Vorsicht! My Experience with Apple's Trade In Program in Germany

This video has subtitles in both English and German.
The following documents my experience with Apple’s Trade In program here in Germany. In a nutshell: I sent in my old MacBook Pro to their logistics partner in Holland; and they informed me it wasn’t working; I asked them to send it back to me and with an old battery trick, I was able to reanimate my “broken” system.
After I reanimated my system, I noticed that a user account was configured as well as the option to change the keyboard layout to "Dutch" (I did neither and this laptop has a US keyboard as well).
And if I shutdown the system, it goes back in a zombie or brick mode that can only be fixed with my battery trick.
Therefore, I am convinced that my system was modified to make it appear to be broken.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Disclaimer: I opened my laptop because I know what I am doing and it has been out of warranty for about seven years. I am not suggesting you try this yourself and if you do, it's on you. Nevertheless, here is the link to the ifixit.com tutorial on how to change the battery on this system:
www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+...
Vorsicht! Meine Erfahrung mit dem Trade-In-Programm von Apple in Deutschland
Das Folgende dokumentiert meine Erfahrung mit Apples Trade-In-Programm hier in Deutschland. Kurz gesagt: Ich habe mein altes MacBook Pro zu ihrem Logistikpartner in Holland geschickt; und sie teilten mir mit, dass es nicht funktionierte; Ich bat sie, es mir zurückzusenden, und mit einem alten Batterietrick konnte ich mein „kaputtes“ System wiederbeleben.
Nachdem ich mein System reanimiert hatte, bemerkte ich, dass ein Benutzerkonto konfiguriert war sowie die Option, das Tastaturlayout auf "Niederländisch" zu ändern (ich habe beides nicht getan und dieser Laptop hat auch eine US-Tastatur).
Und wenn ich das System herunterfahre, geht es wieder in einen Zombie- oder Brick-Modus, der nur mit meinem Akku-Trick behoben werden kann.
Daher bin ich davon überzeugt, dass mein System modifiziert wurde, um es als kaputt erscheinen zu lassen.
Ist das noch jemandem passiert?
Haftungsausschluss: Ich habe meinen Laptop geöffnet, weil ich weiß, was ich tue, und die Garantie seit etwa sieben Jahren abgelaufen ist. Ich schlage nicht vor, dass Sie es selbst versuchen, und wenn Sie es tun, liegt es an Ihnen. Trotzdem hier der Link zum ifixit.com-Tutorial zum Batteriewechsel bei diesem System:
www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+...

[@mangopatch1872]

Thank you for posting this video. I just had a similar experience with a working and unscathed iPhone 12 that I sent in as a trade-in for the latest model. Today, I was notified that the trade-in value would not be 39,000 yen but 100 yen due to the operating system not working properly. This is mystifying, to say the least. A few days before sending the trade-in unit, I had Apple run diagnostics on the same device and they told me it was operating normally without any issues. I will call up Apple Japan tomorrow and see if there is any recourse, knock on wood. If the matter is not resolved, I will never again use Apple's trade-in program.

[@Aussie_Ham_Radio]

Thanks for posting this video. I too have a problem not too far from your situation. I sent a 2018 MacBook Pro in for a trade in after trading to an M1 MBP. They offered $0 and when they sent it back the screen had a smear and scratches on it that wasn't on the screen when I sent it in. I took pictures before I sent it in and sent them to apple and they send me emails saying that they can't take liability in transit, almost reformatted emails. This damage obviously didn't happen in transit unless the courier opened up the screen and smeared and scratched the screen. Im thinking I should make a similar video to yours documenting their fail. I know its a trade in partner but what is happening at these partner places that apple doesn't know about?

[@nournauom6435]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I‘ve been also experiencing some troubles with my Iphone recently. As it just turned off without any reason. I think Apple is just beginning to be a classic and low quality trader, since their goal is only to achieve bigger sales and surely get more Money.

[@simianproductions]

I am a very happy Apple customer. I use a bunch of Apple products everyday - Watch, iPad, iPhone and my new M1 Max Powerbook -- I feel that the quality hasn't degraded at all. I just wasn't very happy with the partner they use in Germany for their trade-in program.

[@beez_mode5037]

Hey Robert great content, any updates what happened. I'm curious, and I hope everything went well...

[@simianproductions]

Thanks. No. I haven't followed up any further with Apple and my old laptop is resting peacefully in my closet.