How to Remove Activation Lock on a Mac

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Remove Activation Lock by entering the password for the account that initially secured the Mac when prompted. You can also disable the feature under System Settings or use iCloud.com to remove the device from your account, disabling Activation Lock that way instead.

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Activation Lock first appeared on the iPhone as a means of preventing thieves from using stolen Apple devices and has subsequently found its way onto the Mac, Apple Watch, and more. Activation Lock must be removed on a Mac before it is sold, passed on, or purchased second-hand.

What Is Activation Lock?

Activation Lock is a safeguard that locks your Mac to your Apple ID. The feature works in tandem with Apple’s Find My network, and while Find My is enabled on a device it is also secured with Activation Lock. If you haven’t manually disabled Find My, Activation Lock is enabled on your device.

The feature prevents your Mac from being used by someone else for as long as Activation Lock is enabled. The safeguard persists even after the Mac has been formatted and macOS reinstalled. If you were to delete your macOS partition using your Mac’s recovert mode, you’d be presented with the Activation Lock prompt upon reinstalling the operating system.

To activate a Mac that’s protected by Activation Lock, you need to enter the account password for the Apple ID that the Mac is linked to. If you cannot remember your Apple ID password, you can recover it at iforgotapple.com. If you have valid proof of purchase for your device, you may be able to ask Apple to remove Activation Lock for you.

Which Mac Models Use Activation Lock?

All modern Apple Silicon Mac models use Activation Lock, starting from the 2020 MacBook Air (M1), through to the 2021 MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, M1 Max), Mac Studio (M1 Max, M1 Ultra), and MacBook Air 2022 (M2) Future models will also include the feature since Apple now has total control over its system-on-chip design.

Apple M2 SOC Chip Data information sheet

The feature is also present on many pre-Apple Silicon models. Any model of Mac with a T2 security chip including the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (2018 or later), Mac mini (2018 or later), Mac Pro (2019 or later) and the iMac Pro.

In addition to a Mac with Apple Silicon or a T2 security chip, Activation Lock requires macOS Catalina or later, and two-factor authentication set up on your Apple ID. On Apple Silicon, the security policy must be set to “Full Security” under recovery mode (default setting) while T2 chip models require Secure Boot and “Disallow booting from external media” enabled under recovery mode.

T2 Security Chip in the 2019 Mac mini

If you haven’t gone out of your way to disable Find My or change your Mac’s security settings, Activation Lock is likely enabled.

Remove Activation Lock in macOS

If you’ve reinstalled macOS and are now staring at a screen that’s asking you to activate your Mac, simply enter the password associated with the Apple ID that’s listed. If it’s your Mac, that’s likely your Apple ID password.

If you simply want to remove Activation Lock in macOS, head to System Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Find My Mac and hit the “Turn Off” button next to the “Find My Mac” setting. You’ll need to enter your Apple ID password to confirm this.

Disable Find My Mac in macOS System Settings

If you’re doing this so that you can pass your Mac on to a new owner, make sure that you have remove all of your data from your Mac first.

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