{"id":973,"date":"2025-07-18T14:26:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T19:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/?p=973"},"modified":"2025-07-18T14:27:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T19:27:28","slug":"how-to-factory-reset-your-macbook-pro-or-any-mac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/?p=973","title":{"rendered":"How to factory reset your MacBook Pro or any Mac"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/How_to_factory_reset_MacBook.webp\" alt=\"How to factory reset your MacBook Pro or any Mac\u200b\" class=\"wp-image-975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/How_to_factory_reset_MacBook.webp 1024w, https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/How_to_factory_reset_MacBook-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/How_to_factory_reset_MacBook-768x433.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re planning to sell, trade-in, or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asurion.com\/connect\/tech-tips\/how-to-remove-a-virus-from-your-mac-or-pc\/\">remove a virus<\/a>&nbsp;from your MacBook\u00ae, completing a factory reset is the easiest way to wipe it clean. But before you do so, there are some important steps you&#8217;ll need to take to back up your data and prevent glitches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Asurion, our experts help millions of customers with tech solutions like this every day on all their favorite devices. Here&#8217;s a step-by-step guide to completing a factory reset on your MacBook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When should you factory reset your MacBook?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, a hard reset isn\u2019t enough. Factory resetting your Mac reinstalls the operating system and removes all user data, making it essential for resolving deeper system problems, preparing your device for a new user, or enhancing its performance if it&#8217;s slowed down significantly over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Before factory resetting your MacBook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Before you take the plunge and wipe your Mac clean, there\u2019s a checklist to run through to ensure you don\u2019t lose important data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"How to factory reset a MacBook | Asurion\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0GLUPaNNv2c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The following steps are for MacBooks running the Catalina operating system or later versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Backup your data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s crucial to back up your files to avoid losing important documents, photos, or applications. You can use Time Machine\u00ae or iCloud\u00ae to secure your data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to complete a Time Machine backup:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Connect an external storage device to your Mac.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the\u00a0<strong>Apple menu<\/strong>\u00a0in the upper-left corner of your home screen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click\u00a0<strong>System Preferences<\/strong>\u00a0>\u00a0<strong>Time Machine<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click\u00a0<strong>Select Backup Disk.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select the name of your external storage device, then click\u00a0<strong>Use Disk<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose\u00a0<strong>Back Up Now<\/strong>\u00a0to start your backup.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to complete an iCloud backup:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click the\u00a0<strong>Apple menu<\/strong>\u00a0in the upper-left corner of your home screen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click\u00a0<strong>System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud<\/strong>. If prompted, sign in to your\u00a0iCloud account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unselect the\u00a0<strong>Optimize Mac Storage\u00a0<\/strong>checkbox.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select the apps you wish to back up in the\u00a0<strong>Apps on this Mac using iCloud\u00a0<\/strong>menu<strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you wish to restore your Desktop settings, click\u00a0<strong>Options<\/strong>\u00a0next to iCloud Drive.A new window will appear. Choose\u00a0<strong>Desktop &amp; Documents Folders.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, check out our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asurion.com\/connect\/tech-tips\/what-is-icloud-and-how-do-i-use-it\/\">guide to using iCloud<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Psst&#8230; Got 2 minutes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s how long it takes to get a care plan personalized for you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2713 Coverage for thousands of devices \u2713 Fast, quality fixes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2713 Hands-on help when you need it<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asurion.com\/connected-home-assessment\">Take the quiz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sign out of your Apple accounts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re planning on selling or giving away your Mac, you need to take this crucial step because of a security feature called Activation Lock. It prevents your computer from reactivating if its lost or stolen. So, if you&#8217;re still signed in after erasing your Mac data, a new user won&#8217;t be able to complete the setup process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To sign out of iCloud:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click the\u00a0<strong>Apple menu<\/strong>\u00a0in the upper left corner of your home screen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select\u00a0<strong>System Preferences > Apple ID<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click\u00a0<strong>Overview<\/strong>\u00a0in the sidebar underneath your name and email address.