How to Factory Reset Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, or iMac

How to Factory Reset Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, or iMac.

When you reset your Mac to factory settings, you erase your device and reinstall a new version of macOS. This may be required before selling, giving away, or troubleshooting complex issues.

How you reset your Mac will depend on its hardware configuration and operating system version, among other things. We will show you how to wipe and reset your MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, MacPro or iMac to factory settings using various methods.

Factory Reset Mac with Apple T2 Security Chip

The T2 Security Chip is Apple’s second-generation, dedicated security-focused silicon chipset for Mac computers. If your Mac is equipped with the T2 security chip and is running macOS Monterey, follow these steps to restore factory settings.

The following Macs ship with the T2 security chip:

MacBook Air models from 2018 to 2020 MacBook Pro models from 2018 to 2020iMac ( Retina 5K, 2020)< /li>Mac mini (2018)Mac Pro (2019) and Mac Pro (stand, 2019)

For a complete list of Macs with the Apple T2 Security Chip, see this Apple Support document. Better yet, check your Mac’s chipset configuration with the System Information tool.

Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > System Information > Hardware and select Controller from the sidebar. Check “Model Name” to make sure your Mac has the Apple T2 Security Chip installed.

macOS Monterey has an “Erase Assistant” that does all the hard work required to reset your Mac with the T2 Security Chip. Just launch the assistant, relax and wait while it wipes your Mac.

Connect your Mac to the Internet and follow the steps below to reset it with the Erase Assistant.

Select the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your Mac screen and choose System Preferences to open the Apple menu.

Leave the System Preferences window open and select System Preferences from the menu bar. Then select “Delete all content and settings”.

This will launch macOS Monterey Erase Assistant.

Enter your Mac’s administrator account password and select OK, or press the Enter key on your keyboard.

To continue, select Continue.

The Delete Assistant will delete your personal data, Apple ID account, third-party apps and extensions, settings and settings, and more. The process of deleting your data will also remove Find Me and Activation Lock. So you won’t be able to find or track your Mac after the operation.

You may also be prompted to back up your Time Machine data to an external hard drive.

Enter your Apple ID password and click Continue to continue.

Select “Erase all content and settings” at the confirmation prompt to start the factory reset process.

Your Mac will turn off, turn on again, and display a progress bar. Wait a few minutes and connect your Mac to the Internet (via Wi-Fi or Ethernet) when the message “Hi” appears on the screen. This will activate your Mac. Follow the Setup Assistant to set up your Mac from scratch.

Factory Reset Mac Using Disk Utility

Disk Utility is the best tool for factory resetting Intel-based Macs running macOS Big Sur or earlier. Of course, you can also use this tool to reset Apple Silicon Macs running macOS Monterey.

You need to boot into macOS Recovery in order to factory reset your Mac using Disk Utility. If you’re using an Intel-based Mac, please reset its NVRAM and disable pairing with Bluetooth devices before resetting.

Hold down your Mac’s power button for about 10 seconds until it turns off completely. Wait 10 more seconds before proceeding to step 2.If your Mac has an Intel processor, press the power button once and immediately hold down the Command + R keys. Hold down these keys until your Mac loads the Recovery Assistant .

For Macs with an Apple Silicon or M1 chip, press and hold the power button until the Mac displays the Startup Options page. After that select “Options” and select “Continue” to enter recovery mode.

Select an administrator account on the macOS recovery page, enter the password, and click Next.

2- Select Disk Utility and select Continue.

3- Select your startup drive (Macintosh HD – Data) in the sidebar.

Can’t find the Macintosh HD – Data volume? Select View at the top of the Disk Utility window, select Show All Devices, and check again.

With the Macintosh HD volume selected, select Erase from the toolbar.

Enter a drive name and select your preferred drive format/file system – APFS or Mac OS Extended. Disk Utility will select the best file system/format for your Mac hard drive type – SSD or HDD. Select “Erase Volume Group” to permanently erase your Mac’s drive.

Select “Erase” if the page does not have an “Erase Volume Group” button.

You may need to enter the password for the Apple ID account associated with your Mac. After Disk Cleanup is complete, reinstall macOS and follow the onscreen instructions to set up your Mac.

Close Disk Utility, return to the macOS Recovery page and select Reinstall macOS [Monterey].

Remotely Factory Reset Mac on the Find My App

Find Me doesn’t just help you track and locate Apple devices. You can also use this tool to remotely wipe (read: reset) your devices. To factory reset a lost or stolen Mac, open the Find My app on any Apple device associated with the same Apple ID as your Mac and follow these steps.

Open the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad, go to the Devices tab, and tap your Mac.Click Erase this device at the bottom of your Mac information card.Click Continue to confirm. tip.Finally, click “Erase” to remotely reset or wipe your Mac. If your Mac is stolen/lost, send a message to anyone who finds it. Be sure to include your contact information – phone number, email address, etc. – in the displayed message.

Factory Reset Mac on the Web

You can remotely restart your Mac using the Find My tool web client. Follow the steps below to restart your Mac from another device using a web browser.

Go to the iCloud Find My iPhone website and sign in with your Apple ID.Click the All Devices drop-down icon and select your Mac from the list of devices.

Select Erase Mac.

Select Erase at the confirmation prompt.

Wiping your Mac remotely requires an internet connection, and the process doesn’t always happen instantly. The deletion starts when your (stolen or lost) Mac connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

Note. Activation Lock remains on when remotely deleting data from a Mac. Therefore, your Apple ID (email address and password) is required to reactivate your Mac.

Get Professional Assistance

Contact Apple Support or contact your nearest Apple Authorized Service Provider if you are unable to factory reset your Mac. You may have missed a step, or your Mac may have a hardware problem.