How to Fix Year and Model in About this Mac

Written By: Jadon Lyon
  • Comments: 0
How to Fix Year and Model in About this Mac

Difficulty

Very easy

Steps

16

Time Required

5 - 10 minutes

Introduction

For months now, I have been trying to find a solution as to why About this Mac will not show my Mac's year and model. I have just now found a solution that has worked on every OS X Version from Lion (10.7) to El Capitan (10.11).

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    • We first must understand how About this Mac shows the year and model.

    • The Mac will connect to Apple's database and send the Mac's serial number. It will then find using that serial number which Mac model you have and then show it in About this Mac.

    • The reason older versions of OS X no longer show the Mac model is because most of these versions can no longer connect to Apple's Server. Try going to apple.com, and you will probably get an error like the one in the picture.

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    • Check to make sure your serial number is valid.

    • Using a newer Mac, go to https://checkcoverage.apple.com

    • Enter the Mac's serial number (the one you are fixing, not the one with the webpage), and a code that Apple makes you put in.

    • If the Mac's year shows up, then you can fix the issue in About this Mac.

    • If the year does NOT show up, then your serial number is invalid, or your machine was specially built, and therefore About this Mac will not work anyway.

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    • In order to fix this issue, we have to use Keychain.

    • Open Keychain by searching for it using Spotlight.

    • This will NOT make Apple's Website load, some versions of OS X are still too old to even load Apple's Website. This only allows the Mac to connect to Apple's Server, even if it can't load the webpage.

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    • In the sidebar, you will see "Certificates." Click that.

    • You will also see "System Roots." Click that as well.

    • A lot of certificates will show up.

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    • Type "apple" in the search bar.

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    • Now click on the first Certificate, and then click the "i" button in the bottom of the window.

    • Another window will appear.

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    • In the window that pops up, click the "Trust" tab.

    • Then click the box "When using this certificate." It will say "Use System Defaults" by default.

    • Now choose "Always Trust" instead.

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    • Close the window and enter your username and password to allow.

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    • Now repeat steps 5-7 for the rest of Apple's Certificates.

    • Your Mac may have more or less certificates than in the picture. This is fine.

    • Make sure you are only modifying Apple's Certificates. Modifying Third Party Certificates can lead to issues.

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    • Head back to About this Mac to see if the Year and Model show up.

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    • If for some reason About this Mac still does not show the year, do not worry. There is one other thing you can do. You can force the Mac to make a new certificate.

    • To do this, click the "Support" tab in About this Mac.

    • Then choose "User Manual."

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    • A Safari window will open with a new error.

    • Click the "Show Certificate" button.

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    • Similar to before, choose "Trust,"

    • "When using this certificate,"

    • "Always Trust."

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    • Click Continue,

    • and enter your username and password to allow.

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    • Like I mentioned earlier, the webpage will not load even after forcing a new certificate.

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    • Close all of the windows (including About this Mac).

    • Now open About this Mac again, and it should show you your Mac's year and model.

    • My Mac is a MacBook Air Early 2008 (Original)

Conclusion

Hopefully this will have fixed the issue with your Mac. If for some reason this did not work, drop a comment down below.

Author

Jadon Lyon

Member since: 05/09/23

3934 Reputation

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