There was an error connecting to the Apple ID server message

Hi DJJellyJean,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We understand that you are trying to reset your MacBook Pro and are getting an error message that says "There was an error connecting to the Apple ID Server."

Are you using recovery mode when this happens or what exactly are you trying to do? Is the date and time correct on your MacBook Pro? If not, that might interfere with communication with the server. If you're not in macOS Recovery at the moment, the steps from How to reinstall macOS may help.

Take care.

DJJellyJean,

Your MacBook Pro may be compatible with macOS Catalina in that case. Check out macOS Catalina is compatible with these computers. You can download the macOS Catalina or earlier installers from How to get old versions of macOS.

Kind regards.