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the\u00a0<strong>Sign Out\u00a0<\/strong>button.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To sign out of Messages:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Press\u00a0<strong>command<\/strong>\u00a0+\u00a0<strong>space bar<\/strong>, then type \u201cmessages\u201d in the Spotlight\u00ae search box.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open the Messages app.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From the menu bar at the top, select\u00a0<strong>Messages<\/strong>\u00a0>\u00a0<strong>Preferences<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select the\u00a0<strong>iMessage<\/strong>\u00a0icon, then click the\u00a0<strong>Sign Out<\/strong>\u00a0button.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unpair Bluetooth devices\u200b<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While this step is optional, we recommend unpairing&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asurion.com\/connect\/tech-tips\/how-to-connect-the-devices-in-your-life-with-bluetooth\/\">Bluetooth<strong>\u00ae<\/strong>&nbsp;devices<\/a>&nbsp;if you plan to wipe your Mac and give it to someone in your home. Doing so prevents your computer from accidentally picking up old signals if it remains in range of your connected devices.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To unpair Bluetooth devices from your MacBook:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click the\u00a0<strong>Apple menu<\/strong>\u00a0in the upper left corner of your home screen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select\u00a0<strong>System Preferences > Bluetooth.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select the devices you want to unpair by tapping the \u201cX\u201d button next to each device.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reset NVRAM<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This mouthful of an acronym stands for non-volatile random-access memory. It stores your screen resolution, volume preferences, and time zone information, among other data. Before resetting your MacBook, you&#8217;ll want to make sure you reset the NVRAM to clear your user settings. This will keep your Mac from crashing when it restarts after you&#8217;ve wiped it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to reset your NVRAM:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Turn off your Mac.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Turn it back on and immediately press and hold\u00a0<strong>option + command + P + R<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Release them after 20 seconds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5.&nbsp;Factory reset to erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS\u200b<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve followed steps one through four, you&#8217;re ready to factory reset your Mac. To start the process, you&#8217;ll first need to put your Mac in Recovery Mode. Here&#8217;s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Turn off your Mac.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Turn it back on, then immediately press and hold\u00a0<strong>command + R<\/strong>. Release the keys when you see the Apple logo. If prompted, enter your username and administrative password.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select\u00a0<strong>Disk Utility\u00a0<\/strong>from the MacOS utilities window and click\u00a0<strong>Continue<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click\u00a0<strong>Macintosh HD<\/strong>\u00a0in the Disk Utility sidebar underneath \u201cinternal.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the\u00a0<strong>Erase<\/strong>\u00a0button at the top of the window.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the box that says \u201cName,\u201d type in\u00a0<strong>Macintosh HD.\u00a0<\/strong>In the \u201cFormat\u201d box, choose<strong>\u00a0APFS\u00a0<\/strong>(this will appear for newer MacBooks) or<strong>\u00a0Mac OS Extended (Journaled)\u00a0<\/strong>(this will appear for older MacBooks)from the menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose\u00a0<strong>Erase Volume Group<\/strong>\u00a0(this may also say Erase). Your factory reset will begin. When it&#8217;s finished, click the\u00a0<strong>Done\u00a0<\/strong>button.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Quit Disk Utilities by clicking the red \u201cX\u201d button in the upper left corner of the window. This should take you back to the MacOS utilities screen. If it doesn&#8217;t, restart your computer again by holding down\u00a0<strong>command + R\u00a0<\/strong>until the utilities screen reappears.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0Select\u00a0<strong>Reinstall macOS.<\/strong>\u00a0Then click\u00a0<strong>Continue<\/strong>\u00a0and follow the onscreen instructions. When the welcome screen appears, hit the power button and shut down your Mac.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tech is expensive. Protect it all.<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you&#8217;re planning to sell, trade-in, or&nbsp;remove a virus&nbsp;from your MacBook\u00ae, completing a factory reset is the easiest way to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mac"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=973"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":978,"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973\/revisions\/978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.jkhayer.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}