Is it possible to wipe this Macbook clean?
August 27, 2020 7:06 PM Subscribe
My former employer never responded to my attempts to return my old work laptop. Now I want to put it to use, and I'm trying to figure out whether I can erase it without knowing the firmware password.
Some 6 weeks ago, I resigned from a job (at a very large company) where I had worked for a year. I had been issued a laptop as part of that job. I went through all the proper steps to try and return the laptop after I resigned, but my former employer never got back to me. I followed up via email several times, and the last time I told them that I would consider the matter concluded after 30 days.
So, let's assume that I'll return the laptop if my former employer ever follows up. In the meantime I'd like to put it to good use. It's a 2018 13" Macbook Pro. There's nothing much on the machine, but I'd prefer to have a clean slate before doing anything with it.
The complications: it has a firmware password that I don't know, so I can't start it up in recovery mode. And while my original user account was an administrator, I seem to have screwed up by creating a new non-admin account and deleting the old one, so I don't seem to have access to an admin account. I do have an external drive with the Catalina installer on it.
Is there anything I can do?
Some 6 weeks ago, I resigned from a job (at a very large company) where I had worked for a year. I had been issued a laptop as part of that job. I went through all the proper steps to try and return the laptop after I resigned, but my former employer never got back to me. I followed up via email several times, and the last time I told them that I would consider the matter concluded after 30 days.
So, let's assume that I'll return the laptop if my former employer ever follows up. In the meantime I'd like to put it to good use. It's a 2018 13" Macbook Pro. There's nothing much on the machine, but I'd prefer to have a clean slate before doing anything with it.
The complications: it has a firmware password that I don't know, so I can't start it up in recovery mode. And while my original user account was an administrator, I seem to have screwed up by creating a new non-admin account and deleting the old one, so I don't seem to have access to an admin account. I do have an external drive with the Catalina installer on it.
Is there anything I can do?
Your profile indicates San Francisco. You can try places recommended by Yelp or search Craigslist for "Mac repair" or "Mac unlock"
Apple doesn't publish how to unlock firmware, but various people have figured out ways to do it. Some of those ways actually work.
If you want a guaranteed result, it's Apple or an Apple authorized support center, as Hartster says.
A 2018 Macbook Pro has the T2 security chip in it which (potentially) interferes with booting from other drives. Good luck.
posted by blob at 5:28 PM on August 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Apple doesn't publish how to unlock firmware, but various people have figured out ways to do it. Some of those ways actually work.
If you want a guaranteed result, it's Apple or an Apple authorized support center, as Hartster says.
A 2018 Macbook Pro has the T2 security chip in it which (potentially) interferes with booting from other drives. Good luck.
posted by blob at 5:28 PM on August 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
In case this helps: How to Change a User to Admin at Command Line in Mac OS X
posted by blob at 12:26 PM on August 29, 2020
posted by blob at 12:26 PM on August 29, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Hartster at 1:31 AM on August 28, 2020 [1 favorite]