Wait. There is no way to assign a new owner to these machines? If I had an old M1 Macbook that I wanted to give to a relative I wouldn't be able to?
It only fails if you don’t log the machine out. This is to deter theft, since a reset requires the user’s password. If it’s not been reset it’s a brick.
The other thing to note is that if the computer hasn’t been signed into iCloud or had Find My Mac turned on, none of this necessary. So someone who’s paranoid about phoning home can probably resell after a simple reformat.
If you wanted to transfer ownership:
1. Ideally, you'd reset your Mac through System Settings.
2. If you forgot to do that or didn't realize, you'd sign in to your iCloud account and remove the device, unlocking it for a new owner.
This is about situations where neither apply... which >90% of the time, is going to be theft.