How to prepare your Mac before selling it

It is very important to follow a few steps before separating from your Mac. Belgium-iPhone thus tells you the procedure to follow.

After having explained to you how to prepare your iPhone, iPad or iPod for resale, then the same for your Apple Watch, we close our case with the headed computer, the Mac. Before selling or sending it for repair, it is essential to adjust a few parameters to prevent certain sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.

Create a backup of the Mac

Unlike devices running iOS or iPadOS, it is not possible to back up your Mac to iTunes. On the other hand, backing up to iCloud is still possible, provided you obviously have enough free space in your account. To find out how many gigabytes you will need for your backup, click on the Apple in the top left. Then select About This Mac, then click the Storage tab.

Then, two options are available to you: either you prefer a backup to iCloud, or you have an external hard drive and then activate Time Machine. In the case of iCloud, you will first need to configure iCloud on your Mac and choose which data your Mac will save in the cloud. So head into System Preferences from the Apple menu. Then click on Apple ID, then select iCloud from the list on the left.

The apps checked will be the ones that automatically send their data to iCloud. Click Options next to iCloud Drive then check Desktop and Documents Folders to automatically back up documents and files located in these two folders. Then you don’t have to do anything, your Mac automatically backing up to the cloud at regular intervals.

If, on the other hand, you prefer to use an external hard drive, the process differs greatly. First of all, it is important to verify that you have the correct backup accessory. Thus, know that Apple’s Airport Time Capsule are obviously compatible, just like a simple external hard drive or any USB drive. You can also back up to a shared Mac on the same network, or to a network-connected storage device that supports Time Machine via SMB.

Then connect that device to your Mac, then open the Time Machine app from the menu bar. If you can’t find it in the menu bar, go to System Preferences then click on Time Machine.

Then select Choose a backup disk, and choose the disk on which to back up your Mac. You can also choose to Encrypt backups to add a password to secure access. Finally, check, in the previous menu, Automatically back up, to let your Mac back up regularly. Of course, leave your external media connected to your computer so that it can perform these backups.

Sign out of iTunes (macOS Mojave or earlier)

If your Mac is running macOS Mojave or earlier, you will need to sign out of iTunes. To do this, open the iTunes app, then select Account from the menu bar. Go to Permissions before clicking Remove access permission from this computer. Then enter the email address and password linked to your iCloud account, and click Cancel Authorization.

Sign out of iCloud

If your Mac is running macOS Catalina or later, you’ll need to sign out of iCloud, as iTunes has disappeared on the most recent versions of macOS. Go to the Apple menu, then click on System Preferences. Select Apple ID. In the window that opens, tap Overview (or Preview) in the list on the left, and then click Sign out.

The computer will then offer to keep a copy of your iCloud data on this Mac. You are obviously free to accept or not.

If, however, your Mac is running macOS Mojave or earlier, you will also need to disconnect it from iCloud. Still in System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Sign Out.

Sign out of iMessage

Apple recommends disconnecting your computer from iMessage to prevent the new Mac owner from receiving and not being able to read your messages. If, however, you are not using iMessage, you can skip to the next point. In addition, the manipulation is to be done provided that your Mac is running macOS X Mountain Lion or a later version.

Open the Messages application, then choose Messages and Preferences from the menu bar. Then click iMessage and then click Log Out. Then validate your choice.

Reset NVRAM

When you use your Mac regularly, it will store a tiny amount of settings in memory for easier access. This memory is called NVRAM (non-volatile direct access memory). In order to lighten your Mac and hand it over to a new owner, it is essential to purge this NVRAM memory.

To do this, shut down your Mac, then turn it back on while holding down the Option, Command, P, and R keys. Hold them down for plus or minus 20 seconds, then release them when

• the computer emits a second tone on Macs that emit them at startup.
• the apple appears and disappears for the second time on Macs with an Apple T2 Security chip.

Disable pairing of Bluetooth devices

When you transfer your device to a new owner who is within Bluetooth range, a keyboard or mouse may still work with the Mac after you reset it. That is why it is strongly advised to delete the Bluetooth devices associated with it.

In order to remove Bluetooth devices connected to your Mac, go to System Preferences from the Apple menu. Click on Bluetooth to access its settings and find the list of wireless devices.

Then hover your mouse over a device or click on it to display the cross. Then press the cross to delete a device.

Erase hard drive and reinstall macOS

Finally, resetting the Mac is arguably the most important operation to do before handing it over to a third party. Indeed, this will obviously aim to delete all the data present on the computer, but also to restore it to factory settings.

To erase any data on your Mac, you will need to access the macOS recovery window. Shut down your Mac then turn it on again.

• hold down the Command and R keys until you see the Apple logo or any other image on a Mac with an Intel chip.
• hold down the power key until the boot options window is displayed on a Mac equipped with an Apple Silicon chip. This window has a gear icon labeled Options. Select Options then click Continue.

In the window that opens, select Disk Utility and click Continue. Select Macintosh HD from the sidebar, then press Clear on the toolbar. Enter the name Macintosh HD and select the format between APFS or Mac OS Extended (Daily), depending on what your system recommends. Then click Clear Volume Group or Clear if the previous button is not available.

Then enter your Apple ID if the computer asks you to. After wiping, select all other volumes (if you have any) other than Macintosh HD and external drives in the sidebar, then click the delete button on the toolbar. Then exit Disk Utility.

By erasing all the data on the primary drive, you also delete macOS from that drive. You will then have to reinstall macOS on this disk, still going through the macOS recovery window as indicated above.

In the macOS recovery window, select Reinstall macOS Big Sur. You will then have to follow the information on the screen. However, don’t close your Mac’s lid or make sure it has enough battery to go through the whole process.

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