Every question, one place.
What Macfax verifies, why the proof holds, what Premium costs, and what the macOS app reads from your Mac. Can't find something? Email support@macfax.com.
What Macfax verifies, how the proof holds, and what a buyer can do with a report.
Is Macfax a store?
No. We standardize listings from wherever Macs are sold and link you straight to the seller. The record is ours; the sale is theirs.
What does the badge mean?
A signed Macfax report is attached to that exact Mac. Open it from the listing and read what was checked, when, and by which machine.
I am selling. Where do I start?
Download the app, run the free report, and attach the report URL to your listing wherever you sell. Get verified when you want the badge on the shelf.
What does Macfax actually check?
Identity (serial, Activation Lock, Find My, iCloud, MDM), spec match (chip, memory, storage, GPU), tamper integrity (chassis ↔ logic-board, Secure Boot, FileVault), hardware health read off the drive and battery, and a signed local-AI speed benchmark. All of it is in the free report.
How does Macfax prove the report wasn't faked?
Every report is signed at issuance by a key held inside the Secure Enclave of the Mac that produced it. The signature is server-validated; a report that doesn't verify never gets published. The report URL is hosted by Macfax, so what a buyer reads is the canonical record.
How is this different from Apple's Coverage Check or a PDF report?
Apple's Coverage Check tells you whether a serial is real. Nothing about case-swap fraud, hardware health, or whether the device is locked. A PDF can be edited in 30 seconds. Macfax is hosted at a URL, signed at the device, and impossible to forge after the fact.
Does the report expire?
No. The issue date is shown prominently so buyers can judge freshness themselves. Re-running the diagnostic on the same Mac is free, always, for Basic or Premium.
Can the buyer verify the report on receipt?
On Premium reports, yes, and it is the reason Premium exists. The buyer downloads the Macfax app and re-derives the device-binding fingerprint on the Mac in front of them; if it matches the report, the machine has not been swapped. Basic reports publish the same fingerprint, but the re-verification flow is Premium-only. Everything Macfax measures is free; what you pay for is evidence a buyer can test after the money moves.
What if my Mac fails one of the checks?
The report shows the actual result. Sellers can iterate-to-clean (sign out of iCloud, disable Activation Lock, factory reset) and re-run for free. The money-back guarantee covers the rare case where the diagnostic surfaces an unfixable problem.
Free Basic, Premium at $49, and how the upgrade path works.
What does it cost?
Browsing is free. The seller app is free to download and run, and every measurement it takes is in the free report. Premium is $49 and is about selling the Mac rather than measuring it: the buyer can re-verify the device binding on receipt, plus a photo set, featured placement and market analytics.
What's the difference between Basic and Premium?
Basic is free and carries every measurement we take: identity, authenticity, spec match, hardware health, and local AI speed. Premium is $49 and adds what helps the Mac sell — buyer-verifiable device binding, a photo set, PDF export, and featured placement. Same app, same download. Basic is evidence you read; Premium is evidence a buyer can test.
What's free about the Basic report?
Everything. No card, no account, no trial. The Basic report covers identity, authenticity, spec match, and hardware health, and it produces a publicly shareable URL that buyers can rely on. We run it on every Mac you list.
What does the $49 Premium upgrade cover?
The device-binding fingerprint a buyer can re-verify on receipt, a photo set with the serial on screen, PDF export, and featured placement until it sells. Everything we can measure about the Mac — health, spec, tamper integrity, local AI speed — is in the free report and always will be. What $49 buys is not more data, it is proof that survives the handover.
Why $49 for Premium?
A Mac listing typically clears $1.5k to $20k. $49 is a small fraction of that to answer the buyer's hardest question — how do I know you will send me this exact machine — with a check they run themselves rather than a promise. Money-back guaranteed.
Can I upgrade a Basic report to Premium later?
Yes. The report URL stays the same; anywhere you've pasted it (eBay, Swappa, DMs) keeps working, the contents just get richer. You can upgrade from the report page or from the Macfax app, on the same Mac that issued the Basic.
Why no subscription?
Sellers list a Mac maybe twice a year. A subscription would mean charging for time you're not using the product. One-time pricing matches the actual usage pattern.
Can I expense Premium?
Yes. The Premium report URL doubles as a receipt; a PDF receipt is also emailed. Tax IDs and business names can be added at checkout.
What the macOS app reads, what versions it runs on, and what permissions it asks for.
Why do I need an app? Can't I just verify on the website?
The check has to run on the Mac itself. A website can only record what someone types in; the app reads the real hardware and signs the result on the device, so the report reflects the actual machine instead of a claim. That on-device read is what lets a buyer trust the badge rather than take the seller's word.
What does Macfax read from my Mac?
Device identifiers (model, serial, chassis serial, logic-board serial), SMART data, battery cycle count, system_profiler output. On Premium runs it also exercises CPU/GPU/memory for burn-in. Nothing is uploaded during the preview; the signed payload only goes out at publish time.
What macOS versions are supported?
Apple Silicon Macs (M1 or later) on macOS 14 or newer. Intel Macs are not supported; they lack the Secure Enclave primitives the diagnostic relies on.
Will it ask for sensitive permissions?
It uses standard macOS diagnostic interfaces. No kernel extensions, no full-disk access prompt. The first launch asks macOS to confirm an internet-downloaded app, which is normal.
Is the download really free?
Yes. The Basic report is free, no card, no account. You only pay if you choose to upgrade to Premium for the full hardware verification ($49, money-back guarantee).
Ready when you are.
Find your next Mac on the shelf, or put yours on it with proof.