We can consider the Find My application that you can find on MacBooks and practically every other iOS device to be one of the standout features of the Apple ecosystem, as it provides both convenience and security in cases where we can’t locate our devices due to various reasons.
That being said, as the Find My application is designed primarily with security in mind, it doesn’t exactly behave the same way as any standard application on your MacBook, which can cause some unexpected situations to arise now and then.
Today, our topic will be the trackability of a MacBook after a factory reset, in particular, which is a piece of information that will come in extremely handy in specific cases such as purchasing a used MacBook, selling your MacBook to someone else, or your MacBook being stolen.
So, can a MacBook be tracked after it’s reset to its factory settings?
While MacBooks that have their content erased by correctly following the corresponding instructions from Apple can’t be tracked after a factory reset, MacBooks that have their content erased incorrectly can create scenarios where the old iCloud account stays attached, making tracking possible.
In the upcoming sections, we will further discuss the trackability of a MacBook after a factory reset, find out how to reset the NVRAM of a MacBook, learn more about preventing the NVRAM from being reset without credentials, and go through the process of enabling or disabling tracking on your MacBook.
Can a MacBook Be Tracked After Factory Reset?
While a MacBook is a device that is incredibly straightforward to track with the Find My app, the situation gets slightly more complex when a factory reset is involved, as the disk of the MacBook is completely erased in this case.
The user data related to the Find My functionality resides in the NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) of the MacBook, a small storage medium separate from the disk, which your MacBook uses to store certain other things as well, such as speaker volume and display settings.
As a result, in cases where the disk of the MacBook is erased, and a fresh installation of macOS is performed without the NVRAM being cleared, the Find My functionality will remain active despite the macOS installation looking free of any old user data, whether it’s applications or files.
With the Find My functionality still active, it will be possible to track the MacBook through the iCloud account attached to it before the reset, and the only ways to disable the Find My functionality will be to either manually reset the NVRAM (Intel-based Macs) or access the iCloud account.
On the other hand, in cases where the MacBook is erased correctly, the NVRAM will also be fully cleared, disabling the Find My functionality and, with that, the Activation Lock (T2 and forward), cutting all ties of the MacBook with the old iCloud account and making it impossible to track it anymore.
For MacBooks that have the T2 security chip or Apple silicon and run macOS Monterey, the correct way of conducting the factory reset process is to utilize the Erase Assistant, which you can access by following the steps below:
- Click the Apple menu on the top-left corner of the screen.
- Click the System Settings option from the dropdown menu.
- Click General on the left pane of the System Settings window.
- Click the Transfer or Reset option.
- Click the Erase All Content and Settings option.
On the other hand, for the rest of the MacBooks, the process of correctly conducting the factory reset process involves the manual reset of the NVRAM after erasing the data and reinstalling macOS, which we will be talking about in the next section.
How to Reset the NVRAM of Your MacBook?
While there are plenty of reasons that can require you to reset the NVRAM of your MacBook, resetting it before selling your MacBook and resetting it after purchasing a used MacBook are the two particular cases related to our topic today.
Fortunately, resetting the NVRAM of your MacBook is a pretty straightforward process that does not demand any technical expertise or effort, requiring a few seconds of your time at most.
Below, you can find a step-by-step guide that you can follow to reset the NVRAM of your MacBook:
- Power your MacBook off.
- Power your MacBook back on.
- Immediately press the Option, Command, P, and R keys on the built-in keyboard simultaneously and hold them down for roughly 20 seconds.
- Let go of the keys and wait for your MacBook to restart.
Alternatively, you can also enter the command “sudo nvram -c” into the Terminal to reset the NVRAM, enter your password when asked, and finally, enter the command “nvram -p” to confirm that the NVRAM is indeed cleared, which should produce a blank output.
Please note that the first method only applies to Intel-based Mac computers, as the combination to reset the NVRAM is removed on the Apple silicon Macs.
While the way to reset the NVRAM through the Terminal will also work on Apple silicon Macs, this process does not remove the Find My related variables from the NVRAM anymore for security reasons.
