Clearing And Transferring MacBook Air

[jparker402]

Very close to buying a 14" MacBook Pro! If I do, I want to clear out and transfer my 2015 MacBook Air to my granddaughter. I believe I understand clearing the drive. But my questions have to do with what to do after that. Granddaughter has a iPhone, therefore believe she must have an Apple ID. How do we get the fundamental programs/apps (Pages, Numbers, Calendar, Messages, Photos, etc.) back on line and in her name? Is that something I do before I give it to her or something she does once she does whatever it is she needs to do contacting Apple? Is there a tutorial on this subject somewhere? Thanks for help and suggestions!!

 

[chabig]

Follow Apple's tutorial, beginning with step 2, since your machine doesn't have a T2 chip:

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support

Reset your Mac to factory settings to prepare it for a new owner.

support.apple.com

However, if I were you I would wait until after you purchase your new Mac. That way, you can migrate your data from the Air to the MacBook Pro before you erase it.

 

[jparker402]

Thank you, chabig! I probably would have forgotten migration! Been concentrating on iCloud, CCC and Time Machine.

Do you know what my granddaughter can do relative to using the App Store, and establishing herself on the apps I mentioned above? Since she did not buy the machine from Apple herself?

 

[chabig]

If you don't want to migrate, CCC would be my second choice, though iCloud is great if all of your data is already there, as is Time Machine. But migration and a full CCC backup will also transfer your apps and settings.

As for your granddaughter, she might be asked to repurchase some apps under her AppleID but that can be avoided with Family Sharing.

Family Sharing

Family Sharing is easy to set up and lets up to six people share access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud+, Apple Card, and more. At no extra cost.

www.apple.com

 

[James_C]

@jparker402. Wait until your new Mac arrives, as part of the installation process when you get a new Mac, you will be given the option to use Migration assistant to move all of your stuff ( Apps and Documents, photos etc) over to your new Mac. I would always recommend Migration assistant over a Time Machine backup, as occasionally you might have a problem restoring from time machine.

Then make sure all your stuff has transferred.

Follow the steps given in the article linked by @chabig above to reset the old Mac to “Factory Condition”

How do we get the fundamental programs/apps (Pages, Numbers, Calendar, Messages, Photos, etc.) back on line and in her name?

Factory reset puts the Mac back into a state as if you were setting up your old Mac from Scratch, as she already has an Apple ID ( From her iPhone), she will put in these details and will set up the machine with her details. Programs like messages and photos are part of Mac OS. Other Apple apps like Pages, Numbers, Keynote and GarageBand will need to be downloaded from the App Store App once she has setup her new Mac - They are free, so she will not have to pay for them.

She can setup her Mac to automatically Sync Photo’s, Messages and Notes from her phone to her Mac.