76 Macworld • December 2019FEATURE
You should also make sure if you’re retaining any
accounts that the Mac isn’t logged into the seller’s
account in the iCloud preference pane.Is a firmware password set?
A firmware password locks the Mac to booting
only with a particular startup disk. This can be
a problem later if you want to start up from an
external drive or make other changes. Check
on this and then remove or change the firmware
password with these steps:1.Restart your Mac and hold down Command-R to
startupinmacOSRecovery.
2.If you’re prompted for a password next to a lock
icon, you need the seller to provide this firmware
password.Enterthepassword.
3.After Recovery starts up, select Utilities >
Firmware Password Utility (older Macs and
some newer models) or Utilities > Startup
Security Utility (Macs with a T2 security chip),
and then Turn Off Firmware Password. Enter
thepasswordagainwhenprompted.
4.If you want to keep the firmware password
enabled, now click Turn On Firmware Password
and enter a password only you know and that
you make a record of, preferably in a password-
management app.If the seller doesn’t have the password, all isn’t
lost, but it requires their participation to get the
Mac unlocked. Apple says that the original receipt