The option ¨deactivate this mac", erease my data ?
i forgot the password , from my macbook air 2020. and I don't want to lose any data.
MacBook Air (2020 or later)
Question marked as
Hi Dasilalex,
Deactivating your Mac will not erase your data.
Apple's warning regarding deactivation doesn't make sense at the surface level. I can try to explain why your Mac is showing the warning.
When macOS is installed in the factory, or when you completely erase your Mac, your Mac generates two special keys inside the M1 chip. One of these keys (the Owner Identity Key) is used for Secure Boot, and to verify that macOS starts up as expected. The other key (the User Identity Key) is used for Find My Mac and Activation Lock.
In order for your Mac to start up normally at this point (after generating the two keys), it needs to contact Apple servers and get Apple to certify those keys. This process is referred to as "Activation". If your Mac cannot activate, it can't start up normally until activation is successful and the keys are certified.
Once activation is successful, your Mac (assuming that macOS is already installed) uses the Owner Identity Key to sign a new secure boot policy for startup. Once this is done, your Mac will let you know that you can restart, and it will then start up normally. The Owner Identity Key is then protected using your administrator password.
It is extremely important to be able to access the Owner Identity Key. Without it, your Mac cannot install macOS updates (since it needs to update the values in the secure boot policy), and you cannot change the Secure Boot settings.
If you forget your administrator password and need to reset it, a problem arises: if you reset your password, you'll lose access to the Owner Identity Key, since it is protected using the previous password. This is why your Mac warns you about "deactivation": if you proceed, it will throw away the existing Owner Identity Key (possibly the User Identity Key as well) and create new keys. This won't affect your data, but your Mac will need to "activate" again and get the new keys certified by Apple. This process will require an Internet connection, and possibly your Apple ID and password as well.
If you're interested in more details on this process, Apple's Platform Security document outlines it here as well: LocalPolicy signing-key creation and management - Apple Support
TL;DR: If you proceed, your Mac needs to regenerate certain system keys and get them certified by Apple. If the reactivation process continually fails, you won't be able to start up your Mac normally.
