You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Restore Old MacBook Air

How do I restore my old MacBook Air before gifting it out to a friend?


MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Dec 12, 2020 6:20 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 13, 2020 10:29 AM

Hi chester42,


If you're intending to completely erase your Mac and prepare it for gifting to a friend, I'd recommend doing the following on your Mac:


  1. Open System Preferences, and select Security and Privacy. Choose the FileVault tab. Click the lock in the bottom left corner, and authenticate with your admin password. Then, click Turn On FileVault and follow the onscreen instructions. Plug in your Mac and wait for encryption to finish. This ensures that when you erase your Mac, it is impossible to recover the old data.
  2. Follow these steps to disassociate and erase your Mac: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support
1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 13, 2020 10:29 AM in response to chester42

Hi chester42,


If you're intending to completely erase your Mac and prepare it for gifting to a friend, I'd recommend doing the following on your Mac:


  1. Open System Preferences, and select Security and Privacy. Choose the FileVault tab. Click the lock in the bottom left corner, and authenticate with your admin password. Then, click Turn On FileVault and follow the onscreen instructions. Plug in your Mac and wait for encryption to finish. This ensures that when you erase your Mac, it is impossible to recover the old data.
  2. Follow these steps to disassociate and erase your Mac: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support

Restore Old MacBook Air

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.