How to reset your Mac

These are the steps you'll need to take before finding your Mac a new owner.

Just a couple of years back if you wanted to sell your computer, the only thing you had to worry about was making sure all your data was wiped and the display was smudge-free.

Now, in the age of iCloud and an ever-growing Find My network, you'll need to take a couple of extra steps before to ensure your device is ready to be sold online and find a new home. We've guided you through below.

Remove your Mac from Find My

First things first, and this is the big one: remove the Mac from your Find My account. Please, you'll need to do this, and here's why. 

Plenty of buyers from eBay and Craigslist have found themselves cornered after purchasing a second-hand Mac only to realise the computer hadn't yet been removed from the original owner's Find My network. This prevents the new owner from signing into their own iCloud account, effectively rendering the Mac useless until the original owner takes action.

Luckily, the original owner can remedy the situation remotely if they ever find themselves in this position after selling their Mac. All they need to do is go online and visit the web browser version of iCloud. Once there, tap on Find My and at the top of the screen you'll see a list of all your devices. Within that list, you can easily hit 'X' to delete a device from your account.

If you have a history of being invested in the Apple eco-system, you might find yourself surprised at how many devices are listed there. Confusion might arise if you take a look at your "Devices" within your iCloud settings, as you'll only see your active daily drivers there — devices that are presently signed into iCloud and connected to the internet.

However, on the Find My network, there's a good chance a handful of your old iPads, laptops or iPhones are hanging around there "Unavailable" because the battery on them hasn't been charged in ages. At any rate, it's always important to remember to take any Apple device you sell off of your Find My account so you aren't spelling trouble for its next owner. 

Resetting NVRAM

Apple further recommends you reset your devices NVRAM before it changes hands, and doing this should only take a moment, so here's what you need to do. 

1. Turn off your Mac
2. Once off, turn it back on while holding the Option, Command ⌘, "P", and "R" keys down for about 20 seconds. 

And that's it. The NVRAM on your computer, which relates to certain security features, has been reset. That was easy.   

Transferring data and wiping your Mac 

Now that you've reset your NVRAM and taken the device off your Find My network, you'll need to sign out of iCloud in System Preferences. To do this, simply open System Preferences > Apple ID > then hit either 'Overview' or 'iCloud' depending on the operating system you're running > Tap 'Sign Out'. After a probable password prompt, you'll be all set and good to go. 

However, if you haven't backed up your data yet using iCloud, you'll want to get that done first before signing out. To ensure you have a recent backup of all your Mac files before selling it, go to the same iCloud settings page in System Preferences, and look to see if everything on the list has a blue checkmark next to it. If it does, it means those files are backed up and stored securely in iCloud. Of course, if all you see is an empty white box instead, you'll need to toggle them on before your data is uploaded online. 

At last, we're finally ready for the data wipe. Now that you know all your files and information are both safely uploaded into iCloud and properly logged out of and removed from your account, you'll want to do the following: 

1. Turn off your Mac entirely.
2. Press the power button while holding both the Command ⌘ and "R" keys. Don't let go for at least five to 15 seconds. 
3. From the macOS Utilities menu, select Disk Utility.
4. Select the topmost drive from the menu on the left, then hit Erase. It might ask you to rename the drive and choose from a couple of menu settings, but you're fine to leave them preselected as is.  
5. Once you confirm the erase, quit Disk Utility and return to the main macOS Utilities menu. 
6. Select Reinstall macOS, and follow the directions to install a fresh copy of the latest OS. 

There it is, folks - that's all there is to it. The process takes anywhere from a few minutes to upwards of an hour, but at the end of it your computer will be running a clean copy of the latest macOS without any ties to your personal files or iCloud account. You should be all ready to hand your Mac off now to its new owner, and enjoy the peace of mind in knowing you won't receive any angry post-sale phone calls about how your Apple ID is still somehow tied to your old machine. 

It's worth noting before signing off, however, that Apple seems to be aware of the cumbersome nature of device transferring. In the latest iOS 15 betas, a feature has been added to Settings called "Prepare for new iPhone / iPad". This option takes all the manual labour out the process, and simplifies an iOS transition to just one easy step.

Fingers crossed the next macOS offers a "Sell Mac" option, making a NVRAM reset, iCloud and Find My device removal, and OS reinstall just a single menu click away. Though until then, these steps above are your best bet. 

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