Purchased Apple Laptop with Modded Spec

Buttercake

Hi, I purchased a second hand macbook pro on Saturday

The guy selling it posted photos of the spec which i checked with him before purchasing, I checked the about section.

I dont know how he did it in terms of modifying the OS El Captain because when I checked the About section, it said the processor was 3.1, ram was 16GB and HD was 1TB.

The battery cycles were only 22, he also said it was only 3 months old.

On this basis I paid €1200 cash and we went on our merry way. Unbeknownst to me, While this was happening, he or someone else edited the ad, withdrew it then blocked me so i couldn't contact him or leave feedback.

When i got home and started it up, i realised that the language was set to Polish and i dont know how he managed to hard code the specs, long story short when I reinstalled the OS, all the correct specs appeared in the about section.

2.4 ghz proc, 4gb ram, 120g HD. Power cycles 140 Value around €700, i was done for about €500

I realise i should have investigated it further, whats done is done

My thing is now should i go to the Gards or suck it up? theres not going to be anyway to get him, the phone number he called me on is gone.

Still dont know how he managed to alter the spec in the OS.

Alanstrainor

You are definitely more on the hard luck side of things unfortunately. Buyer beware is the main thing with second hand purchases. That being said they did mislead you, which you could pursue them over hypothetically, but realistically you're out of luck I reckon.

Sorry to hear!

Halflifept

I think it is possible to make fake specs for OSX changing configuration files in the operating system.

This is clearly a scam. Try to fill a complain on the website you bought. If you have proof or logs that the hardware that you bought does not correspond to the agreed you can try your luck with the garda.

Buttercake

Halflifept wrote: »

I think it is possible to make fake specs for OSX changing configuration files in the operating system.

Something I didn't think was possible! I've been buying mac first and second hand for years and never had this before. I know Macs but im not an expert on them.

Especially changing the Battery cycle count, the seller made it pretty convincing that he was getting a new one in work so either he or someone he knows is an app developer to manipulate the code.

Lesson learned, they got me good, the laptop is fine and works very well touch wood, just not the spec I paid for.

hopefully someone who is buying an apple laptop will heed this.

evolving_doors

Sorry to hear that, you might still be able to upgrade a bit more via crucial... Someone might buy the harddrive and ram off you for a couple of quid.

Halflifept

Just saw a video on youtube and is straight forward to modify the specs.

I think this is one of those things that are very hard to detect. Maybe double checking the specs marked up on the box and the serial number with the machine itself. Assuming that box is available.

Still a good machine as you told. Main issue is the RAM, which is not ugradable if its a retina.

Alanstrainor

Your best bet would be to check the spec through a terminal window. I'm not sure of the MacOS specific commands, but generic commands like "df -h" would have shown you the disk space available, and I'm sure there's an equivalent of prntconf or similar to show the exact processor, RAM, disk etc.

I know this is all useless advice, but it might help others!

Buttercake

yeah just watched the youtube video, simple, anyone can do that!

TerrorFirmer

What site did you buy it from? Sounds like adverts from the description. But hard to pursue. Sickening to think that someone could get away with this crap.

Is it a 2.4Ghz i5 with a 120GB SSD or what?