How do I return Apple Macbook to factory settings?
If you're going to sell or give away your Apple MacBook, it's important to remove all your personal information. In case of technical defects, you have to restore your Apple MacBook to the factory settings as well. In this article, we'll explain how to do this in 3 steps.
Step 1: log out of your accounts
To prevent the future owner from getting access to your information, you have to log out of your accounts. You need to do this for iTunes, iCloud, and iMessage separately.
Log out of iTunes
To log out of iTunes, follow these steps:
- Open iTunes.
- In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, click Account
- Click Authorizations.
- Click Deauthorize this computer
- Enter your Apple ID and password
- Click Deauthorize
Log out of iCloud
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Turn off Find My Mac
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Log out of iCLoud
Follow these steps to log out of iCloud:
- Click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen.
- Click System Preferences.
- Click Internet Accounts and then select iCloud.
- Untick the box next to Find My Mac
- Click Overview in the sidebar.
- Click Log out
Log out of iMessage
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Open Preferences
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Log out
Follow these steps to log out of iMessage:
- Open the iMessage app.
- Click Messages at the top of your screen.
- Click Preferences.
- Click iMessage
- Click Log out
Step 2: erase the drive
Now it's time to actually clear your Apple MacBook. You use Recovery Mode for this.
Boot via macOS Recovery
Boot your MacBook in recovery mode:
- Click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen.
- Click Restart.
- During restart, press the Command key and the R key at the same time.
- Keep both keys pressed down until you see the Recovery Mode appear on your screen.
Erase the boot drive
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Click Disk Utility
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Select the drive you want to erase
Now, erase the hard drive of your MacBook. Follow these steps:
- Click Disk Utility in the Utilities screen.
- Select the drive you want to erase in the menu. The boot drive is at the top.
- Click Erase at the top of your menu.
- If you want, change the Name, Format, and Scheme of the drive.
- Click Erase
- Enter your Apple ID and password.
- Wait until the drive is erased and then close Disk Utility.
Step 3. reinstall macOS
Once the drive is erased, you can reinstall macOS.
- Click Reinstall macOS
- Click Continue
- Select a boot drive and click Install
- Once the installation is completed, restart your MacBook.
- Wait until your MacBook has restarted.
- Press the Command key and the Q key to shut down your MacBook.
Article by:
Lisanne
Apple Expert.