How to factory reset a MacBook before you sell it

Before you erase: a checklist

1. Back up. Make a Time Machine backup, or move your files to your new Mac with Migration Assistant. Apple's article warns that the erase removes all your data (Apple, What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac).
2. Note the numbers buyers ask for. Battery health and cycle count are in System Settings › Battery and in System Information; how to check battery health shows where. Write them down or take a screenshot now, because after the erase you won't want to set the Mac up just to look.
3. Sign out of apps that count activations. Some paid apps allow a fixed number of Macs and free a slot only when you sign out or deactivate on this one.
4. AppleCare. If the Mac is covered, you can cancel the plan or transfer it to the new owner (Apple).
5. Check for an unfinished repair. If the Mac was repaired, or you're not sure, Apple says to check for an unfinished repair with Repair Assistant first; this applies to Apple silicon Macs on macOS 26 or later (Apple, Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings).
6. Keep the charger and a keyboard handy. After the erase, the Mac may ask you to turn on a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse and to join Wi-Fi so it can activate.

You don't need to sign out of iCloud or turn off Find My by hand first: the erase does both. Apple lists those manual steps only for Macs that can't use Erase All Content and Settings, and every Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 12 or later can.

Trading the Mac in with Apple, or sending it for repair, is a different case. macOS 27 adds Ready for Repair or Trade In, which you turn on from the Find My app and which keeps the Mac secure and findable during an eligible repair or trade-in; Apple or the service provider tells you whether to use it (Apple, How to use Ready for Repair or Trade In). For a private sale or a gift, erase the Mac as below.

Erase All Content and Settings, step by step

These are the steps on macOS 15 Sequoia, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 (Apple, Erase Assistant on macOS 15; macOS 27):

1. Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Transfer or Reset.
2. Click Erase All Content and Settings. Erase Assistant opens.
3. Enter your administrator password (the one you use to log in) and click Unlock.
4. Review the list of what will be removed besides your files, such as your fingerprints for Touch ID, then click Continue.
5. Enter your Apple Account password when asked. That's how the erase signs you out and turns off Find My and Activation Lock. If you see a prompt to sign back in to an Apple service afterwards, Apple says to ignore it.
6. Click Erase All Content & Settings to confirm.
7. Wait for it to restart. If it asks for a Bluetooth accessory, turn it on; Apple says to switch it off and on again if it hasn't connected within 30 seconds. Choose a Wi-Fi network if asked. The Mac activates, restarts once more and shows the setup assistant.
8. Stop there. If you're selling or giving the Mac away, don't set it up. Press and hold the power button until the Mac turns off (Apple). The new owner starts from the same screen a new Mac shows.

What it erases, and what stays

Sources: Apple and Apple, Use Erase Assistant.

Why it's quick: on a Mac with Apple silicon, the internal storage is always encrypted, whether or not FileVault is on. Apple's security guide explains that deleting a volume's encryption key leaves its data cryptographically inaccessible (Apple Platform Security, Volume encryption with FileVault). So the erase doesn't need to overwrite every file, and the old advice to run a multi-pass "secure erase" doesn't apply to these Macs. FileVault on Mac explains what that encryption does day to day.

Check Activation Lock is off

Activation Lock ties a Mac to its owner's Apple Account through Find My, so a buyer can't use a Mac that still has it on (Apple, Activation Lock for Mac). Before you erase, you can see the current state: hold Option, choose Apple menu › System Information, and look at Activation Lock Status in the Hardware overview. On our own MacBook Pro it reads Enabled, as it should while Find My is on. Erase All Content and Settings turns it off as part of the erase.

If you sold or gave away a Mac without erasing it, sign in at iCloud.com/find with your Apple Account, select the Mac and remove it; Apple's Activation Lock article describes this route for a Mac you can't reach. Then change the passwords that were saved on it.

If it isn't available, or the Mac won't start

If Erase All Content and Settings fails, or the Mac can't start up normally, erase it from macOS Recovery instead (Apple, Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon):

1. Start up from Recovery. Shut down. Press and hold the power button until Loading startup options appears, click Options, then Continue, and enter a password if asked (Apple, How to start up from macOS Recovery).
2. Open Disk Utility, select Macintosh HD under Internal, and click Erase. Keep the name Macintosh HD and the format APFS. If you see Erase Volume Group, click that.
3. Sign in with your Apple Account if asked, and click Erase Mac to confirm. The Mac restarts and activates over Wi-Fi.
4. Reinstall macOS from the Recovery window, so the next owner has something to start up. When the setup assistant appears, turn the Mac off instead of setting it up.

Unlike Erase All Content and Settings, this route removes macOS, which is why you reinstall it at the end. Apple notes that on Apple silicon, Recovery installs the current version of the most recently installed macOS (Apple, How to reinstall macOS).

What a buyer will check

A careful buyer asks the same few things. Having the answers ready makes the sale quicker and heads off doubts:

• Activation Lock is off. After the erase, the Mac starts to the setup assistant without asking for your Apple Account.
• Battery condition, maximum capacity and cycle count. The numbers you noted before erasing. Apple rates the batteries in current MacBooks for 1,000 cycles; our battery guide has the details.
• That the hardware works. Apple Diagnostics tests it without setting anything up, and gives reference codes you can share; how to run Apple Diagnostics has the steps.
• The exact model. Apple menu › About This Mac shows the chip, memory and year, and the serial number, which a buyer can check on Apple's coverage page.

If the battery reads Service Recommended, say so in the listing; what Service Recommended means explains it and what a replacement costs.

How Tend helps

Tend's free Battery page shows the battery's health, cycle count and how much of its rated cycle life is used, such as 264 of 1,000 cycles: the figures a listing needs, in one screenshot before you erase. If you have Tend Pro, remove this Mac under your Macs on your account page before you erase it (or choose Deactivate this Mac in Tend › Settings if you use a license key), so its slot is free for your next Mac (moving Pro to a new Mac).

Questions

Related guides

Sources

• Apple, Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings (14 September 2026)
• Apple, What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac (14 September 2026)
• Apple, Use Erase Assistant to reset your Mac to factory settings: macOS 15, macOS 27
• Apple, Activation Lock for Mac
• Apple, How to use Ready for Repair or Trade In (15 October 2026)
• Apple, Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon, How to start up from macOS Recovery and How to reinstall macOS
• Apple Platform Security, Volume encryption with FileVault in macOS
• System Information read on our MacBook Pro (M2 Max) with macOS 27.0.1, 20 October 2026

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