This text explains easy methods to erase and manufacturing facility reset your Mac in case you plan to present it away, promote it, or commerce it in. Apple silicon Macs and Intel Macs with a T2 safety chip (2017-2020 fashions) have an “Erase All Content material and Settings” choice accessible in macOS Monterey and later. In case you have an older pre-2017 Mac, it is a extra convoluted course of – comply with this hyperlink as an alternative to erase and manufacturing facility reset your machine.
Historically, wiping a Mac and returning it to manufacturing facility settings concerned manually signing out of a spread of providers, erasing your Mac’s inner drive, then reinstalling macOS. These steps are fairly concerned when you think about how straightforward it’s to wipe an iPhone or iPad (Settings -> Common -> Switch or Reset iPhone -> Erase All Content material and Settings).
Thankfully, Apple contains the identical choice on newer Macs operating macOS Monterey and later. Erase All Content material and Settings in macOS affords a quite simple and simple technique to erase your Mac while not having to reinstall the working system. Because of the way in which storage is encrypted on Macs with Apple silicon or the T2 chip, the choice is ready to immediately and securely “erase” all person date by destroying the encryption keys.
Not solely does this successfully erase all person information and user-installed apps out of your Mac with out reinstalling macOS, it additionally indicators out your Apple Account from a spread of providers, removes any Contact ID fingerprints, purchases, and all Apple Pockets gadgets, and turns off Discover My and Activation Lock, making it far simpler to revive your Mac to like-new manufacturing facility settings.
The next steps present you the way it’s completed. Whether or not you merely need to begin contemporary along with your Mac or are planning to promote or reward your pc to a different particular person, after erasing it utilizing this feature, your Mac will show the Setup Assistant and be able to be arrange like new.
- Click on the Apple () image within the menu bar and choose System Settings (System Preferences… in case you’re not operating macOS Ventura or later).
- In the event you’re operating macOS Ventura or later, choose Common within the sidebar, then select Switch or Reset -> Erase All Content material and Settings…. In any other case, choose System Preferences -> Erase All Content material and Settings from the menu bar.
- Enter your admin password within the Erase Assistant dialog immediate and click on OK.
- If you have not already backed up your necessary information, heed the onscreen Time Machine recommendation. In any other case, click on Proceed.
- Observe all of the settings, information, media, and different gadgets that will likely be eliminated. Click on Proceed in case you’re positive.
- Enter the password to your Apple Account to signal out, click on Proceed, then click on Erase All Content material & Settings within the immediate to substantiate.
After following these steps, enable the erase course of to finish. Your Mac could restart greater than as soon as in the course of the course of. As soon as completed, you will see the “hey” message in your Mac’s display, indicating that your Mac has been restored to manufacturing facility settings and Setup Assistant is able to begin anew.