If you are selling your MacBook or Mac, trading it in, or simply passing it on to friends or family unit - you would be wise to wipe the Mac and restore it to factory settings first. This is partly so that your data stays safe, only information technology will also avert any problems at a later engagement that could come up about if you don't disconnect that Mac from various services and software you lot might use. Information technology too ways the new user can restart the Mac as if it was brand new.

Just remember that if someone is going to be using the Mac after yous, removing personal information alone isn't enough - you likewise need to make sure in that location's a working version of macOS installed afterwards. Read our guide to selling a Mac.

Some other reason why you lot might want to wipe your Mac is to perform a clean install of macOS - which can be a good fashion to set bug with your Mac if it's starting to bear oddly or yous are worried you lot might have a virus. Wiping a faulty Mac will allow you lot to set it upwardly like a new Mac - which will hopefully fix whatsoever software-related bug you are having.

Follow our guide to do the post-obit:

  • Clone or back up your Mac
  • Erase all your data from your Mac
  • Restore your Mac to its factory settings
  • Reinstall macOS

Outset a flake of good news: If you have macOS Monterey on an M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, or a Mac with a T2 scrap, the process for erasing the content on your Mac has merely got so much easier thanks to a new option in System Preferences. We'll run through the new steps below.

Step 1: Back up your Mac

Before you practice anything y'all should back up or clone your Mac. This is because - every bit you would expect - resetting a Mac to manufactory settings gets rid of all the data stored on that automobile.

Don't autumn in to the trap we brutal into: Because we use iCloud to sync all files across all our Apple tree devices we assumed that we could only recover everything we needed from the cloud - which was truthful to a sure extent, but it wasn't until subsequently we wiped the Mac that we realised that the data for one not-Apple app we used wasn't in the deject. In these days of working predominantly in the deject it is an easy mistake to make! Unfortunately you can't yet back up everything on your Mac to iCloud.

Luckily bankroll upwardly your Mac is easy to do - equally long as you have a external hard bulldoze to utilise. This can exist done very simply using Apple'south Time Machine software - hither'south how to support using Time Machine. The best thing almost backing upward with Fourth dimension Machine is it makes information technology really easy to move your data to a new Mac afterwards.

If you don't want to utilize Apple tree'south gratis Time Machine software, or you can make a clone of the whole hard drive using a program similar Carbon Re-create Cloner or SuperDuper (both are available as costless trials).

This cloned drive can be re-cloned back to the main bulldoze if y'all make up one's mind to restore your Mac, or information technology tin can exist used to access all the original files and transfer them and all your settings to your new estimator.

We have a consummate guide that explains how to back upwardly a Mac equally well as this guide to the all-time Mac Backup Software.

Footstep 2: Prepare and erase your Mac

Yous know y'all need to erase the Mac before you pass it on, but earlier yous delete everything at that place's some more admin to do showtime.

If you have a M1 Mac, or an Intel Mac with a T2 chip inside, and you are running macOS Monterey, this process is a little easier with many of the steps taken care of by a new choice in Arrangement Preferences. If your Mac is older then the steps y'all demand to take are a little more complicated, nosotros'll run though the steps for older Macs below.

M1 Macs and Intel Mac with T2 chip running macOS Monterey

If you have a M1 Mac, or an Intel Mac with a T2 chip within, and you lot are running macOS Monterey this procedure is a little easier with many of the steps taken care of by a new option in Organization Preferences.

These Intel Macs take the T2 security fleck:

  • MacBook Air from 2018
  • MacBook Pro from 2018
  • Mac mini from 2018
  • iMac 27-inch from 2020
  • iMac Pro
  • Mac Pro from 2019

How to erase an M1 Mac, or a Mac with T2 flake

A new selection arrived in System Preferences in macOS Monterey that takes care of a lot of the complicated steps involved in wiping your Mac - as long every bit it is an M1 Mac or 1 with a T2 scrap, every bit detailed above.

If you click on the new Erase All Content and Settings option and so everything will exist taken care of, including removal of your stored fingerprints for Impact ID, your Apple ID, annihilation in the Wallet app, and Discover My. Activation Lock will also exist removed and Bluetooth devices volition be unpaired. It also removes all your data and user-installed applications.

