The One Step You Absolutely Need to Take Before You Resell a MacBook

The definitive guide to resetting your MacBook to its factory settings.

Published October 12, 2022

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Updated March 13, 2024

If you’re looking to sell or trade-in an old MacBook, you’ll want to wipe all your personal data from the device. The best way to do that? A factory reset.

By returning your device to the settings it came out off the assembly line with, you’re not only erasing all your personal information — you’re also giving your device a fresh start, which makes it a useful way to troubleshoot everything from Sonos speakers to Windows machines.

But factory resetting a Mac isn’t quite as straightforward as factory resetting Apple’s other devices, like an Apple Watch, HomePod or AirTag. There are more things to know — and more steps to take.

Let’s get started.

Before you start

Before you wipe your machine, you’ll want to save data — not only does this ensure your files are secure, it also makes setting up a new MacBook much easier. You’ll also need to check the MacBook’s operating system because steps vary.

Step 1: Backup your MacBook

Before factory resetting, you should log out of your accounts (such as iCloud and iMessage) and backup your MacBook. Apple’s Time Machine that makes backing up your Mac very easy. You can find it in System Preferences and selecting Time Machine.

Step 2: Check your MacBooks’s age and OS

If you have a Mac that’s from 2018 or later (all M1 and M2 Macs fit this bill), it will have Apple’s T2 security chip and can take advantage of the new Erase Assistant feature, which makes the factory resetting process way easier, so long as you’re running macOS Monterey. If you’re not running Monterey, or your Mac is from 2017 or earlier, you’ll have to use different, more complicated instructions.

To find out what year your Mac is and what operating system it is running:

Select the Apple logo (located top-left corner of the Menu bar).
Select “About This Mac.”

If you have a Mac with an Intel processor, About This Mac shows an item labeled “Processor,” followed by the name of an Intel processor. If you have a Mac with Apple silicon, that same item will be labeled “Chip,” followed by the name of the chip.

How to Factory Reset a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro (macOS Monterey)

If you have a new Mac running macOS Monterey, then returning it to its factory settings is actually very easy thanks to its support for the Erase Assistant feature. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Open System Preferences

Click the Apple logo, , on the top left corner of your screen
Select System Preferences from the dropdown menu

Step 2: Open Erase Assistant

Click the System Preferences option that appears next to the Apple logo in the menu bar
Pick Erase All Contents and Settings in the dropdown menu

Step 3: Follow the Erase Assistant prompts

Follow the prompts, which will ask you to log out of iCloud before it completes
Your MacBook will reboot and return to factory settings, with the exception that it will still run the most current macOS instead of the version it originally came out of the box with
Congratulations, your MacBook is ready to sell or trade in

How to Factory Reset a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro (with an Intel chip or macOS Big Sur and older)

If you have a Mac that’s from 2017 or earlier, you’re not going to have as streamlined of a factory resetting process — even if your current Mac is running macOS Monterey. These Macs simply lack the hardware required to make the Erase Assistant work. Factory resetting these machines will take you into slightly techier territory, but it’s still simple if you know what you’re doing.

If your Mac is a 2018 model or later but is still running macOS Big Sur or earlier, you can simply upgrade to Monterey and use the instructions above, or proceed with your current OS and the instructions below.

Step 1: Sign out of iCloud

Select the Apple menu , then System Preferences from the dropdown
Pick the Apple ID icon
Select Overview on the righthand sidebar, then Sign Out at the bottom

Step 2: Sign out of iMessage

Open the Messages app
Select Messages in the menu bar and pick Preferences from the dropdown menu
Select iMessage in the popup window and click the button that says Sign Out

Step 3: Reboot your Mac into recovery mode

Shut down your Mac
Turn it back on and hold Option, Command, P and R
You’ll boot into recovery mode
Select Disk Utility from the macOS Recovery menu
Hit the Continue button

Step 4: Erase the drive

Select Macintosh HD and select the Erase button
Leave the format type as its default setting unless you know what you’re doing. Follow additional prompts to confirm the erasure.
Your Mac will factory reset and reboot

Note: If you’re looking to use the Mac again, you’ll have to reinstall macOS. To do this, power on the Mac, select macOS Recovery, select Reinstall macOS and follow the prompted instructions