selling a computer / Apple ID

[deli152]

Will wiping a hard drive and reinstalling the OS completely erase all my user information (Apple ID)? My concern is icloud mostly.

 

[harryb2448]

Well I guess it depends on the model and operating system.

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/news-community-announcements/313284-writing-quality-post.html

 

[RadDave]

Will wiping a hard drive and reinstalling the OS completely erase all my user information (Apple ID)? My concern is icloud mostly.

Hi Deli... - welcome to the forum!

Harry's post is in short telling you to provide more information before we can even address your terse question: 1) As asked, what computer (model/year) are you using; 2) What OS X is installed; 3) How 'deep' do you want to wipe the HD (I just donated a Dell PC and did a deep wipe); and 4) What iCloud services are you using? Might help us - Dave

 

[deli152]

Hi Deli... - welcome to the forum!

Harry's post is in short telling you to provide more information before we can even address your terse question: 1) As asked, what computer (model/year) are you using; 2) What OS X is installed; 3) How 'deep' do you want to wipe the HD (I just donated a Dell PC and did a deep wipe); and 4) What iCloud services are you using? Might help us - Dave

thanks for reply. I should've known to provide more information.

It's a 2010 MBP with a fresh Mavericks install. I used icloud for photo, contacts, and mail backup.
The HD didnt have much on it, so I'm not worried about a 'deep' clean of th HD.
Maybe a better question would be, will all my login and password information be forgotten after the new OS install?

 

[harryb2448]

Yes formatting will wipe everything so suggest getting an external drive and backing up with Time Machine or cloning software such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. The Apple ID will not be a problem as Apple retains that and when you access the App Store it will ask for password.

 

[Rod]

This subject is becoming one of my pet hates, there are so many sites, not least of which the Apple Support page describing in detail how to prepare a mac computer for resale. See What to do before selling or giving away your Mac
Despite the well meaning technical advise given by our members no where is it mentioned that you MUST deauthorise your device from iTunes, sign out of iCloud on the device and turn off Find My Mac and before signing out of iCloud go to your account and remove the device from My Devices. If these steps are not taken you will cause all sorts of problems for the new user.
Please read the information on the link provided.

 

[pigoo3]

Nice link Rod.

- Nick

 

[lclev]

Excellent advice - I put it in my "must remember" folder of Mac tips. I tried to add to your reputation but I got a forum pop up that says I can't because I must have added to yours too many time??? Guess I need to spread the love around a bit more.

Lisa

 

[Rod]

Secondary to my previous post on this thread this is the problem created by Apple's 90 day device association rule as described by Apple Support and the reason why it is so important to deassociate your device as soon as possible prior to sale;

iTunes Store: Associating a device or computer to your Apple ID
When you turn on iTunes Match or Automatic Downloads, or when you download past purchases on an iOS device or computer, that device or computer becomes associated with your Apple ID. This article describes how to manage these associations.

Your Apple ID can have up to 10 devices and computers (combined) associated with it. Each computer must also be authorized using the same Apple ID. Once a device or computer is associated with your Apple ID, you cannot associate that device or computer with another Apple ID for 90 days. You can view which devices or computers are currently associated, remove unused devices or computers, and see how long before they can be associated with a different Apple ID from the Account Information page in iTunes on your computer:

Open iTunes.
Sign in to your Apple ID by choosing Store > Sign In from the iTunes menu.
Choose Store > View My Account from the iTunes menu.
From the Account Information screen, click Manage Devices.
Next to each device or computer name, you will be able to see when each was associated to your Apple ID. You will also be able to track how many days are remaining before your associated devices or computers can be associated to a different Apple ID.

Removing an associated device or computer from an Apple ID

To remove a device or computer from your Apple ID:

Open iTunes.
Sign in to your Apple ID by choosing Store > Sign In from the iTunes menu.
Choose Store > View My Account from the iTunes menu.
From the Account Information screen, click Manage Devices.
Click the Remove button next to the device name you would like to unassociate.
Note: Removing a device from your Apple ID does not override the 90 day timer. The timer must complete 90 days from the day the device was associated before it can be associated to another Apple ID.

 

[Rod]

Excellent advice - I put it in my "must remember" folder of Mac tips. I tried to add to your reputation but I got a forum pop up that says I can't because I must have added to yours too many time??? Guess I need to spread the love around a bit more.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa an Nick, I hope I don't come across as a bit terse but as stated this is a bit of a pet hate of mine. Too much time spent helping people who bought an Apple device second hand only to find it was still associated with another iTunes account.

