How to Reset MacBook Pro/MacBook Air to Factory Settings

Factory resetting a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air is a big move, but it is necessary especially when you prepare a Mac for sale, trade-in, or donate it. Then the person the computer eventually goes to will not have access to your account and your data.

Restoring your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air to factory settings can also help resolve Mac crashing issues and other underperformance due to full storage, malfunctioning software, sticky viruses, or a crashing operating system. Then you can set up the Mac like a brand-new one.

Only 3 steps allow you to factory reset a MacBook without data loss:

Reddit discussions about how to factory reset a MacBook

Factory resetting your Mac can protect your data from leaks if you want to sell, give away, or donate your Mac. Users on Reddit have a heated discussion about the methods. That's true there's a button for erasing your MacBook and factory resetting it for Apple silicon or T2-chipped Mac models running macOS Monterey or later.

How to factory reset MacBook Air?
by u/The1ThatNverGotAway in mac

If you want to know the detailed steps for using the button to factory reset your MacBook or want to look for a way to factory reset an older Mac device, follow our ways below.

Back up your MacBook before factory resetting it

Resetting a MacBook Pro to factory settings will force your Mac to return to the state when it leaves the manufacturing plant. All your user settings and stored files ever since you turned on the computer for the first time will be completely cleaned up. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that you make a full backup of data before you proceed to factory reset a Mac.

You need to use an external storage device with Mac OS Extended to back up your Mac with Time Machine. Mac's Time Machine software can back up the current operating system, apps, settings, and user files. Read to know how to set up and back up a Mac using Time Machine.

Another advantage of using Time Machine backup is that you can transfer the data to a new Mac easily with Migration Assistant afterward.

How to factory reset a MacBook with the button?

For MacBook runs macOS Monterey or later with an Apple silicon or T2 security chip, there's a button called Erase All Content and Settings, allowing you to erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings with one click.

You can go to the Apple menu > About This Mac to check if your Mac is such a model. If it is, you can follow the steps below to factory reset your MacBook running Monterey with the button.

How to factory reset a T2, M3, M2, M1 MacBook Pro or MacBook Air running Monterey or later:

Want to factory reset your M1 Mac, follow: How to factory reset your M1 Mac?

How to factory reset a MacBook manually?

If your Mac runs macOS Big Sur, Catalina, or earlier, or is an Intel-based MacBook, it does not have a reset button. To completely wipe a MacBook, you must delete personalized settings, disconnect the MacBook from services and software, and erase all files on the Mac's internal hard drive to avoid conflicts and data leaks.

Speaking of which, you may be confused about how to erase the MacBook and how to delete connections on software and services.

Don't worry. We will walk you through the process of erasing your MacBook and resetting it to factory settings.

Step 1: Remove the computer from the associated devices

Apple allows users to associate and authorize up to 10 Apple devices (no more than 5 computers) with the same Apple email account. On these associated devices, all purchased content including games, software, and music can be downloaded and played.

It is important to remove the associated Mac to avoid the limit of association. If you are going to factory reset MacBook Pro 2012 or older models, you should take this as a priority because the iTunes Store account can only be used for up to 5 devices in macOS Mojave or older versions.

How to remove the Mac from associated devices:

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Step 2: Sign out of Apple ID

Any services that your Apple email is linked to should be disconnected, especially services and apps associated with privacy such as iCloud, iMessages, and Find My.

If you don't log out, sometimes the new users somehow might have trouble logging in their Apple accounts.

You can either open each software or service to log out or remove the computer from your Apple account.

1. Go to the Apple ID website and log in with your email address and password to manage your Apple account.

2. Scroll down to the Device section and find the Mac computer you will reset to factory defaults.

3. Select it and click "Remove from account".

Step 3: Unpair Bluetooth devices (Optional if you will keep this Mac)

If you have any devices including a keyboard, a mouse, music players, speakers, and headphones paired with the MacBook Pro once, you'd better unpair them if you are going to keep those devices but send away your Mac.

Otherwise, it will be frustrating that your devices are connected to the MacBook Pro again after you pass it on to someone in the office or next door.

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Step 4: Reset NVRAM

NVRAM stores certain settings needed for loading macOS such as screen solution, volume level, and startup disk selection. These files can get corrupted or cannot be completely erased by a Mac factory reset, so resetting NVRAM is necessary if you or the new user want a refreshed Mac.

To do this, click the Apple logo and shut down your Mac. Then turn it on by hitting the power button and immediately press and hold the Option, Command, P, and R keys together. Release the keys after about 20 seconds.

Step 5: Erase Touch Bar data

An OLED strip called Touch Bar was equipped on some MacBook Pro models in 2016 and later (Apple removed it from MacBook Pro 2021 with M1 Pro and M1 Max chip). It restores additional data for the Touch Bar and Touch ID sensor. The data is not erased by default if you reset a MacBook Pro by formatting the hard drive and reinstalling the OS.

Unless the ownership is transferred to this MacBook Pro, there is no need to erase Touch Bar data. If you want to clear out all Touch ID information and Touch Bar configuration data from Touch Bar, here is how to do it:

Step 6: Erase your Mac startup disk

After deauthorizing accounts and cleaning up personal settings, you can wipe your Mac startup disk for factory resetting. It is worth noting that directly erasing your Mac startup disk can also help you factory reset your MacBook without a password.

The instructions are a little different depending on the macOS version. 

How to factory reset your MacBook in Big Sur or Catalina:

How to factory reset your MacBook in macOS Mojave, High Sierra, or earlier:

The process of formatting your Mac's startup disk is less complicated in macOS Mojave or older versions of macOS.

You will see APFS or Mac OS Extended as the format and GUID Partition Map as Scheme. Leave them as they are.

You can go to the top Apple menu, click Disk Utility, and click Quit Disk Utility, but don't restart the Mac yet because you need to reinstall macOS in the macOS Utilities window.

Restoring the Mac to its factory settings is easier than erasing the Mac, and telling other people the tricks.

Reinstall macOS

After you have erased all content and settings, you cannot just sell, trade in, or give away your Mac notebook with a blank hard drive. The new user might encounter a flashing Mac folder with a question mark on the screen when he or she starts up the Mac because no OS is installed for loading up.

To reinstall macOS, select Reinstall macOS in the macOS Utilities window in Recovery Mode and then follow the onscreen instructions to install a fresh copy of macOS on your Mac.

Read to know how to clean reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery mode, including clean reinstalling the original version, the current version, or the latest compatible version of macOS.

The macOS reinstallation typically takes half to an hour and your screen will show multiple process bars or other indicators. After restarting, your Mac will boot to a setup assistant with a welcome screen.

If you pass on the Mac to another owner after you factory reset a Mac, you can shut it down at this point. If you will keep this Mac, follow the setup assistant to set up your Mac.

Verdict

Some guides will tell you to jump in erasing and reforming your Mac immediately if you want to factory reset a Mac like a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, but that might cause issues with your data, associated devices, and Apple email after the computer is sent away.

Therefore, for a complete factory reset without losing data, it is necessary to back up files, disconnect the Mac computer from signed-in accounts, and clear the data that won't be restored to the defaults.

This article is also helpful when you need to factory reset your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro.

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Also read:

Will Formatting My Mac Make It Faster? Here Comes Answer

[Tutorial]How to Recover Data After Factory Reset Mac

How to Factory Reset MacBook Pro/Air without Password or Apple ID?