If you are selling your MacBook or Mac, trading it in, or only passing information technology on to friends or family - you would be wise to wipe the Mac and restore it to factory settings get-go. This is partly and then that your data stays safe, but it volition also avoid whatsoever issues at a later date that could come nigh if y'all don't disconnect that Mac from diverse services and software you lot might use. It also means the new user can restart the Mac as if it was brand new.

Just retrieve that if someone is going to exist using the Mac after you, removing personal information alone isn't enough - y'all also demand to make certain there'southward a working version of macOS installed later on. Read our guide to selling a Mac.

Another reason why y'all might want to wipe your Mac is to perform a clean install of macOS - which can exist a adept way to fix bug with your Mac if it's starting to comport oddly or you are worried you might have a virus. Wiping a faulty Mac will allow you to gear up it up like a new Mac - which will hopefully fix whatsoever software-related bug yous are having.

Follow our guide to practice the following:

  • Clone or back upwards your Mac
  • Erase all your information from your Mac
  • Restore your Mac to its mill settings
  • Reinstall macOS

Commencement a bit of practiced news: If you have macOS Monterey on an M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, or a Mac with a T2 chip, the process for erasing the content on your Mac has just got so much easier thanks to a new choice in System Preferences. We'll run through the new steps below.

Step ane: Support your Mac

Before you practise anything you should back upwards or clone your Mac. This is because - every bit you would await - resetting a Mac to manufactory settings gets rid of all the data stored on that auto.

Don't autumn in to the trap nosotros barbarous into: Because we utilize iCloud to sync all files beyond all our Apple devices nosotros causeless that nosotros could just recover everything we needed from the cloud - which was true to a certain extent, merely it wasn't until afterwards we wiped the Mac that we realised that the information for ane non-Apple app we used wasn't in the cloud. In these days of working predominantly in the cloud it is an easy fault to make! Unfortunately you tin can't yet back upward everything on your Mac to iCloud.

Luckily bankroll upwards your Mac is piece of cake to practise - as long as you take a external hard bulldoze to use. This tin can exist done very simply using Apple'southward Fourth dimension Machine software - here's how to back up using Time Machine. The best thing near backing upwardly with Time Machine is it makes it really easy to move your information to a new Mac afterwards.

If you don't want to apply Apple tree'southward free Time Machine software, or you can brand a clone of the whole difficult bulldoze using a program similar Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper (both are available as free trials).

This cloned drive tin exist re-cloned back to the primary bulldoze if you decide to restore your Mac, or it can exist used to admission all the original files and transfer them and all your settings to your new computer.

We have a complete guide that explains how to dorsum upward a Mac besides as this guide to the best Mac Fill-in Software.

Step 2: Gear up and erase your Mac

You know you need to erase the Mac before you lot pass it on, but earlier y'all delete everything there's some more admin to do get-go.

If you have a M1 Mac, or an Intel Mac with a T2 chip within, and yous are running macOS Monterey, this process is a little easier with many of the steps taken care of by a new option in System Preferences. If your Mac is older then the steps yous demand to accept are a little more complicated, we'll run though the steps for older Macs below.

M1 Macs and Intel Mac with T2 scrap running macOS Monterey

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 footling easier with many of the steps taken intendance of past a new option in System Preferences.

These Intel Macs have the T2 security chip:

  • 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 fleck

A new option arrived in Organization Preferences in macOS Monterey that takes care of a lot of the complicated steps involved in wiping your Mac - equally long as information technology is an M1 Mac or ane with a T2 flake, as detailed above.

If y'all click on the new Erase All Content and Settings option then everything will be taken care of, including removal of your stored fingerprints for Bear on ID, your Apple ID, anything in the Wallet app, and Find My. Activation Lock volition besides be removed and Bluetooth devices will be unpaired. It as well removes all your information and user-installed applications.

  1. Open System Preferences.
  2. Click on Organisation Preferences in the card 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 lot'll be reminded to do a backup with Time Machine earlier you begin deletion - simply you can skip that step.
  6. A window volition show y'all what will exist deleted, including Apple ID, Bear upon ID, accessories, and Find My settings.
  7. Finally y'all volition demand to log out of your Mac and all related services using your Apple ID.
  8. Before your Mac is erased you receive a terminal warning, so if you take 2d thoughts at least you can stop at this point! Erase Mac Monterey
  9. Having clicked the second Erase All Content & Settings your Mac will restart. Somewhen yous volition see a blackness screen while it restarts.
  10. Once your Mac restarts you can go through the steps to prepare it up as new, or you lot can go out information technology at this stage for the next possessor to ready. Only plough the Mac off offset.

How to fix 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 instance then you will probably exist better off updating the software kickoff equally it will make things simpler for yous), you will need to run through the steps beneath:

1. Deauthorise your accounts

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

That means signing out of things like Apple tree Music/iTunes, iCloud, Messages, and Detect My.

