If you have bought or inherited a MacBook, perhaps from a relative or even the organization you work for, in most cases, it will have been erased and have a clean version of the OS installed. But what if it hasn’t? What do you do then? The answer is to erase content and settings and reinstall macOS yourself. But for that, you’ll need an admin password. If you don’t have the password, you won’t be able to follow the normal process. So, in this article, we’ll show you how to factory reset a MacBook Pro without password. By the way, our tips work for all Mac models.
Why factory reset a MacBook?
The main reason for factory resetting a MacBook is that you recently acquired it, and the previous user hasn’t removed their user accounts, settings, or data. When you do a factory reset, all the settings and data are removed, allowing you to set up the device as a new Mac. The other reason could be that you have forgotten the password to your own Mac, and all other attempts to gain access have failed.
What is the alternative to factory reset?
If you want to get rid of settings and user accounts but don’t want to risk losing all the files on the MacBook, you will need to get hold of the admin password. If you are able, ask the previous user for the password or ask them to log in so that you can create a new admin account and remove the other accounts. When you delete the other accounts, their settings will also be removed, but the other files on the MacBook will remain. If you can’t access the password, you will need to follow the steps below to factory reset a MacBook Pro or any other Mac model without password.
The reason we use passwords is, of course, to maintain privacy. But keeping data private is about more than passwords. Your Mac stores a great deal of information about what you do while you use it. That includes:
- Recent Items list
- Wi-Fi networks you’ve connected to
- Websites you’ve visited
- Web searches you’ve made
- Files you’ve downloaded
- Cache files and cookies from websites that store information about what you did on that site
In addition, apps can access your Mac’s camera and microphone and record the screen with your permission. Managing these permissions and monitoring the data your Mac stores about you is not easy and takes quite a bit of time. However, there is an easy way to do it — CleanMyMac X’s Privacy module allows you to quickly remove all of that data, or only the types you choose, as well as manage application permissions. All with just a few clicks. You can download CleanMyMac X for free here and try it yourself.
How to factory reset a MacBook without a password
Before you start the process of factory resetting the MacBook, make sure your Wi-Fi and broadband connection are working properly. The process below uses Apple’s Internet Recovery to reinstall macOS. If you are concerned that the connection might fail, it’s a good idea to create a bootable USB installer. You can find out how to do that here.
- Boot your Mac into recovery mode. How you boot in recovery mode depends on the type of Mac you have. Follow the process for your Mac below.
Intel-based Mac
Turn off your Mac. Press and hold Command and R and then press the power button. Release Command and R when you see the Apple logo or you hear a chime. You should see the macOS Utilities window after a few seconds.
Turn off your Mac. Press and hold the power button until you see the startup options screen. Click Options, then Continue. You should eventually see the macOS Utilities window.
Mac with Apple silicon
- Once your Mac has booted in recovery mode and you can see the macOS Utilities screen, choose Disk Utility.
- When Disk Utility opens, choose your Mac’s boot disk in the sidebar. It will be the topmost drive in the sidebar, probably called Macintosh HD. Make sure to choose the disk and not the volume beneath it.
- Click Erase in the toolbar. Give the disk a name and format it as APFS.
- Click Erase.
- When you see a message saying the disk has been successfully erased, quit Disk Utility.
- From the macOS Utilities screen, choose Reinstall macOS.
- Follow the instructions to reinstall macOS.
- Reinstallation may take quite a while. Once it’s complete, your Mac will restart and will go into set-up mode as if it were a new Mac. From there, you can follow the instructions on the screen to create a new admin user account and set up the MacBook the way you want it.
If you have acquired a MacBook and the previous owner hasn’t removed their password, user accounts, or settings, you will have to factory reset it so you can create your own user account and use the Mac. To do that, you will need to factory reset it and delete all the data and settings. Follow the steps above to factory reset your MacBook without a password.
