How to Wipe a MacBook Before Selling (2026)

To wipe a MacBook before selling it, back up with Time Machine, then open System Settings, choose General, then Transfer or Reset, and click Erase All Content and Settings. This signs you out of iCloud, disables Activation Lock and wipes the disk in one pass. Older Macs without this option need the Disk Utility route in macOS Recovery instead.

Below is the full walkthrough for both routes, plus the FileVault detail most guides skip and the checks a buyer will run when your machine arrives.

Why should you back up before doing anything else?

Once the erase completes there is no undo, no recycle bin and no data-recovery firm that can help - modern Macs encrypt their storage, and erasing destroys the key. So the very first job is a full backup.

You have two sensible options:

• Time Machine. Plug in an external drive, open System Settings, search for Time Machine and add the drive as a backup destination. A first backup of a well-used Mac typically takes one to three hours. When you later buy a replacement, the setup assistant can restore everything from this backup.
• Manual copy plus cloud. If you only care about documents, photos and the desktop, drag those folders to an external drive and confirm iCloud Drive, Photos and your password keychain have finished syncing (look for the sync status at the bottom of the Finder sidebar and in Photos).

Also deauthorise anything licensed to the machine: open the Music app, choose Account, then Authorisations, then Deauthorise This Computer. Do the same inside heavyweight software such as Adobe Creative Cloud or audio plug-in managers, because seat licences left active on a sold laptop are a nuisance to claw back later.

How do you use Erase All Content and Settings? (macOS Ventura and later)

If your MacBook runs macOS Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia or Tahoe - anything from 2022 onwards - Apple gives you a phone-style reset assistant. It only appears on Apple silicon Macs and Intel Macs with the T2 security chip, which covers every MacBook sold new since mid-2020.

1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
2. Click General in the sidebar, then Transfer or Reset.
3. Click Erase All Content and Settings and enter your admin password.
4. The Erase Assistant lists everything that will go: media, files, Touch ID fingerprints, Apple Wallet items and accessories. Click Continue.
5. Enter your Apple Account password when prompted. This step signs you out of iCloud and - crucially - switches off Find My and Activation Lock.
6. Confirm, and the Mac restarts to a black screen with a progress bar, then boots to the "hello" setup screen.

The whole process usually takes under ten minutes. When you see the language-selection screen, press and hold the power button to shut down. Leave it there - the next owner (or our inspection team) completes setup, not you.

One warning: if the assistant asks you to update macOS first, let it. A half-supported OS version can stall the erase partway through, which is fixable but stressful.

What is the Disk Utility route for older MacBooks?

Intel MacBooks from 2019 and earlier without a T2 chip - and any Mac stuck on macOS Monterey or older - lack the Erase Assistant, so you do the steps manually. The order matters: sign out first, erase second.

Step 1 - sign out of everything.

• iCloud: System Preferences, then Apple ID, then Overview, then Sign Out. Untick "Keep a copy" for all data categories.
• iMessage: open Messages, choose Preferences, then iMessage, then Sign Out.
• Turn off Find My Mac if it prompts you - this is the step that clears Activation Lock. Our guide to turning off Find My and signing out of iCloud covers every path in detail, including what to do if you forgot before posting the machine.

Step 2 - erase in Recovery.

1. Shut down, then start up holding Command and R until the Apple logo appears.
2. Choose Disk Utility from the Recovery menu.
3. Select Macintosh HD in the sidebar (choose View, then Show All Devices, and pick the top-level drive if you can see it).
4. Click Erase, keep the format as APFS (or Mac OS Extended Journaled on very old machines) and confirm. If a "Macintosh HD - Data" volume exists, delete that volume group too.

Step 3 - reinstall macOS.

Back at the Recovery menu, choose Reinstall macOS and let it run - expect 30 to 60 minutes on Wi-Fi. When the setup assistant appears, shut down with the power button rather than creating an account.

What difference does FileVault make?

FileVault is Apple's full-disk encryption, and it quietly changes the security picture in your favour. On every Apple silicon and T2 MacBook, the disk contents are hardware-encrypted whether or not you ever toggled FileVault on; erasing the Mac destroys the encryption keys, so the old data becomes permanent gibberish rather than merely deleted. That is why Apple no longer tells sellers to do multi-pass secure wipes - there is nothing readable left to overwrite.

On older Intel Macs without a T2 chip, it is worth checking: if FileVault was on (System Preferences, Security and Privacy, FileVault), a standard Disk Utility erase is cryptographically solid. If it was off, the single APFS erase is still fine for a normal sale, and reinstalling macOS overwrites the busiest regions of the disk anyway. For complete peace of mind, sell to a buyer who certifies data destruction: every Mac we purchase is re-erased to NIST 800-88 media-sanitisation standards during inspection, regardless of what the seller did at home.

What will a buyer check when your MacBook arrives?

Professional buyers run the same short list on every machine, so it pays to match it before you seal the box:

Activation Lock is the one that genuinely blocks a sale - reputable UK buyers, us included, cannot legally resell a locked Mac and will have to return it. A firmware password (Intel Macs only) is removable but slows inspection down. And if the laptop ever belonged to an employer, ask their IT team to release it from device management before you sell.

What should you do once the wipe is finished?

Give the machine a final once-over: clean the screen and keyboard with a slightly damp microfibre cloth, gather the charger if you still have it (chargers nudge quotes up slightly), and photograph the laptop's condition for your own records. Then get a price while the quote landscape is fresh - you can sell your MacBook for cash with a fixed quote emailed within two working hours, seven days a week, and the quote stays locked for 14 days, so wiping first and deciding later costs you nothing.

When you accept, we send a free fully-insured shipping label, you drop the box at any Post Office, and payment lands by bank transfer within 24 hours of the machine passing inspection. If you would rather see the whole journey mapped out first, the how it works page walks through each stage from quote to payment.

A wiped MacBook is a safer MacBook to sell - for you and for whoever owns it next. Ten minutes with the Erase Assistant now saves days of back-and-forth over a locked or half-cleared machine later.