How to Prevent the NVRAM From Being Reset Without Credentials?
As it’s possible to fully reset the NVRAM of Intel-based MacBooks without booting into the operating system, which gives intruders a way to disable the Find My functionality without requiring your credentials, it’s vital to prevent this from happening for increased security.
To prevent the NVRAM of your MacBook from being reset without your credentials, you will need to add a firmware password to your MacBook, which will prompt your MacBook to ask for this password in the following scenarios:
- Attempting to boot up from a storage device that isn’t selected as the Startup Disk
- Attempting to start up macOS Recovery
- Attempting to reset the NVRAM
Below, you can find a step-by-step guide that you can follow to add a firmware password to your MacBook quickly:
- Power your MacBook off.
- Power your MacBook back on.
- Immediately press the Command and the R keys simultaneously, and hold them until you see a startup screen.
- Wait until macOS recovery loads up.
- Click Utilities from the menubar.
- Choose Startup Security Utility or Firmware Password Utility, with the wording being different based on the model of your MacBook.
- Click Turn On Firmware Password.
- Enter the password of your choice into the password input, and click Set Password.
- Quit and restart your MacBook by clicking the Apple menu on the top-left corner and choosing the Restart option.
Once you set the firmware password, you can easily test the functionality by starting up from macOS recovery again, which should require you to input the firmware password to get in.
Please note that you can only set a firmware password on Intel-based Mac computers, as Apple has removed support for it on the Apple silicon Macs.
How to Enable or Disable Tracking on Your MacBook?
Since the Find My functionality on your MacBook is entirely responsible for the tracking (and Activation Lock on MacBooks with the T2 security chip or Apple silicon), enabling or disabling tracking will require you to enable or disable Find My.
First, let’s go through the process of enabling the Find My functionality on your MacBook, which will allow you to track it through your iCloud account:
- Click the Apple menu on the top-left corner of the screen.
- Choose the System Preferences option.
- Navigate to the Apple ID section in System Preferences.
- Choose iCloud from the sidebar, and check the Find My Mac box.
- Click the Options button next to Find My Mac.
- Ensure that both Find My Mac and Find My Network are active and click Done.
- Click the back arrow button on the System Preferences dialog.
- Navigate to the Security & Privacy section.
- Navigate to the Privacy tab.
- Click the padlock at the bottom left and unlock via Touch ID or password.
- Select Location Services from the sidebar.
- Check the “Enable Location Services” checkbox.
- Check the “Find My” checkbox from the list.
Now, let’s take a look at the process of disabling the Find My functionality on your MacBook, removing the tracking capabilities as a result:
- Click the Apple menu on the top-left corner of the screen.
- Choose the System Preferences option.
- Navigate to the Apple ID section in System Preferences.
- Choose iCloud from the sidebar, and uncheck the Find My Mac box.
We highly recommend keeping the Find My functionality on at all times unless you have a specific reason to disable it, as it will allow you to quickly locate your MacBook if you misplace it and practically make it impossible for anyone else to use it or access the data in it in the case of theft.
Conclusion
There is no denying that the interaction between the Find My functionality and a factory reset can seem tricky at first glance, especially considering that parts of it vary based on the model of the MacBook.
To summarize, a MacBook can only be tracked after a factory reset if the factory reset process isn’t conducted correctly, with the most common scenario being the disk getting erased, macOS being reinstalled, but the NVRAM being left intact to preserve the Find My data.
As a result, correctly factory resetting your MacBook when you’re selling, ensuring that the used MacBook you’re buying is correctly factory reset, and protecting the Find My functionality of your MacBook by setting a firmware password (for Intel-based MacBooks) are all essential to avoid problems.
Mark’s first real encounter with tech was when he had to format his computer with Windows 98 around the age of 6 to quickly get back to playing Heroes of Might and Magic III without having to send the computer in for a repair, which he strangely found to be rather enjoyable since it was a new challenge for him at the time.
While he has always been particularly interested in the software side of things, which eventually led to him becoming a software developer, he enjoys keeping up with the advancements in consumer electronics and smart home technology when he’s not busy coding.