If you haven't already backed up your important data, heed the onscreen Time Machine advice.Enter your admin password in the Erase Assistant dialog prompt and click OK.When the preferences pane appears, select System Preferences -> Erase All Content and Settings from the menu bar.Click the Apple () symbol in the menu bar and select System Preferences.Whether you simply want to start fresh with your Mac or are planning to sell or gift your computer to another person, after erasing it using this option, your Mac will display the Setup Assistant and be ready to be set up like new. The following steps show you how it's done. Not only does this effectively erase all user data and user-installed apps from your Mac without reinstalling macOS, it also signs out your Apple ID, removes your Touch ID fingerprints, purchases, and all Apple Wallet items, and turns off Find My and Activation Lock, making it far easier to restore your Mac to like-new factory settings. Thanks to the way storage is encrypted on Macs with Apple silicon or the T2 chip, the option is able to instantly and securely 'erase' all user date by destroying the encryption keys. Erase All Content and Settings in macOS offers a very simple and straightforward way to erase your Mac without needing to reinstall the operating system. Doing so is simply a matter of selecting an option in iOS called Erase All Content and Settings (found in Settings -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone).įortunately, with the release of macOS Monterey, Apple has brought the same option to the Mac. These steps are quite involved, especially when you consider how easy it is to wipe an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌. Traditionally, wiping a Mac and returning it to factory settings involved manually signing out of a range of services, erasing your Mac's internal drive, then reinstalling macOS. This article explains what the option does and how and when to use it. Following in the footsteps of the iPhone and iPad, Apple silicon Macs and Intel Macs with a T2 security chip (2017-2020 models) now have an 'Erase All Content and Settings' option available in macOS Monterey.

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