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reset to factory settings on IMAC 2017 21.5" Retina 4K. My IMAC does not have "Erase settings"

I was gifted with a 2017 IMAC Retina 4K which has the previous owners information still on it.

How do I reset to factory settings when this IMAC does not have "Reset" option?

iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 13.1

Posted on Jan 24, 2023 1:08 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 24, 2023 1:40 PM

Fj2503 wrote:

Previous owner is 100 Yrs old and can no longer see or hear well. He has backed up his information on a separate hard drive disk, as per instructions on "what to do before your sell, give away or trade in your MAC". Do you have any other suggestions?


The seller needs to follow the linked instructions to reset the iMac, relinquish ownership, to release Activation Lock, and related. That will release the ownership, reset the system, and the rest of what is involved in a transfer.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 24, 2023 1:40 PM in response to Fj2503

Fj2503 wrote:

Previous owner is 100 Yrs old and can no longer see or hear well. He has backed up his information on a separate hard drive disk, as per instructions on "what to do before your sell, give away or trade in your MAC". Do you have any other suggestions?


The seller needs to follow the linked instructions to reset the iMac, relinquish ownership, to release Activation Lock, and related. That will release the ownership, reset the system, and the rest of what is involved in a transfer.

reset to factory settings on IMAC 2017 21.5" Retina 4K. My IMAC does not have "Erase settings"

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