How to format macbook air to factory settings

Isn't your Apple MacBook working properly? Or are you going to sell it? You have to reset your Apple MacBook first. There are 2 ways to reset your Apple MacBook. If it's not working properly, you have to reset the SMC. If you want to sell your MacBook, you should reset it to factory settings. We'll tell you how you can reset your MacBook quickly and easily here.

1. Reset an Apple MacBook with Apple Silicon chips
2. Reset the SMC
3. Reset Mac
4. Log out of accounts
5. Log out of iMessage
6. Erase drive
7. Reinstall macOS

Reset an Apple MacBook with Apple Silicon chips

Is your MacBook from 2020 or later? Chances are that the MacBook uses the Apple Silicon chip rather than Intel processors. If that's the case, you can read how to reset your MacBook in our advice article.

Reset the SMC of your Apple MacBook

If there's a problem with the power supply or the fans of your MacBook, it would be wise to reset the System Management Controller (SMC). This is also called a soft reset. How you can do that differs per model.

Apple MacBook with T2 chip

If you have an Apple MacBook air or Apple MacBook Pro from 2018 or later with an Intel Core chip, follow these steps.

• Turn off your Apple MacBook.
• Press and hold the left 'Control' key, the left 'Option' key, and the right 'Shift' key for 7 seconds.
• Now, also press the on/off button.
• Press and hold all 4 keys for 7 seconds and release them.
• Wait a couple of seconds before you turn your MacBook back on.

Apple MacBook without T2 chip

The steps below apply to the following models:

• Apple MacBook Pro (mid-2019 up until / up to 2017)
• Apple MacBook Air (from 2017 or earlier)
• Apple MacBook 12 inches

Follow these steps:

• Turn off your Apple MacBook.
• Press and hold the left 'Control' key, the left 'Option' key, and the left 'Shift' key for 7 seconds.
• Now, also press the on/off button.
• Press and hold all 4 keys for 7 seconds and release them.
• Wait a couple of seconds before you turn your MacBook back on.

Reset an Apple MacBook in 3 steps

Didn't the SMC reset solve the problems? Or are you going to sell your Apple MacBook? If so, you should perform a hard reset. We'll explain how to reset your Apple MacBook to factory settings in 3 steps here. Note: this erases all your data. We recommend that you back up your data first.

• Step 1. Log out of all your accounts.
• Step 2. Erase the drive.
• Step 2. Reinstall macOS.

Step 1: log out of your accounts

To prevent the future owner from getting access to your information, you have to log out your accounts. You need to do this for iCloud and iMessage separately.

Log out of iCloud

Follow these steps to log out of iCloud:

• Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen.
• Click 'System Preferences'.
• Click 'Apple ID'.
• Untick the box next to 'Find My Mac'
• Click 'Overview' in the sidebar.
• Click 'Log out'.

Log out of iMessage

Follow these steps to log out of iMessage:

• Open the 'iMessage' app.
• Click 'Messages' at the top of your screen.
• Click 'Preferences'.
• Click 'iMessage'.
• Click 'Log out'.

Step 2: erase the drive

Now, it's time to actually clear your Apple MacBook. You use Recovery Mode for this.

Boot via macOS Recovery

Boot your MacBook in Recovery Mode:

• Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen.
• Click 'Restart'.
• During restart, press the 'Command' key and the 'R' key at the same time.
• Keep both keys pressed down until you see the Recovery Mode appear on your screen.

Erase the boot drive

Now, erase the hard drive of your MacBook. Follow these steps:

• Sign in with a user account you know the password of.
• Click 'Disk Utility' in the Utilities screen.
• Select the drive you want to erase in the menu. The boot drive is at the top.
• Click 'Erase' at the top of your menu.
• If you want, change the name, format, and scheme of the drive.
• Click 'Erase'.
• Enter your Apple ID and password.
• Wait until the drive is erased and then close Disk Utility.

Step 3. Reinstall macOS

Once the drive is erased, you can reinstall macOS.

• Click 'Reinstall macOS'.
• Click 'Continue'.
• Select a boot drive and click 'Install'.
• Once the installation is completed, restart your MacBook.
• Wait until your MacBook has restarted.
• Press the Command key and the Q key to shut down your MacBook.

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Article by:

Jelle Apple Expert.