Wipe a Macbook without a password?

Actually Apple ID is required on any machine that has the Find My ... function enabled. You may be able to wipe it but it'll be of little use after.
You can reset the admin password but the steps vary based on OS version and machine age. If you reset the admin password you'll be able to log in but will not have access to the old keychain. If it has File Vault nothing you can do.
 
Any Intel based Mac Apple ID is technically not needed if you have a USB with Mac OS X Installer on it. Unless it has a firmware password.

Newer M1 macs are like iPads and iPhones. If Apple ID is left, they are bricks. Also, don't trust the instructions on how to wipe M1, I bricked one using Apples Directions and had to take it in. Thankfully it was still under warranty. For M1 I create new user, and remove old one, because the risk of a brick is too great.
 
NviGate Systems said:
Any Intel based Mac Apple ID is technically not needed if you have a USB with Mac OS X Installer on it. Unless it has a firmware password.

Newer M1 macs are like iPads and iPhones. If Apple ID is left, they are bricks. Also, don't trust the instructions on how to wipe M1, I bricked one using Apples Directions and had to take it in. Thankfully it was still under warranty. For M1 I create new user, and remove old one, because the risk of a brick is too great.
Click to expand...
Is there a way to download the installer without all the app store BS?

Apple irritates me to no end.
 
For some you need an Apple ID, yes. I maintain an archive from OS X 10.6 to the latest. The old ones require that you bought them, had media (back when it existed) and new ones require purchase in Apple Store. Once you have them made, it's easy to back them up, but an Apple is required. You gotta get your hands dirty sadly if you want to play in the garden.
 
To be honest, that link mentions multiple ways, including app store and gives caveats about certain methods.

So I think the frustration around how Apple handles installers is justified. I used links to previous versions via App Store because I wanted the full download versions, and once I made media I would never need it again technically. I think on one Mac I had to use the cli to download the software.

It also depends on what type of Mac you have. When I serviced the last Mac I used it to download and make the entire library I had all over on a fresh 64GB flash drive.

If your Mac is too old for certain versions, it might be hard to make installers. Like if all you have is a Core 2 Duo Mac because they are relatively cheap these days. However, if you have the installers on USB, you can use older Macs to backup & Restore those images.

I totally get why so many independent PC repair companies dont do Mac. For the small market they re, it ain't worth the hassle or the money.
 
Yea I hated working on Macs cause we never had a Mac of our own in the shop. Boss wanted to take in anything! We had a box full of Windows laptops that I could use parts from, various power adapters. Nothing for a Mac.
 
mikeroq said:
Yea I hated working on Macs cause we never had a Mac of our own in the shop.
Click to expand...

I'm not overly fond of the calls I get regarding Macs, either. But, in all but one case, it's been for things like getting a WiFi printer working with a new Mac. The one semi-disaster that I had with trying to recover a drive I ended up referring out to one of our semi-regulars here, as none of the usual tools and several unusual ones would work.

I'm just thankful that very few of my calls involve Macs, period. Even calls about iPads are few and far between.
 
timeshifter said:
I think you're confusing Apple with Microsoft.

mrmacintosh.com

How to Download macOS Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina & Mojave Full Installers

How to download macOS Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion & Lion 7 ways!
mrmacintosh.com mrmacintosh.com
Click to expand...
Not at all. I spent hours tracking down a DMG of a version of MacOS that would work that I could get without a working Mac or Apple ID, I put it on a USB drive and the Mac says it can't boot from a USB device because of security reasons and to restart with command-r at boot which then proceeds to require the password for the user on the device which puts me right back where I started and was trying to avoid.

It would be nice if I could just easily wipe the thing and reinstall the OS like Windows machines. Either with the built-in recovery partition many PCs have or the Windows 10 USB drive I made years ago that just simply installs Windows on any PC and then I do some updates and its out the door.

Apple makes everything so difficult.
 
Velvis said:
Apple makes everything so difficult.
Click to expand...
Apple makes it difficult to work with stolen computers, certainly, and if your computer fell into the wrong hands then this is exactly how you'd want it to behave. Computers (or phones) that can't be repurposed aren't worth stealing. None of this behaviour is accidental, or even wrong.

This might be one of those cases where going cap-in-hand to an Apple "Genius" with proof of ownership might be the best option. Possibly even the only option.
 
Velvis said:
that I could get without a working Mac or Apple ID
Click to expand...
Sorry dude, but that's like a mechanic complaining about repairing a car with a manual transmission but doesn't know how to drive a stick. If you're in business and taking on these devices then you might want to get an Apple ID at a minimum and probably a good idea to have an old Mac or two lying around.
 
