My wife’s MacBook Pro (13” M1 2020, 8GB ram, 256GB drive) fell a few feet onto a hardwood floor yesterday. Cracked screen only shows a colorful mashup of lines but does respond to brightness level changes. Sound controls and keyboard commands still work.
Searching online seems to show that getting it repaired by Apple will cost just as much, potentially a few hundred dollars more, than buying the exact same model refurbished from places like Amazon and Best Buy ($550-$600), with the added important benefit of being able to get it in a few days compared to who knows how long Apple would need to take to repair it and get it back to us.
So does anyone have any experience/advice for buying a refurbished MacBook, presumably from Amazon or other large retailer? I’m extremely hesitant to trust other potential sources like eBay or small shops.
I noticed that the refurbished MacBook Pros for her model are listed as coming with either Catalina installed or simply “Mac OS”, so I’d need to upgrade it to Big Sur, which is what she was running, before using Migration Assistant to transfer the data over. I assume otherwise starting it up for the first time is just like getting a new one.
Also, since the screen on her busted laptop can’t display anything readable, would I need to be able to hook up her computer to an external monitor for doing the migration? Even if not for the migration, would it be necessary for when we wanted to erase before getting rid of it?
Big Sur was the minimum OS for 2020 M1 MBPs, so I’d be very nervous about buying any refurbished equipment that listed Catalina as the installed OS.
Since you mentioned BestBuy, I presume you are in the USA. Obviously, Apple itself is the most trusted source of refurbished Macs. BestBuy also should be fine for refurbs, though be sure to double check the warranty and return policies.
There are a handful of third party suppliers that I think are trustworthy in terms of warranties and returns, e.g., MacSales.com, BackMarket.com, and MegaMacs.com. I’ve made purchases over the years from each of those and been satisfied.
Amazon can be ok, but since many sellers use Amazon as their storefront, it’s important to confirm that the actual seller is reputable.
OWC sells used Macs. The company has some devout followers in Mac land so I would assume they’re kosher. I’ve never bought from them, but I have sold to one of their suppliers (SellYourMac).
Apples refurbished computers come with warranties. I have been running a Refurbished M1 for 4 yr. with our any problems. I would suggest that you look there, ONLY buy there.
I’ll second Apple refurbs. Their selection is at times limited (though it changes frequently based on supply) and they’re not the cheapest, but the quality of every refurb Mac I have seen has been great. And as usual, Apple is very good about returns.
I’ve bought Macs and iOS devices since the late 1990s from the Apple refurb store. I have never been let down by a purchase there. Perhaps the best indicator of the quality of official Apple refurbs is that everything offered is eligible for AppleCare.
Personally, I have little interest in spending time and effort dealing with a problem found in a non-Apple refurb. I prefer to spend a few more $$$ to get access to Apple’s (usually) high level of customer service and an OEM refurb process.
From my experience, I would say it’s worth trying if you have a spare display you can connect. MacBook Pros were designed to operate with a remote display for doing presentations.
Note that many TVs can be used as spare displays if you have a suitable HDMI adapter. For a 2020 M1 MBP, an inexpensive Thunderbolt 3 to HDMI adapter would work.
A USB-C with an HDMI port would be a better investment. These usually have a few USB-A ports, which makes them useful for connecting your old cables to legacy devices. You can use a standard HDMI cable for the TV connection.
Another useful addition would be to get a portable SSD to help with the migration and, in the future, for backup. You can use a cloning program (Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper!) to create the initial data backup (you can do this without purchasing the program) and use that for the data migration to the replacement computer. Later, you can update the backup through one of these programs (you will need to buy it to do incremental backups).
Apple and Amazon (and, I believe, BestBuy) have a generous return policy if you return an item with its original packaging within their specified time limit. It’s usually 2 weeks, but Apple has extended most items’ deadlines through the winter holidays. This provides an excellent opportunity to ‘borrow’ equipment you may want to use to get the replacement device up to speed.
I would say that any TV with a working HDMI input may be used.
There are two things to watch out for. Overscan and the TV’s native resolution.
Overscan
Most TVs have overscan enabled by default. This means you will probably see the edges of your desktop beyond the edge of the screen. You can fix this in one of two ways:
Configure the TV to disable overscan. This is usually one of its “picture” settings. Along with various scaling/stretching options, there is usually one called “Just scan” or “computer” or “1:1” or something similar that disables overscan processing.
This is ideal, because all the pixels will be displayed.
Configure macOS to make the screen smaller so it fits on the screen. There should be an underscan option on the display preferences (when macOS detects a TV-like display device) to do this.
This is less than ideal, because your GPU is scaling the image slightly. So it may look a bit fuzzy. But it’s better than nothing if you can’t configure the TV to disable overscan.
Native resolutions
All good TVs sold today have a 4K (3840x2160) panel. Older ones have a 1080p (1920x1080) panel. Some older/cheaper ones, however, have other (usually lower) resolutions.
Any TV will accept signals in the ATSC-standard resolutions (1080p, 720p, 480p, 480i). Most will also accept a signal in the panel’s native resolution (if it’s not an ATSC-standard resolution).
You will probably want to pick the display’s native resolution, even if it’s not the default, because that will give you the sharpest picture. But if there isn’t enough screen real-estate for comfort, you should be able to pick an ATSC-standard resolution, but be aware that this may make it hard to read small print due to the scaling the TV will perform in order to display the image.
On March 15, 2024, Walmart announced they would continue to sell the 256 GB M1 MacBook Air under a partnership with Apple despite Apple’s retail store discontinuation
Indeed. @jk2gs also mentioned Walmart’s arrangements.
I think many people with basic requirements will be satisfied with the 8GB/256GB M1 configuration, and the Walmart price with standard Apple warranty is attractive.
Walmart also offers a similarly configured M2 Air at a solid price (US $839) when ordered online.