraneous crackling or crunching sounds.

Checking other functionality.

To completely check your MacBook before purchasing, after completing all the above steps, we recommend that you pay attention to the operation of the built-in speakers (the sound should be loud and clear, without extraneous noise or crackling), the microphone (the recording should also not crackle or groan) and the camera. In principle, all this can be combined by launching the PhotoBooth application built into MacOS and recording some video, then watching and listening to it :)

Check your MacBook at a service center!

If you want to buy a computer second hand and want to be confident that you are making the right choice, as well as Fully test your MacBook before purchasing, please contact our service center.

In addition to all the checks described in the article above, the technicians will conduct extensive testing of the video chip, assess the condition of the internal drive, check whether this MacBook has been previously repaired, and also conduct an internal inspection to assess the general condition and identify possible damage to the electronic components of the motherboard after moisture.

Your computer will be inspected and diagnosed by specialists who have more than 11 years of experience in servicing and repairing Apple computers. And the availability of professional equipment and special software will make the check as accurate and fast as possible.

Do you want to buy a MacBook second-hand, but are you afraid of running into scammers, or do you just want to check everything thoroughly and be completely confident in your purchase? Come visit - we will be happy to help you make the right choice!

Please ask your questions and leave comments under this article. We will be glad to receive your comments!

Attention! There are reports on the Internet about new types of fraud in the sale of used Apple laptops. Cheaper modifications are sold under the guise of top models. Moreover, during the first check and inspection of the MacBook, it is impossible to notice the forgery, since the scammers have done a good job of “cheating” the gadget’s settings in advance. However, if you prepare for the purchase in advance and come to the meeting with a technically savvy seller, the deceivers can be brought to light. Useful tips and links are below.

The essence of the catch

Most buyers know that the first time they check a MacBook, they need to launch the About this Mac application and look at the gadget's configurations. You also need to “punch” the laptop using the serial number and find out when the device was activated and whether the Apple warranty is still valid. Well, more advanced users check the device characteristics using the “system_profiler” command.

The problem is that scammers also know about all this. And they find ways to change the description of the MacBook in the system itself and fake the stickers with the serial number on the boxes.

As a result, when you check a laptop using these standard methods, by all descriptions it turns out that you are buying a top-end configuration. The fraud is revealed when a new user reinstalls the operating system on the laptop. It is then that the real memory capacity of the device and other characteristics begin to be displayed in the properties. That is, instead of a top model, they give you a laptop from previous years with less memory. And although this equipment is indeed Apple, and in most cases is in working order and is under the official manufacturer’s warranty, it turns out that you are overpaying about 50 thousand rubles for it.

What should you be wary of when buying a MacBook?

The serial number can only be identified by stickers. You cannot find it on the device body. For example, one of the deceived buyers had the bottom of the laptop very carefully sealed with self-adhesive film “to look like aluminum” so that he would not see the real serial number.

You can find out where to look for serial numbers on different MacBookPro models on the official Apple technical support website - https://support.apple.com/ru-ru/HT204347

The console command “system_profiler” produces errors like these:

NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4 "The bundle “SPMemoryReporter” couldn’t be loaded because its executable couldn’t be located." NSLocalizedDescription=The bundle “SPMemoryReporter” couldn't be loaded because its executable couldn't be located.) 2012-11-09 12:02:58.579 system_profiler Error loading /System/Library/SystemProfiler/SPPlatformReporter.spreporter: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4 "The bundle “SPPlatformReporter” couldn't be loaded because its executable couldn't be located." UserInfo=0x7f943b011c20 (NSLocalizedFailureReason=The bundle's executable couldn't be located., NSLocalizedRecoverySuggestion=Try reinstalling the bundle., NSBundlePath=/System/Library/SystemProfiler/SPPlatformReporter.spreporter, NSLocalizedDescription=The bundle “SPPlatformReporter” couldn 't be loaded because its executable couldn't be located.)

But some deceived buyers say that there were no such errors in their case, so you should not rely only on this point.

One of the surest signs of fraud is the lack of information about the processor, memory and disks in the detailed information about the device.

How to check the modification of a MacBook when purchasing?

So, insert the flash drive into the laptop, reboot, press Alt to select a boot option and boot from the flash drive. You should be taken to OS X Utilities. In the Utilities menu, select Terminal. Next, use the “system_profiler” command. It will display a text in which you can find the necessary information about modifying the device.

P.S.: And if you move a little away from technical wisdom, then also rely on your intuition. Most victims write “the seller was kind of strange, but I decided not to attach any importance to it.” Give it! If you have doubts about the seller's honesty, do not buy. Moreover, this type of fraud, as a rule, is carried out by student “geniuses”, and not by seasoned criminals who know how to control their emotions, so would-be sellers may give themselves away by nervous behavior or something similar.
In general, be careful!