Selling or trading in a Mac takes about an hour if you do it in the right order. Erase it without signing out first and the buyer may hit Activation Lock; erase it without a backup and your files are gone.
On a Mac with Apple silicon or a T2 chip running macOS Monterey or later, back up with Time Machine, then open System Settings › General › Transfer or Reset › Erase All Content and Settings. It erases your data, signs you out of your Apple Account and turns off Find My in one pass. Older Intel Macs need Apple’s longer process: sign out, erase the disk in macOS Recovery, then reinstall macOS.
Check which steps your Mac needs
Open Apple menu › About This Mac. If the Chip line shows Apple M1 or later, use the steps below. Intel Macs from 2018 to 2020 usually have the T2 chip and also get Erase All Content and Settings on macOS Monterey or later. If you do not see that option in Transfer or Reset, use the older Intel steps further down.
1. Back up and check the backup
- Moving to a new Mac: use Migration Assistant on the new Mac to copy everything across.
- Otherwise: connect an external drive and open System Settings › General › Time Machine, add the drive and click Back Up Now.
- Open a few important files from the backup or new Mac before erasing the old one. Photos in iCloud are safe in iCloud only if iCloud Photos finished uploading.
2. Unpair devices you are keeping
Open System Settings › Bluetooth and remove the keyboard, mouse, trackpad or headphones you are keeping, so they do not stay paired to the Mac you sell.
3. Erase All Content and Settings
- Open Apple menu › System Settings › General › Transfer or Reset.
- Click Erase All Content and Settings.
- Enter your administrator password, review what will be removed, and follow the prompts. Enter your Apple Account password when asked; this signs you out and turns off Find My and Activation Lock.
- The Mac restarts to the setup screen. Press and hold the power button to turn it off. Do not set it up.
Older Intel Macs without the option
Apple’s longer process applies (Apple):
- Sign out of iCloud in System Settings (or System Preferences › Apple ID), and sign out of Messages.
- Restart into macOS Recovery by holding Command-R as the Mac starts.
- Open Disk Utility, erase Macintosh HD, then reinstall macOS from the Recovery menu.
- When the setup screen appears, quit without signing in.
After you hand it over
- Sign in at account.apple.com, open Devices, and remove the Mac.
- Check that the Mac no longer appears in Find My at icloud.com/find.
- Already gave the Mac away without erasing it? At icloud.com/find, choose the Mac and select Erase This Device, then remove it from your account.
If something goes wrong
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Activation Lock still on after erasing | Sign in at icloud.com/find and remove the Mac from your account. |
| Message about other volumes | You may have Windows installed with Boot Camp. Apple’s erase guide covers removing it first. |
| Forgot your Apple Account password | Reset it at iforgot.apple.com before you start. |
Selling a phone too? See how to factory reset an iPhone or Android phone without losing data, and move your authenticator app before you erase it.
Before you start: a short checklist
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Your Apple Account password | The erase asks for it to remove Activation Lock |
| Your Mac’s administrator password | Needed to start the erase |
| A backup you have opened | Proves your files are safe |
| Two-factor codes moved | So the old Mac is not your only trusted device |
| Power cable | Erasing on battery can fail |
What Erase All Content and Settings removes
It deletes your files, apps and settings, signs you out of your Apple Account, turns off Find My and Activation Lock, and leaves the current macOS installed and ready for the next owner. On Apple silicon and T2 Macs, the storage is encrypted, so the erase works by destroying the keys, which takes minutes rather than hours.
Questions
Do I need to reinstall macOS after erasing? Not with Erase All Content and Settings; macOS stays installed. Older Intel Macs without that option need macOS reinstalled from Recovery.
Should I remove the Mac from my Apple Support profile? Yes, if you want a clean hand-off. Removing it from your Apple Account device list also stops it appearing in Find My.
Can I keep my apps on the new Mac? Apps from the Mac App Store come back when you sign in on the new Mac. For other software, sign out or deactivate the license in each app before erasing.
What if the buyer reports Activation Lock? Sign in at icloud.com/find and remove the Mac from your account. You do not need the Mac in hand.
Old Phone & Laptop Hand-Off Checklist · $5
A printable 7-page checklist with these Mac steps plus iPhone, Android and Windows, drawn “where to click” diagrams and a device record for the serial number.
Steps checked against Apple Support in November 2026 for macOS 26 and 27.
Sources
- Apple Support: What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac
- Apple Support: Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings
