M1 Alternatives to factory reset?

[vocalnick]

I'm wanting to clean up my 8GB M1 MacBook Pro to sell to a colleague so I can upgrade to the 16GB (he'll save a few bucks off a new one, and I'll learn a lesson about impulsive purchases )

I understand erase and restore is bricking the M1's at the moment, and I don't think I have all the stuff I need to do it with Apple Configurator 2.

If I uninstall my purchased apps, create a new user with Administrator privileges, and then delete my user account, will that do the job? Or are there pitfalls I'm not considering?

 

[anshuvorty]

I'm wanting to clean up my 8GB M1 MacBook Pro to sell to a colleague so I can upgrade to the 16GB (he'll save a few bucks off a new one, and I'll learn a lesson about impulsive purchases )

I understand erase and restore is bricking the M1's at the moment, and I don't think I have all the stuff I need to do it with Apple Configurator 2.

If I uninstall my purchased apps, create a new user with Administrator privileges, and then delete my user account, will that do the job? Or are there pitfalls I'm not considering?

I think the Mac will still be tied to your iCloud account.

 

[vocalnick]

I think the Mac will still be tied to your iCloud account.

Perhaps if I go through and sign out of everything that uses iCloud... or so you think it’s lower level than that?

This article seems to suggest it should be OK:

How to remove your iCloud account and Apple ID from a transferred computer

Even when you think youu2019ve logged out and wiped things clean, there may still be a lingering trace.

www.macworld.com

 

[anshuvorty]

Perhaps if I go through and sign out of everything that uses iCloud... or so you think it’s lower level than that?

This article seems to suggest it should be OK:

How to remove your iCloud account and Apple ID from a transferred computer

Even when you think youu2019ve logged out and wiped things clean, there may still be a lingering trace.

www.macworld.com

I’m talking about Activation Lock. If you can disable Activation Lock in this way, then you should be ok.