  1. Open System Preferences.
  2. Click on System Preferences in the menu bar at the top of your screen.
  3. Click on Erase All Content and Settings. How to delete Mac
  4. Enter your password.
  5. You'll be reminded to do a fill-in with Fourth dimension Machine before you begin deletion - but you can skip that step.
  6. A window volition show you what will be deleted, including Apple ID, Touch ID, accessories, and Find My settings.
  7. Finally yous volition need to log out of your Mac and all related services using your Apple ID.
  8. Before your Mac is erased you receive a final alert, so if you take second thoughts at to the lowest degree you can terminate at this signal! Erase Mac Monterey
  9. Having clicked the 2d Erase All Content & Settings your Mac will restart. Eventually you will see a black screen while it restarts.
  10. Once your Mac restarts you can go through the steps to set it upwardly as new, or you can leave it at this stage for the adjacent owner to set. Merely turn the Mac off first.

How to set and erase an older Mac

Unfortunately if your Mac is older than those above, or doesn't have Monterey installed (if the latter is the example then y'all volition probably be better off updating the software offset as it will make things simpler for y'all), y'all will need to run through the steps beneath:

1. Deauthorise your accounts

You demand to disconnect the Mac from any services you are linked to.

That ways signing out of things like Apple Music/iTunes, iCloud, Messages, and Find My.

For example, in the Music app (or iTunes in older versions of macOS) you will demand to deauthorise your iTunes Shop account and log out. This is important because you can only use upwardly to five Macs to play music and movies that are locked to your iTunes/Music account. The method of deauthorising your music services varies depending on which version you've got.

  1. Open the Music or iTunes app and click on Account, then log out.
  2. Open the App Shop app, click on Store, then log out.
  3. Click on System Preferences > Apple ID. And so click on Overview and Sign Out. When it asks if you want to go along a copy of the iCloud information only deselect everything (of course brand certain y'all back that information up somewhere). Then click Continue and expect for it to sign out (which may have a while). Yous'll eventually be asked if you lot want to download photos to the Mac (you lot don't unless you want to make a back up). Finally enter your Apple tree ID Countersign to confirm, and enter the password for the Mac.

2. Unpair Bluetooth devices

This is especially important if you are passing your Mac on to someone in your home or office equally any Bluetooth device that may have once been paired with your sometime Mac may connect to the old one once more - which could be frustrating if y'all want to use it with your new Mac. It might besides mean your new keyboard or mouse won't work.

3. Plough off FileVault (if you use it)

FileVault encryption tin can make it hard for unauthorized persons to access the data on your Mac. If you are using FileVault to encrypt the data on your Mac before you delete your information and prepare the Mac for sale you should turn it off - this seems illogical equally yous desire to protect your data, but yous volition be removing the data.

  1. To turn information technology of go to System Preferences
  2. Click Security & Privacy.
  3. Click on FIleVault.
  4. Click on the lock and enter your name and password.
  5. Click Turn Off FileVault.

4. Reset NVRAM

Another mode to be admittedly certain that none of your personal settings remain on the Mac is to reset the NVRAM.

The NVRAM is a small-scale amount of memory that your Mac uses to store certain settings. Resetting it will clear your user settings and restore whatsoever security features you lot might accept adapted.

Here'southward how to reset the NVRAM:

  1. Hold down Pick/Alt, Command, P and R.
  2. Await 20 seconds and release the keys.

Notation, y'all can't reset the NVRAM on an M1 Mac in the same mode. Yous tin can modify the settings just y'all can't reset it. However, you may not need to considering it seems to exist the case that the M1 Chip tests the NVRAM when the figurer is started from shutdown (i.eastward. not after a normal reboot). If something is wrong with the memory it is reset automatically. We depict how to reset NVRAM in this article: How to reset NVRAM on an M1 or Intel Mac. Of class, if you accept an M1 Mac you won't need to exercise this stride anyhow.

five. Restart your Mac in Recovery

Now y'all have backed everything upward, deauthorised your accounts and unpaired devices, you lot are set up to offset to erase everything on the Mac. To exercise then you need to enter Recovery way. This volition enable you to wipe the Mac.

