I followed your instructions when selling my Mac. Reformatted the hard disk and reinstalled macOS Big Sur. It was passed to the owner with the "Choose Language" screen. The new owner is now asking for my password to access the hard disk. Is this normal or safe?
MacBook Pro Retina
No, it's absolutely not normal and absolutely not safe either. With special software and your password anyone can recover your data (files, passwords, account details...) that was "deleted" when you reformatted the hard disk. Do not give your password to the new owner.
No, it's absolutely not normal and absolutely not safe either. With special software and your password anyone can recover your data (files, passwords, account details...) that was "deleted" when you reformatted the hard disk. Do not give your password to the new owner.
If you followed all the steps described in the link provided above, all the new owner has to do is to turn on the computer and then follow the set up steps. They will set up their own account, etc. They need nothing from you.
No, it is not safe to give a stranger your password.
However, this means that the Mac was not properly prepared for sale; you do download the installer for the OS, but you do not install it. Follow the directions exactly in the link posted by leroydouglas.
Martin Bett wrote:
I followed your instructions when selling my Mac. Reformatted the hard disk and reinstalled macOS Big Sur. It was passed to the owner with the "Choose Language" screen. The new owner is now asking for my password to access the hard disk. Is this normal or safe?
reference: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Apple ...
sell my Mac