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks Lisa an Nick, I hope I don't come across as a bit terse but as stated this is a bit of a pet hate of mine. Too much time spent helping people who bought an Apple device second hand only to find it was still associated with another iTunes account.

I'm a BIG used Apple product buyer. I haven't purchased a brand new Apple computer since about the mid-1990's (too much depreciation). Previously buying used Apple computers has never been a problem.

But with this whole Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes, etc. being tied to specific devices...could be a real pain in the butt. And BELIEVE me...the average Apple product owner selling a used Apple product does not know about this...thus certainly is not deactivating their product before selling it.

Of course not a tremendously big problem for the previous owner (who may not own many Apple devices)...since the new owner will not know the old owners password/passwords. But could be a potential hassle for a "new to me" owner of an Apple product.

I can just imagine finding a used computer on Craig's List...meeting with the owner and asking them before buying..."Did you deactivate your Apple ID, iCloud, and iTunes from the computer?" And them saying..."Aaaaah...no!"lol

- Nick

 

[Rod]

Yes, unfortunately too often the case. The info is out there and easily available as previously posted but a lot of sellers on eBay and the like simply don't bother to look. We are the ones who end up trying to solve the after purchase problems. We can't blame new users or first time sellers. As avoidable as these problems may be the information is simply not made available enough to avoid the pitfalls. Sigh, that's why we're here.

 

[pigoo3]

Yes, unfortunately too often the case. The info is out there and easily available as previously posted but a lot of sellers on eBay and the like simply don't bother to look. We are the ones who end up trying to solve the after purchase problems. We can't blame new users or first time sellers. As avoidable as these problems may be the information is simply not made available enough to avoid the pitfalls. Sigh, that's why we're here.

I would almost consider this an "advanced topic"...considering the amount of Macintosh 101 stuff many owners aren't aware of.

This deactivation stuff is of course important. But I think that this is still sort of a new "paradigm" for folks selling used Apple computers/devices to get used to. Folks have been buying & selling used Apple stuff for years & years...without any issues like this (other than doing a secure erase of the HD). So something folks have to get up to speed on.

- Nick

 

[Rod]

I would almost consider this an "advanced topic"...considering the amount of Macintosh 101 stuff many owners aren't aware of.

This deactivation stuff is of course important. But I think that this is still sort of a new "paradigm" for folks selling used Apple computers/devices to get used to. Folks have been buying & selling used Apple stuff for years & years...without any issues like this (other than doing a secure erase of the HD). So something folks have to get up to speed on.

- Nick

Yep, I agree wholeheartedly, I just don't know how to get the message across. The web is filled with info but people either think they don't need it or think they know better or in the worst circumstances simply don't care. I suppose that is the purpose of forums like this. I'm not complaining mind. It's just as a health care worker I favour prevention over cure.

 

[deli152]

Thanks everyone for the great information.
I realized that I didn’t sign out of my accounts after I had already wiped the hard drive. I didn’t want to use my Apple ID to sign into a fresh Mavericks install.
Not sure if this makes sense. I’m obviously new to this.
Anyway, thanks again.

 

[Slydude]

Think I will definitely be giving this thread a mention in the Sunday Chat this week. With appropriate credit to Rod of course). There are certainly some ideas mentioned in this thread that I don't always think to mention.

The ;last time we got rid of a Mac (completely dead) things weren't as tied to "the cloud" as they are now. We did have an issue where a Mac which died suddenly couldn't be removed from the authorized devices list by the usual method (remove the device from the authorized list first). The solution was to remove all devices then add the still functional ones back one by one. That doesn't work so well under the new way of doing things.

 

[josehill]

Somewhere, I heard it said that the way to understand every Apple product released since around 2011 (Lion) is to think of iCloud as Apple's core product, and to think of each device and system, whether MacOS or iOS, as merely tools to plug in to iCloud, rather than as independent devices or independent "homes" for information.

The more I've thought about it, the more I think that is correct. It may not necessarily be pleasant or convenient, but it really helps when navigating how to work with Apple products. In this case, the way to think about selling a Mac isn't, "How do I get my stuff off this Mac?", but is "How do I disengage this Mac from my iCloud and leave it as a blank slate so someone else can plug it into their cloud?"

 

[Rod]

You know I think I agree with that. The days of personal data storage and "stand alone" devices may be gone. It's hard to believe that MS and Apple would invest so much in the development of cloud based services just to provide us with options. I still back up all my devices locally but I'm spending more and more on storage units. Device integration is becoming more and more cloud dependant eg macs "Hand off" feature in iOS 8 an Yosemite.