Apple Refurb Serial number issues even Apple is stumped.

[Bits4Brains]

I purchased a 2018 15" Macbook pro last year from Apple's refurbished website. I was checking the other day what the trade in value would be using Apple's trade in website url. When I punch in my Serial number it comes back with a macbook pro Mid 2010 ! Also the HD capacity and CPU are wrong. When I called Apple, they acted very confused and surprised when they punched in my serial, getting the same results as I. I was on the phone over an hour with them while they tried to sort it out. The Tech department came back with " it looks correct on our end" but the sales support rep was getting the same results as I was. They told me a case would be opened and to check the website again, a day later. They could not give me a case number, nor could they give me any kind of call confirmation, etc. Here it is almost a week later and the Serial number results have not changed. Now, if I check this Serial on third party sites, it seems to show the correct 2018 Macbook pro that I have. However, I feel like Apple is being a bit shady about it all. Very frustrating! Has anyone else ever experienced this? It seems like Apple is recycling serial numbers or at least they did with mine.

John

 

[MacInWin]

Sounds like an error in their database. Could happen to anybody. I'm surprised they didn't assign a case number as they assign them to every call I have ever made.

How did you contact Apple? You said you called them. Was that to a store or to Apple Support directly? Normally, Apple support calls you back rather than just answering directly, even if it's only a minute or less.

I would suggest you go to Apple.com/Support and follow the links to get to the point where you can ask for a phone call, chat or email. You will probably be asked to enter the serial number of the Mac, but if you persist, you eventually will get a call from Apple tech support and can then get a case number to track the issue to completion.

 

[badshoehabit]

What does 'About this Mac' say about the model? (Tap apple logo at top of screen the select 'About this Mac') Could be that a digit (or more) of the serial number has been wrongly recorded by Apple.

 

[pm-r]

As that 2018 15" Macbook Pro was purchased from Apple's refurbished website, there is a possibility that the motherboard may have been replaced which can cause the serial number to disappear.

They have a utility they can use to enter the serial number and perhaps a mistake was made when that was being done.

What is the serial number that is shown on your bill of sale, and does it vary from what your Mac says???

You could also try some other sites to check the serial number such as the Chipmunk site:
Klantenservice: Serienummers

Maybe the site you checked with has the incorrect information in their database. That would be more logical to me.

I didn't realize some evaluation sites used a serial number for pricing and I'm sure mac2sell doesn't:
Mac2Sell - Argus, Evaluation, Guide to used Mac, iPad, iPhone & iPod



- Patrick
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[chscag]

Patrick could be correct but the standard procedure when Apple replaces a Logic Board is that they will burn the new serial number to the firmware. Also, I'm betting that a refurb 2018 MacBook Pro was replaced because of a bad keyboard. Just a guess though.

Anyway, the OP should either do as Jake suggested or make a genius bar appointment and let Apple check it out for him.

 

[ferrarr]

Does the serial number, on the underside of the MacBook Pro, match the one(s) you are referencing?

https://www.maketecheasier.com/find-mac-serial-number/

 

[icreat]

Never happened to me to date. As there is very limited information to process here, this is just going to be a guessing game as to what has actually happened. If the team was confused, then this does not happen very often and if there was anything shady, they would have reacted to it with every excuse in the world besides being confused. You can have second opinion for the specs and the market price for your machine at Apple Serial Number Lookup