How to enter Recovery on an Intel Mac

  1. Click the Apple logo at the top left of the screen and select Restart.
  2. Immediately hold down the Command and R keys until you see an Apple logo or spinning globe. (Y'all may be meliorate off using a different central combination depending on the age of your Mac, and which macOS you desire installed or was installed on the Mac when you lot bought it - we take a complete guide to starting a Mac in Recovery Mode here). For case, Apple recommends that "if you're selling or giving away a Mac that is using OS 10 El Capitan or earlier, use Option-Command-R to make sure that the installation isn't associated with your Apple ID".
  3. Look it to have a while for the Mac to start upwards in this mode.
  4. You may see a screen asking you to choose a language.
  5. The next screen you'll see is the Recovery Mode Utilities window. Since macOS Sierra and later on it looks something like this:

How to factory-reset a Mac: Recovery Mode Utilities

If you're having issues because Command + R isn't doing the trick, read this: How to reinstall macOS if Recovery won't work.

Note: The process by which you lot admission Recovery on a M1 Mac is different to the procedure on an older Intel-powered Mac, but, because if you lot take an M1 Mac yous will probably have used the Erase All Settings this shouldn't be necessary for you lot. If y'all do want to enter Recovery on an M1 Mac, instead of pressing the Command and R buttons when yous restart your Mac y'all will demand to do the following:

  1. Turn off the computer past clicking on the Apple logo and choosing Shut Down...
  2. Now press and hold the power button to turn the Mac on again. Keep holding the power button!
  3. When the Apple tree logo appears you'll also run across text informing you that if you continue holding y'all will exist able to admission startup options.
  4. Continue to agree the button downward (probably for around five more than seconds) and the text should switch to Loading Startup Options.
  5. Eventually you will be able to select Options > Go along.
  6. This volition open up upwards Recovery.

We likewise item how to access Recovery on an M1 Mac in this commodity: How to practise everything on an M1 Mac.

vi. Erase and reformat your Mac

At present you have entered Recovery y'all can erase your Mac.

Again, the instructions are a lilliputian different depending on the version of macOS you are using and whether your Mac is Intel or M1.

Nosotros'll run through the method in Monterey, Large Sur and Catalina, earlier moving onto Mojave and previous versions of macOS below that.

How to delete your Mac in Large Sur/Monterey on an Intel Mac

  1. Now that you are in Recovery, as per the instructions above, y'all need to select Disk Utility from the list.
  2. In one case in Disk Utility select Macintosh HD (or any you have called your 'hard drive').
  3. At that place are diverse options along the top: click on Erase.
  4. You should see the name of your drive and the format should be APFS. Underneath yous should run into an pick to Delete Volume Grouping (this will ensure yous delete both the Macintosh HD and Macintosh Hd Information.)
  5. One time yous have deleted the Macintosh Hard disk drive you can then click on any other drives and volumes and click the - to delete the volume.

To make sure you delete everything y'all will demand to choose Erase Volume Group, if you don't see this option try the instructions below.

How to delete your Mac in Catalina

When Apple tree introduced macOS Catalina in 2019 it added a new read-but book where the operating organisation lives. This book is Macintosh HD (yours may have a different name). Alongside information technology you volition as well take a Macintosh HD - Data volume. This is where your data resides.

The reason Apple separated the two volumes in Catalina is to ensure that disquisitional operating system data tin't be overwritten. Because of this extra book the process is a footling different to how it works on older Mac.

