Formatting a pre owned MacBook Air

[Birdster]

Hi All,

New to the Mac world. I’ve just received a MacBook Air M1 from a well reviewed auction store. Laptop appears in good condition and I’m happy.

They’ve sent it configured with a basic user (admin) and a copy of office 2021 installed on Sonoma. My security conscious side is telling me to format it before I login to anything / iCloud.

It appears there isn’t anyway to do this without losing office, before I go ahead is there anything else I need to be aware of? As far as I can tell the best way to make sure the laptop is ‘clean’ is got to settings > general > erase all content and settings and then I can next > next configure the laptop as if it was direct from Apple, or do I need anything to boot or install back into Sonoma?

Should I do anything else or run any other antivirus/malware software?

Also I don’t have the office license, I’m thinking I’d look at LibreOffice, unless anyone knows of any deals for Office 2021?

Thanks in advance.

[Whataguy]

I’ve had a few secondhand macs, they usually come as yours with a user set up and software already installed.

I’d definitely recommend formatting and reinstalling the OS - it’s the first thing I did on mine. You do lose any software they’ve installed, but I’ve heard that the versions/installer they use is a risk so it’s best removed.

You just need internet access to activate the Mac during install, my last one was under 20gb to download and I managed it tethering through my iPhone. The full reset shouldn’t need anything else, as it should bring it back to brand new setup status. I had to do my resets through the recovery menu as they were Intel Macs rather than M series.

There are good deals on genuine licence keys for software through Amazon or other vendors. I’m running parallels and needed a genuine windows 11 pro licence for my Mac, it was only £25 vs the retail price around £100.

Edited by Whataguy on Thursday 25th July 21:53

Edited by Whataguy on Thursday 25th July 21:55

[mmm-five]

Office 2021 for Mac here for £49.99

https://www.cjs-cdkeys.com/products/Microsoft-Offi...

Although I just buy the 27 month (it's really separate 12m + 15m codes) Office 365 Family licence when it's on offer for about £100 each time I need to, as I need it on more than one machine. Last time I bought it was July 2023.

It's not at a great price at the moment (no cheaper than paying it annually), but this is where I bought my last one from...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09ZDCW7F1

Edited by mmm-five on Friday 26th July 09:27

[bitchstewie]

Use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon

[steveatesh]

OP as you’re new to Mac its worth pointing out that unless you actually need Office for some specific reason Mac comes with a very useable office suite built in.

I switched Windows to Mac in 2014 and have never needed to use Microsoft Office since, running a small business until this year as well as personal use, with the Apple software. Plus it’s updated every year free of charge.

[cw2k]

Before resetting it double check it is not activation locked

Click apple > About This Mac > System Report > Hardware > Activation Lock Status.

Edited by cw2k on Saturday 27th July 00:59

[Birdster]

I just wanted to pop in and say thanks all for the advice.

I followed the Apple guide to format the drive and found another partition on there. Downloaded OS, installed it and had a copy of Office via work so that’s installed too and all back to factory standard bar the Office install.

Thanks for the notes on Office alternative too, I installed it as had the license but will try the Mac versions too. Set it up with my iCloud and finding my way around the settings. Enjoying it so far.