For example, in the Music app (or iTunes in older versions of macOS) y'all will demand to deauthorise your iTunes Store account and log out. This is important considering you lot can only utilize up to v 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 lot've got.

  1. Open the Music or iTunes app and click on Business relationship, then log out.
  2. Open the App Store app, click on Store, then log out.
  3. Click on System Preferences > Apple tree ID. Then click on Overview and Sign Out. When information technology asks if you want to keep a re-create of the iCloud data merely deselect everything (of grade brand sure you lot back that information upwardly somewhere). And then click Continue and wait for information technology to sign out (which may take a while). You'll eventually be asked if you want to download photos to the Mac (you don't unless you want to make a back upwardly). Finally enter your Apple 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 dwelling house or office as any Bluetooth device that may have once been paired with your old Mac may connect to the old one once again - which could be frustrating if you want to apply it with your new Mac. It might also mean your new keyboard or mouse won't piece of work.

3. Turn off FileVault (if you use information technology)

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

  1. To plow it of become to System Preferences
  2. Click Security & Privacy.
  3. Click on FIleVault.
  4. Click on the lock and enter your proper name and password.
  5. Click Turn Off FileVault.

4. Reset NVRAM

Some other manner to be admittedly sure that none of your personal settings remain on the Mac is to reset the NVRAM.

The NVRAM is a small corporeality of retentivity that your Mac uses to store certain settings. Resetting it will clear your user settings and restore any security features you might have adjusted.

Here'south how to reset the NVRAM:

  1. Hold downwards Option/Alt, Command, P and R.
  2. Wait 20 seconds and release the keys.

Annotation, you can't reset the NVRAM on an M1 Mac in the same way. You can change the settings but you tin can't reset it. Withal, you may not need to because it seems to be the case that the M1 Chip tests the NVRAM when the computer is started from shutdown (i.due east. not after a normal reboot). If something is incorrect with the memory it is reset automatically. We describe how to reset NVRAM in this article: How to reset NVRAM on an M1 or Intel Mac. Of class, if yous accept an M1 Mac you won't need to practice this step anyway.

v. Restart your Mac in Recovery

Now you lot take backed everything up, deauthorised your accounts and unpaired devices, you are prepare to kickoff to erase everything on the Mac. To practise so you demand to enter Recovery mode. This will enable you lot 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 run across an Apple logo or spinning globe. (You may be better off using a different cardinal combination depending on the age of your Mac, and which macOS you lot want installed or was installed on the Mac when yous bought it - nosotros have a consummate guide to starting a Mac in Recovery Mode here). For example, Apple tree recommends that "if yous're selling or giving away a Mac that is using Bone X El Capitan or earlier, use Option-Command-R to make certain that the installation isn't associated with your Apple ID".
  3. Await it to take a while for the Mac to start upwards in this fashion.
  4. You may come across a screen asking you to choose a language.
  5. The next screen you'll run across is the Recovery Mode Utilities window. Since macOS Sierra and later it looks something like this:

How to factory-reset a Mac: Recovery Mode Utilities

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

  1. Turn off the estimator past clicking on the Apple logo and choosing Shut Down...
  2. Now press and agree the power button to turn the Mac on once more. Keep belongings the power button!
  3. When the Apple logo appears yous'll also see text informing you that if y'all continue holding yous volition be able to access startup options.
  4. Continue to concord the push downward (probably for around five more than seconds) and the text should switch to Loading Startup Options.
  5. Eventually you volition be able to select Options > Continue.
  6. This volition open upwards Recovery.

We also detail how to access Recovery on an M1 Mac in this commodity: How to do everything on an M1 Mac.

6. Erase and reformat your Mac

Now y'all take entered Recovery you tin can erase your Mac.

Once 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 beneath that.

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

  1. Now that you are in Recovery, as per the instructions to a higher place, you demand to select Disk Utility from the list.
  2. Once in Disk Utility select Macintosh Hard disk (or any y'all take called your 'hard drive').
  3. There are various options forth the top: click on Erase.
  4. Y'all should see the name of your drive and the format should be APFS. Underneath you should come across an option to Delete Book Group (this will ensure you delete both the Macintosh Hd and Macintosh Hard disk drive Data.)
  5. Once you have deleted the Macintosh Hd you can then click on any other drives and volumes and click the - to delete the volume.

To brand sure you delete everything yous will need to choose Erase Book Group, if you don't encounter this option effort the instructions beneath.

How to delete your Mac in Catalina

When Apple introduced macOS Catalina in 2019 it added a new read-only volume where the operating system lives. This volume is Macintosh Hard disk (yours may accept a different name). Alongside it yous will as well have a Macintosh Hd - Data book. This is where your information resides.

