A how-to guide on what to do before giving your computer to a local shop or friend.


Whenever an individual is looking to get rid of their old MacBook, selling it is a good way to earn extra cash. Logging onto the Apple Trade-In page, users will be able to see how much they could potentially receive for reselling their computers. Alternatively, calling a local computer repair company could give the MacBook owner a quote on the computer’s resale value. Both sources are helpful for those who are looking to put money down on an upgraded model without having to pay full price.

However, most resellers will want a traded-in MacBook to feel new. The employees will be cleaning, disinfecting, and wiping down the device, but more than likely, they will not be wiping the data. Not to mention, the owner does not want to have old login information, documents, and everything in-between being accessed by the shop or new owner. After all, if a pre-owned 2018 MacBook Pro is looking brand new, it only makes sense for the operating system to feel the same.

Q: I am about to sell my MacBook but have a ton of documents and apps that I want to get rid of. What do I do before I sell my MacBook?

A: By resetting your computer, as well as signing out of any accounts and unpairing any devices found on the MacBook.

Before starting any of the following processes, it is best to create a backup through an app like Time Machine of any files you would like to keep for your next MacBook.

Signing out of services

iCloud
  1. Click on the System Preferences icon and wait for the page to load.
  2. Next, click on Apple ID.
  3. With your mouse, click on iCloud found on the left side.
  4. Then, click on the check next to Find My Mac to shut it off.
  5. Click Overview on the left side and then finally click on the Sign Out
iMessage
  1. Click on the Messages app to open it.
  2. Go into the Preferences menu and then click on the iMessage
  3. Finally, click sign out.

iTunes, Music, TV and Books

Note: If you have a MacBook with macOS Mojave or an earlier OS, then you will have to sign out of iTunes. Other OS will require you to sign out of the separate Music, TV, and Books apps.

  1. Click on the top of the menu on the iTunes menu and choose
  2. Next, click on Authorizations.
  3. Then, on this menu, click on Deauthorize This Computer.
  4. Finally, enter in your Apple ID and password and click

Unpairing your Bluetooth devices

Picture this; you are walking down the street and suddenly, your AirPods connect to another device. How awkward would that be?

It is hypothetical situations like that (and many more) as to why people should unpair their devices.

  1. Click on the System Preferences
  2. Click on the Bluetooth This will bring up a menu of all the devices that are currently connected to the MacBook.
  3. To finally remove it, click on the X next to the name of the device.
  4. After that, click on the Remove
  5. If more than one device is listed, repeat this process until all devices are removed.

Giving it a factory reset

This is the final process before you can finally sell or trade-in your MacBook. It is also, predictably, one of the more complicated ones. A MacBook owner will have to start with erasing their hard drive.

  1. First, shut down the MacBook.
  2. Press down on the Option and Command R keys and turn on the computer again. Wait until you see the Apple logo. This load up and open the macOS Utilities Menu.
  3. From here, click on Disk Utilities in the menu and then
  4. Select your hard/solid state drive disk on the sidebar to the left and click on the Erase tab at the top.
  5. Enter “Macintosh HD” for the name of it and click
  6. Once that is finished, go back to the macOS Utilities menu, select the Reinstall macOS option and click
  7. Follow the prompts and choose the drive you would like to install macOS.
  8. Click on Install and wait.
  9. When it is finished, the welcome screen and region selector option will appear. Use the keyboard shortcut Command Q and power down the MacBook. Since it is being given away, the new owner will do this themselves.

“I can get a pre-owned MacBook for that price? I’ll take it!”

Selling an old MacBook is a good idea for a user who is looking to make some money, but there are a lot of extra steps involved to give it away. Sure, after reading the above processes, it looks like it could take an afternoon. However, the steps are necessary before selling because, well, you would not want a new owner to access your information, now would you?

smartphone-notifying-user-about-successful-transaction

At MicroReplay, we know a thing or two about MacBooks and how to repair these devices. With over twenty plus years of experience, our company specializes in repairing liquid damaged MacBooks and other high-end laptops.

In need of a liquid spill or cracked screen repair? Book a repair with us today!

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