  1. As per the steps to a higher place start up your Mac in Recovery.
  2. Once Recovery starts up cull Disk Utility.
  3. You should see ii disks - Macintosh HD and Macintosh HD - data (shown below - sorry almost image quality!) This data drive is where your data is stored separately to the macOS installation. (It's possible your bulldoze is called something else, like Domicile HD for case). Macintosh HD Data
  4. Click on this Macintosh Hard disk drive - Data drive to select information technology.
  5. Either click on the - button or become to the carte and choose Edit > Delete APFS volume.
  6. Y'all volition run across a message alarm you that this will permanently erase your data. Click on Delete.
  7. Wait while the volume is deleted. Delete Macintosh HD Data
  8. At present you need to go back to Disk Utility to delete the Macintosh Hard disk. Y'all accept to do both steps as you won't just be able to reinstall macOS over the superlative of macOS. And you lot will need to reinstall the macOS in lodge to recreate the Macintosh Hd-Data volume. Click on Macintosh HD to select it.
  9. We recommend that y'all click Unmount. Initially when nosotros tried to delete Macintosh Hard disk we saw an error message that stated: Erase process has failed considering volume Macintosh Hard disk drive on disk 2s5 couldn't be unmounted because it is in use past process 793 (kextcache). Unmounting first fixed this problem.
  10. With Macintosh Hard disk nonetheless selected click on Erase. Erase Macintosh HD
  11. Enter a name you desire to give the drive in one case yous take reformatted it, such as Macintosh Hard disk.
  12. Choose the format. This is will be APFS if you lot are using Catalina - older OSs might accept had the selection of  Mac Os Extended (Journaled).
  13. Click Erase and enter your Apple ID if required. Look.
  14. Now quit Disk Utility to return to the MacOS Utilities screen.

How to delete your Mac in Mojave or earlier

The process for deleting and reformatting your Mac is slightly less complicated in macOS Mojave or before as there isn't the second Data volume to delete first.

As above, first up in Recovery.

  1. Select Disk Utility from the options, and click Continue.
  2. Click on your master hard drive, typically called Macintosh HD, in the sidebar on the left. Yous're looking for the deejay proper noun, non the volume name indented underneath it if that appears. How to factory-reset a Mac: Disk Utility
  3. To wipe your hard drive, click the Erase button, then click Erase. Note that this permanently erases all data on the difficult drive then don't do this unless you lot've cloned the drive or are happy to never access annihilation on that drive again. How to factory-reset a Mac: Erasing the hard drive
  4. When it'south finished, exit the programme by going to the top carte du jour and selecting Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.

Step 3: Reinstall macOS

The side by side step involves reinstalling macOS - you lot can't just sell your Mac having erased the contents - if you lot exercise the new user will be confronted with a flashing question marking when they get-go up the Mac because there will be no operating system installed. You need to reinstall macOS before you tin sell information technology on.

If y'all have an M1 Mac, or a Mac with the T2 chip, this will exist handled by the Erase All Contents and Settings selection in System Preferences, as detailed in a higher place. Just if that isn't an option for you then the below guide should help:

How to reinstall macOS

Whether you are reselling the Mac, or only planning to continue to use the Mac and just wanted to do a make clean install you will want to install a version of macOS.

You should still exist in macOS Utilities every bit per the steps above.

  1. Choose Reinstall macOS from Utilities and follow the instructions that appear  to reinstall macOS.
  2. Your Mac will start to download and install which ever version of macOS your Mac was running - alternatively, if you wanted to install an older version of macOS nosotros have more than information below.
  3. Somewhen later on the longest-ever 49 mins or so your Mac will restart. But the await isn't over. It will notwithstanding accept a little time while y'all start up and sentry the white bar. Ours said eleven minutes remaining around that time, but it took a lot longer than that. Merely leave your Mac to get on with it and ignore any fourth dimension remaining indicators.
  4. Finally you will come across the Welcome screen. If you lot are selling or passing on your Mac you can leave information technology at this phase because the new user will need to input their details. If you lot desire to continue to use the Mac then follow the steps to fix it upward.

How to install an older version or downgrade macOS

The method above volition piece of work if yous want to install the latest version of macOS installed on the Mac. It won't upgrade you to the latest version if you aren't already running information technology.

There are other options if you lot desire to install a different version of the macOS.

Instead of pressing Command + R at start upwards you could press Shift + Option/Alt + Command R (if y'all are running Sierra 10.12.four of later) to install the version of macOS that came with your Mac, or the one closest to it that is nevertheless available. (Control + R won't work on an M1 Mac).

Alternatively you could make a bootable drive containing the version of macOS that y'all want to run and install information technology on your Mac using that. Read how to exercise that here: How to make a bootable macOS installer on an external bulldoze.

If you demand to install an older version of the Mac operating organization and are wondering how yous tin practice that if you haven't got the original discs, read this: How to install old versions of macOS or Mac OS X.

We have another article that goes into more particular on how to install an older version of macOS using Recovery mode.