If you are a MacBook owner and you want to sell, exchange, or give it as a gift to someone, this page is very important for you as photos, videos, documents, and recorded accounts, which are all sensitive data, and it is possible that it will be reused for personal, financial or blackmail purposes, so before selling a MacBook, it is important to do some things to avoid running into some of problems we don’t need.
note: Always try to make sure that you take a backup of your device before starting any operation to avoid losing your data.
Important steps you need to take to protect your data on your MacBook
Frequently asked questions from our community:
How do I erase my MacBook before I sell it? This is one of the most common questions we get.
Not all Mac users may know whether to format the hard drive or install another operating system version or not.
So if you have a MacBook and you’re thinking about removing it or getting rid of it, follow the simple steps below.
First: Log out of your Mac
Before you get rid of your old MacBook, the first thing you should do is unsubscribe from any accounts and delete any personal data You shouldn’t sell your computer when you are still signed into your iCloud account and the consequences of leaving the account open is that you will be at risk… With your security and privacy.
Sign out of iCloud
- If you are using Mac OS Catalina or later, select the menu above the Apple logo > System Preferences, then click Apple ID. Select “Overview” in the sidebar, then click “Sign Out.”
- If you’re using an older version of macOS, select Menu
Apple > System Preferences > click iCloud, and then click Sign Out.
Explanation video for logging out of an icloud account
Second: Log out of iMessage
Open the Messages app, then select Preferences > from the menu bar. Click iMessage, and then click Sign Out.
Video explanation for signing out of an iMessage account
Third: Sign out of iTunes
If you are using macOS Catalina or later, you can skip this step.
Open iTunes from the menu bar at the top of the screen or through the iTunes window, select Account )> Authorities )> Give permission to this computer. Then enter your Apple ID and password and click license terminated (Deau-authorization).
Tutorial for signing out of iTunes account
Fourth: Erase the MacBook and reinstall the system again
We get a lot of questions about (how to restart MacBook, erase everything from MacBook, erase everything from MacBook, erase MacBook data, reset Mac settings) and so here are the steps.
After completing the first, second, and third steps, you must now delete all the files and data from your MacBook hard drive. Below are the steps to reset your MacBook.
1- Turn off your computer.
2- Press and hold the power button, then the R + keys ⌘.
3- Wait until the Apple logo appears.
4- From the X Tools menu, select “Disk Utility” and click Continue.
5- Click on the disk you want to erase in the sidebar, then click on the “Erase” button.
- Then enter the required details:
- Name: Macintosh HD
- Format system: APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), as recommended in Disk Utility
6- To begin, click the Delete button and enter your Apple ID if prompted.
7- If you want to restart your Mac from the volume you just deleted, select the “Reinstall macOS” option in the Tools window, then click “Continue” and follow the instructions on the screen.
An explanatory video to factory reset a MacBook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxhQtos5ruc
Once the process is done, all your data will be erased from the hard drive and it will be ready for sale, exchange or disposal.
You will also notice that the more effective the method is, the more time it takes, so these steps and the process will take longer than other systems, but they will add the biggest benefit, which is more security.
