Error 403 forbidden on MacBook and says can’t connect to Apple servers

You pretty much have boat anchor as., the computer wasn NOT setup per the directions in

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support

Because it was not, it will always be associated with the last owner.

If you don’t have any money in it then no harm no foul. Simply contact one of Apple’s recycling programs to recycle it at no charge to you.

Maybe you can find something here:

Refurbished Mac Deals - Apple

Same great Macs and same factory warranty at a bit of a discount.

Or you might also look for something at Used Macs - Refurbished - macofalltrades.com

and New, Used and Refurbished Macs - eshop.macsales.com

Both of these sites are respected among the Community contributors here. There are a very small handful of others.

Avoid buying from sites like eBay, Craigslist, LetGo and the like, for exactly the reason that brought you here. A Mac that is not properly prepared for transfer of ownership can easily become a door stop.

(full disclosure - I am not affiliated with any of these sites)

Correct, nothing you can do about that MacBook. If you cannot afford a new MacBook( they start at $699 by doing some shopping for a new one) If you are in the USA I think Best Buy or Amazon have base model MacBook Air which will FAR outperform a 15 year old MBP. If that is too much, there are additional alternatives:

1. Apples refurbished Mac that have ZERO downside as they are a) identical to new b) come with the same warranty as new, c) are eligible for AppleCare and c) can save hundreds of $$$ over a new Mac. You can find them at www.apple.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and select the Refurbished Store.
2. Buy a used Mac from a reputable source such as Macsales.com . I just visited their site and see MacBooks from $145.

NEVER EVER buy a Mac from:

• Ebay
• Craigslist
• Nextdoor
• Marketplace
• Local PC store
• an acquaintance or friend.

Why not any of these, simple you more likely than not will end up in the same boat you are in now.

If that iMac is from Early 2008,

• It predates Internet Recovery, and would have originally come with a set of optical discs that could be used to wipe its hard drive, and reset everything to "factory" state. If whatever Recovery Mode might be present now isn't working, and you don't have those discs, you are not in a good place.
• It can't run anything later than OS X 10.11.6 (El Capitan). El Capitan is NINE major versions behind the current version of macOS (Sequoia). Few, if any people make software that runs on it anymore. Even Mozilla stopped providing "critical security update" to Firefox 78 ESR three years ago, in October 2021.
• Most of the versions of Mac OS X that run on that old Mac will run into problems accessing any modern https Web site. The original https security mechanism was discovered to be less secure than believed … and there was a movement to upgrade browsers and Web sites. The browsers on those old versions of Mac OS X don't know how to speak the upgraded security protocols that many https sites now demand.

Yup 100% boat anchor. Time to recycle it.

Perhaps to check into owc mac sales and compare tested guaranteed

used &/or refurbished Apple Mac models. Those sometimes offer an

additional extended "in-house" warranty, on to their lower costs.

Used and Refurbished MacBook Pro Laptops from OWC

For other DIY updates to older hardware. Instructions & quality

parts are also available. Free advice is too, before you buy.

.This brand is an Apple-authorized reseller, or so they say.

Least costly are 13-inch MB/Pro older models.

I've had good results and products from OWC by mail at

distance from Alaska; you get discount low shipping when

you live in one of the Lower 48 states.

And the fact an edit after Author wrote it, does add curious mix to this additional

identification question. This was not an issue; as I owned a goodly cross section.

And saw the author's name as ownership of product; an early poly Intel-macbook

or later 1st edition Aluminum model. This, just a matter of improper prep to resell.

As these require correct Apple installer DVD media to reset new system on HDD.

.Joe asked me why I sought an edit to the re-name of this thread yesterday, too.

No doubt here. It's no deCamel, its a reZebra!🤣

Yes… pretty much gonna echo what rkaufmann87 posted here… you might have a slim chance IF you have access to another Mac, a USB stick 16GB size, can get a working copy of some version of the MacOS and can make a bootable USB stick… unfortunately I don’t know the year and model of your MacBook so can’t say what version of the Mac OS it has on it, the latest version it’ll take, etc… if you look on the outside of your MacBook you’ll find a model number,,, if you have a removable battery it’s under that… take that info to Every Mac… I can’t post exact links here… if your MacBook is very old, you’ll need a legit. /real/official copy of Snow Leopard Retail DVD to boot from..from there you can reinstall the Mac OS, run Disk Utility, etc…

John B

You used the term "iMac" in the title of your post, and said that the machine was from Early 2008. However, I see that you posted this in the MacBook forum, with a MacBook-related user name, and so other people are assuming that this is a Mac notebook.

If this is a MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008) with a white plastic case, or an original MacBook Air (introduced 1/2008), you cannot upgrade it any further than Mac OS X 10.7.5 (Lion). Lion is THIRTEEN major versions behind the current version of macOS. Good luck finding any Web browser for Lion that can deal with modern https Web sites.

If this is a 15" or 17" MacBook Pro from Early 2008, the end of the line would be OS X 10.11.6 (El Capitan), the same as for a 20" or 24" iMac from Early 2008.