Factory Reset MacBook Pro

vegemite2008 on 08/12/2021 - 15:28

Hi, I am helping a friend to speed up her macbook pro.

She cannot remember her apple id. Can I do a factory reset and set-up the macbook again using a different apple id?

Or is it locked until she can find the existing apple id?

Thanks

Computing Apple Computer Laptop

Comments

  • altomic on 08/12/2021 - 15:34

    Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R. Release the keys after about 20 seconds. This clears user settings from memory and restores certain security features that might have been altered

  • Muzeeb on 08/12/2021 - 15:53

    She can recover her apple id / change her apple id password from another computer. It can be a pain in the butt process but definitely doable.

    Try this for starters

  • vegemite2008 on 08/12/2021 - 17:47

    She is elderly.

    My question is: can I do a factory reset and simply reinstall everything without an apple id?

    • zonra on 08/12/2021 - 17:57
      +1

      Nope. It's essentially a security measure to deter people from stealing these and simply reset them, same with iphones.
      Either reset apple ID if she has access to the registered email or bring it to Apple who may be able to help if she has sufficient evidence to prove ownership.

    • Marty131 on 08/12/2021 - 17:58

      Have you tried what MS Paint has linked above? Literally take 1 minute to confirm the Apple ID in question. (Next step would be remembering password….).

  • vegemite2008 on 08/12/2021 - 18:00

    She is elderly.

    Had 10 or so different emails.

    I tried some of the ones I know about. Still no luck.

    She has been logged out on the macbook in question. OS is Sierra.

    I use a pc myself. I am concerned that there will be an activation lock enabled.

  • WookieMonster on 08/12/2021 - 18:00
    +2

    The answer to your question depends on the model year of the MacBook Pro:

    • MacBook Pros with model years of 2017 or earlier do not have an Activation Lock. This means that if you factory reset the MacBook Pro, you do not need the last Apple ID and password associated with the laptop in order to set it up again.

    • MacBook Pros with model years of 2018 or later will most likely have an Activation Lock, as they either have a T2 Security Chip or an Apple Silicon chip. This means that if you factory reset the MacBook Pro without signing out of the Apple ID or turning off Activation Lock, you most likely need to provide the last Apple ID and password associated with the laptop before it was reset in order to set it up again.

    Here's a link to an Apple support page if you want to read more about it.

  • vegemite2008 on 08/12/2021 - 18:30
    +1

    I just checked. It is a macbook pro 2016

    Using macOS Sierra ver 10.12.6

    Activation lock?

    • WookieMonster on 08/12/2021 - 19:27
      +1

      Nope. 2016 MacBook Pros cannot support Activation Lock, so you should be okay to reset it.

  • vegemite2008 on 08/12/2021 - 19:31
    +1

    Thanks. I will give it a go :-)

  • vegemite2008 on 09/12/2021 - 23:05
    +2

    Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

    I did a factory reset and it did not have an activation lock. Straight forward process.

    Thanks once again :-)

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