So, before we continue, what specific Mac is this? Because there are situations where you can encounter this issue.

Apple has used Apple ID linked to purchases of Mac OS (even free upgrades) so that you can simply sign in at the recovery stage to download & re-install Mac OS. If your installer is promptng for this, you might have another issue.

Have you completely erased the HDD using Disk Utility? Not just the bootable portion, but even the recovery partition? Also, I always had issues with any downloaded DMG wit security errors or "unsafe sources", but the installers I made with Apple Store downloaded OS always worked. Also, changing the date can help as some Mac OS installers go bonkers if the security certificates expire. That's mostly older 10.6/10.7 releases.
 
Velvis said:
I put it on a USB drive and the Mac says it can't boot from a USB device because of security reasons and to restart with command-r at boot which then proceeds to require the password for the user on the device which puts me right back where I started and was trying to avoid.
Click to expand...
Here's a link to a thread to help you better ask for help.

How to ask Good Questions For Faster Tech Help

Before Asking: Google is your friend - Try searching for your problem on Google first, chances are someone has encountered it before and mentioned a fix. Post it in the Right Forum - If you have a potential virus, adware or spyware issue then you should post in our "Security, Viruses and...
www.technibble.com www.technibble.com

One problem which exists is many images out there in the wild, but not in the App Store, have expired certificates so they'll fail any installation. Legit or otherwise.
 
timeshifter said:
Sorry dude, but that's like a mechanic complaining about repairing a car with a manual transmission but doesn't know how to drive a stick. If you're in business and taking on these devices then you might want to get an Apple ID at a minimum and probably a good idea to have an old Mac or two lying around.
Click to expand...
I have an Apple ID as well as a number of Macs.

I also have a customers Macbook that they don't have the password to or any means to retrieve it. Regardless of how I seem to boot into it, it requires that password. Which to me seems like a royal PITA when they simply want it wiped and have the OS reinstalled. On a Windows machine its simple, on a Mac not so much. So there was no confusion between Apple and Microsoft when I referred to Macs and the app store BS.

I have a number of Macs that I have updated via the App store and it was always a pain when it was an older Mac. (In this case this isn't an older Mac though.) Which version of the OS a particular computer can update to, or having to update sequentially, or incredibly slow downloads from the app store, failed installs, etc.

I have a single Windows 10 image that I downloaded years ago and I have used it on hundreds of different laptops and desktops from all different manufacturers and many devices that didn't even ship with Windows 10. I don't recall having an issue ever.

The idea I confused Apple with Microsoft is ludicrous.

I am also not sure how being able to drive a stick would give someone the ability to repair a manual vehicle, or not knowing how would prevent the ability to repair it.
 
Velvis said:
I have an Apple ID as well as a number of Macs.
Click to expand...
My bad. When I read this I took it to mean you didn't have either.
Velvis said:
I spent hours tracking down a DMG of a version of MacOS that would work that I could get without a working Mac or Apple ID
Click to expand...
I or someone else might be able to give a little more guidance if you'd stipulate which "MacBook" you have.
 
Dear Lord people, obviously the OP has a newer Mac with an M1/M2 chip and the Mac is iCloud locked. You need to tell the client to take the computer to Apple along with a proof of purchase so they can unlock it for them. Alternatively, I've used a service similar to this in the past and it worked:

Unlock iCloud activation lock for your iPhone / iPad / iPod / Mac / AppleWatch | IMEIDoctor.com - IMEIdoctor.com

iCloud remover helps you to permanently bypass iCloud activation lock from your iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod or Apple Watch. Your device will be free and no longer locked by iCloud activation
imeidoctor.com imeidoctor.com

You can also replace the M1/M2 chip on the logic board itself and then flash it using DFU mode to pair it with the board. This is beyond my capability but I've seen it done before.

The truth is, Apple doesn't want anyone fixing their stuff except for them. They have proprietary tools and software that make many repairs basically impossible. OP, if the client doesn't have the password then you can go through the "forgot password" options in Recovery Mode. Just make sure you're connected to WiFi. If the client is also signed in to iCloud on their phone or another computer or tablet then you should be able to reset the password and get access to the setup options so you can wipe out the Mac.
 
sapphirescales said:
Dear Lord people, obviously the OP has a newer Mac with an M1/M2 chip and the Mac is iCloud locked. You need to tell the client to take the computer to Apple along with a proof of purchase so they can unlock it for them.
Click to expand...
I try to never assume anything, and OP has yet to answer my request for more information about the machine at hand. So until that information comes forward, there is no further help available to OP.

Essentially, this has become a "bash Apple" thread with a few hints and suggestions peppered about. (No offense to any who posted useful info)

We know Apple and how they do business. Nuff said.
 
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