How To Factory Reset Your Macbook Air/Macbook Pro

✎ Key Points:

» To factory reset your MacBook Air, you need to click on the Apple icon on the homepage. Then click on the Restart option from the drop-down menu.
» Once the resetting process is done, you need to click on the Quit button and then click on the Reinstall macOS. Choose the disk of the default drive to install and then click on the Install button.

How To Factory Reset Your Macbook Air:

Follow the below steps:

Step 1: Click on the Apple icon & Restart

If you’re thinking of factory resetting your MacBook Air, you can do that very easily by following these few simple steps. You need to turn on the MacBook Air.

Then on the home screen, you’ll be able to find the Apple icon at the extreme top left corner. It will show you a few options from which you need to click on the Restart option.

You also need to make sure that you’re connected to a stable wifi or internet connection during this period.

Step 2: Tap & Hold the ‘Command + R’ key or Power Key

From the drop-down menu, once you press the Restart button, you’ll see that the Apple logo will appear on the screen.

For Intel: Now you need to press the Command +R keys on the keyboard of your MacBook Air and hold the keys for a few seconds.

For the M1 Models: Now you need to press the power key and hold for a few seconds.

As you’re pressing the keys in combination, you need to be sure to not let it go till you see the Utility window appearing on the MacBook screen. As soon as the window appears, you need to stop pressing the ‘Command + R’ keys.

Step 3: On Utility Window: Click Disk Utility & Choose Startup Disk

As the Utility window shows up on your MacBook screen you need to scroll down to the bottom of the list and then click on the Disk Utility option. It will open up another window. You need to find the Startup Disk option from the left sidebar and then you need to click on it.

Factory resetting devices can erase your data permanently so you need to be sure that you’ve backed up your files and important data before going for it. Although users are scared of losing data by factory resetting their devices, it’s quite a good solution for some issues that devices face.

Step 4: Select Format As Mac OS Extended & Click Erase

Once you click on the Startup Disk option, you’ll be able to see a new box appearing on the screen. On the box, you’ll be able to see the name Untitled, and below that, you’ll be asked to select a format. You need to click on the blue arrow icon next to the format box and then choose the format Mac OS Extended. You can provide a name to the disk by entering it in the Name box.

After choosing the format, you need to click on the Erase button that’s next to the Cancel button.

Step 5: Once Complete Quit and Choose ‘Reinstall macOS’

Now your MacBook will be reset. You need to wait for some time for the process to get done. Once resetting the data is completed, you need to click on the Quit button on the Disk Utility window to close the window. Then, you’ll be able to see the macOS utility window.

On the page, you’ll be able to see the four options presented to you in list form. You need to click on the second option i.e Reinstall macOS and then you’ll be able to see the Continue option at the bottom of the window. Click on the Continue option.

It will ask you to choose the disk that you want to install on your MacBook. You need to select the default drive. Then click on the Install button.

Step 5: Choose Country & Make all Setup & Done

You will be asked to provide some permission to continue downloading. Provide the necessary permissions and then it will take some time to download. You need to wait patiently for the time being to complete the download process.

After the download is completed, you need to install it manually. Once the installation is done, the MacBook will restart on its own and show you the welcome screen.

You’ll be asked to create a new MacBook account on the system.

You need to choose the country where you live from the list and then click on the Continue button below the box. You need to perform the setup process carefully and patiently after the reinstallation is done to use the MacBook Air again. After the setup is completed, you’re good to use it again.

If you’re planning to give the MacBook Air or sell it to somebody else, you don’t need to create an account after resetting the factory data. You should sell a device only after you’ve factory reset it so that the new owner will not have any access to your previously stored information.

What To Do Before You Start The Factory Reset On Macbook Air:

1. Plug it into Full Charge

When you’re about to start the factory reset process of your MacBook Air, you need to be sure that you’ve plugged in the cable of your MacBook so that it’s connected to the electricity. Factory resetting your MacBook Air can help to increase the performance of the device too.

2. Keep the backup on Time Machine

Before you factory reset your MacBook Air you need to be sure to back up all the existing files and important data on the Time Machine. As resetting the MacBook Air will delete and erase the existing data, you’ll lose all your important files and data if you don’t keep a backup of the files.

After the backup and reinstallation process is completed, you’ll need to restore all the files from the time machine.

To restore the backup files after reinstallation you need to open the Time Machine by clicking on the Apple icon and then clicking on System Preferences.

Then you need to browse through the files after plugging in the external hard drive.  Then, you need to choose the files that you want to restore and then click on the Restore button.

If you want to restore all the files that you’ve stored in the backup, you need to click on the Restore from Disk Utility option on the macOS utility window after the resetting process is done.