User level: Level 1 (71 points)Trade in of my MacBook m3 for new MacBook M5 max was rejected and returned to me and is now unusable. How do i ifile a complaint?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Trade in failure
Posted on Oct 15, 2026 1:39 PM
User level: Level 10 (242,520 points)Oct 15, 2026 2:03 PM in response to Wink3
Why is it unusable?
Was it usable before?
Did it have any issue that would have rendered it invalid for a trade-in?
Have you contacted Apple Support?
click here ➜ https://getsupport.apple.com
User level: Level 10 (280,982 points)Oct 15, 2026 1:40 PM in response to Wink3
Contact the shipping company.
User level: Level 1 (71 points)Oct 16, 2026 3:58 AM in response to Phil0124
It won't boot and needs a firmware recovery which I plan to try.
When I sent it to Apple it was reset to factory defaults and booted up to the Hello screen. It was rejected for "erasure unsuccessful", but I believe it was because i forgot to remove it from my Apple account.
User level: Level 10 (162,806 points)Oct 16, 2026 7:31 AM in response to Wink3
Apple Trade In - Apple explains "Here’s how to prepare and package Mac notebooks" which leads to Prepare your Mac laptop for trade in - Apple Support which leads to What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support which explains how to Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support.
If you didn't do that then, do it now. If you are unable to accomplish those steps, then you may need to follow How to revive or restore Mac firmware - Apple Support.
Likely related:
If your Mac doesn't turn on - Apple Support
If your Mac doesn't start up all the way - Apple Support
If your Mac starts up to an Apple logo or progress bar - Apple Support
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256376859