The reason Apple separated the two volumes in Catalina is to ensure that critical operating system data can't exist overwritten. Considering of this extra volume the process is a little unlike to how it works on older Mac.

  1. As per the steps in a higher place beginning upward your Mac in Recovery.
  2. Once Recovery starts up choose Disk Utility.
  3. You should see 2 disks - Macintosh Hard disk and Macintosh HD - data (shown below - distressing nigh image quality!) This information bulldoze is where your data is stored separately to the macOS installation. (It'due south possible your bulldoze is called something else, like Dwelling Hd for example). Macintosh HD Data
  4. Click on this Macintosh HD - Data drive to select it.
  5. Either click on the - push or go to the menu and choose Edit > Delete APFS book.
  6. You will see a bulletin warning you that this volition permanently erase your data. Click on Delete.
  7. Wait while the volume is deleted. Delete Macintosh HD Data
  8. Now y'all need to go dorsum to Disk Utility to delete the Macintosh HD. You lot accept to do both steps as you won't just be able to reinstall macOS over the pinnacle of macOS. And you will demand to reinstall the macOS in order to recreate the Macintosh HD-Data book. Click on Macintosh HD to select it.
  9. We recommend that y'all click Unmount. Initially when nosotros tried to delete Macintosh HD we saw an error message that stated: Erase process has failed because book Macintosh Hard disk on disk 2s5 couldn't exist unmounted because it is in use by process 793 (kextcache). Unmounting first fixed this problem.
  10. With Macintosh HD still selected click on Erase. Erase Macintosh HD
  11. Enter a name yous want to give the drive once you accept reformatted information technology, such as Macintosh Hard disk.
  12. Choose the format. This is volition be APFS if you are using Catalina - older OSs might have had the option of  Mac Os Extended (Journaled).
  13. Click Erase and enter your Apple tree ID if required. Wait.
  14. At present quit Deejay Utility to return to the MacOS Utilities screen.

How to delete your Mac in Mojave or before

The process for deleting and reformatting your Mac is slightly less complicated in macOS Mojave or earlier as there isn't the second Information book to delete outset.

As above, start up in Recovery.

  1. Select Disk Utility from the options, and click Continue.
  2. Click on your main difficult drive, typically called Macintosh Hard disk drive, in the sidebar on the left. You're looking for the disk proper name, not the book proper name indented underneath it if that appears. How to factory-reset a Mac: Disk Utility
  3. To wipe your difficult drive, click the Erase button, and then click Erase. Note that this permanently erases all data on the hard drive so don't do this unless yous've cloned the bulldoze or are happy to never admission anything on that drive again. How to factory-reset a Mac: Erasing the hard drive
  4. When it'due south finished, exit the program by going to the top menu and selecting Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.

Pace 3: Reinstall macOS

The next step involves reinstalling macOS - you tin't just sell your Mac having erased the contents - if you do the new user volition exist confronted with a flashing question mark when they start upwardly the Mac considering there will be no operating organisation installed. You demand to reinstall macOS before you can sell it on.

If you have an M1 Mac, or a Mac with the T2 flake, this will be handled by the Erase All Contents and Settings option in Arrangement Preferences, equally detailed above. But if that isn't an option for y'all then the below guide should assistance:

How to reinstall macOS

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

You should nonetheless exist in macOS Utilities as per the steps above.

  1. Choose Reinstall macOS from Utilities and follow the instructions that announced  to reinstall macOS.
  2. Your Mac will start to download and install which always version of macOS your Mac was running - alternatively, if you lot wanted to install an older version of macOS nosotros accept more than information below.
  3. Eventually after the longest-ever 49 mins or so your Mac volition restart. But the wait isn't over. It volition still accept a little time while yous start up and picket the white bar. Ours said 11 minutes remaining around that time, only it took a lot longer than that. Just go out your Mac to get on with it and ignore any time remaining indicators.
  4. Finally you will run into the Welcome screen. If you are selling or passing on your Mac you tin leave it at this stage because the new user will need to input their details. If you want to continue to employ the Mac so follow the steps to ready it up.

How to install an older version or downgrade macOS

The method to a higher place will work if you want to install the latest version of macOS installed on the Mac. It won't upgrade yous to the latest version if y'all aren't already running it.

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

Instead of pressing Command + R at kickoff upwardly you could press Shift + Option/Alt + Command R (if you are running Sierra 10.12.iv of later) to install the version of macOS that came with your Mac, or the ane closest to it that is still bachelor. (Command + R won't work on an M1 Mac).

Alternatively y'all could make a bootable drive containing the version of macOS that you lot want to run and install it on your Mac using that. Read how to practise that hither: How to make a bootable macOS installer on an external drive.

If you need to install an older version of the Mac operating organisation and are wondering how you can do that if you oasis't got the original discs, read this: How to install old versions of macOS or Mac Bone X.

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