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5 Things You Should Know Before Throwing Away Your Old Mac

You may not realise it, but that old Mac of yours may have more value than you think. Most people believe that because their computer is a few years old now, it’s running a little slow and isn’t running the latest software that the only place for it is the bin. That is not the case!

Here are five essential facts you should consider because throwing away your Mac.

1. It May Support the Latest Software You Just Don’t Know it.

It’s incredible how many people don’t update their Macs. Sometimes we hear of people owning their Macs from new and never running an update. The original installed operating system their using could be six or more years old. Updating your Mac will give it a new lease of life with support for the current software with all its new features while keeping you protected with security patches.

If you click the Apple symbol at the top left of your screen then in the menu select About This Mac. A pop-up window will appear which will let you know the model year of your Mac.

Here is a quick guide to understanding if your Mac will update to the latest.

  • MacBook Pro (mid-2012 and newer)
  • MacBook Air (mid-2012 and newer)
  • MacBook (early 2015 and newer)
  • iMac (late 2012 or newer)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or newer)
  • Mac Pro (late 2013 or newer, or mid-2010 and mid-2012 models with Metal capable GPU)
  • Mac Mini (late 2012 or newer)

2. Make Sure Your Data Doesn’t Get into the Hands Of Criminals.

Simply throwing or giving away your Mac is incredibly risky. You may have gone through your folders and cleared everything out that needs to be gone. Odds are you were smart and cleared the bin too! You think there is nothing left on there. You’d be incorrect. In the wrong hands, someone could use off the shelf data recovery tools to resurrect a considerable amount of documents. Even without any additional tools, you will have stored data in your web browser, which could provide access to any of the websites you use. You might not be worried about your FaceBook account but what about your login for PayPal, Amazon or Tesco. Next thing you know you’ve paid for someone’s weekly shop!

So what do you do? You need to perform a full system wipe yourself.

  1. Make sure your Mac is off (if it’s not shut down)
  2. Hold down the command and R key.
  3. Press the power button to turn on the Mac.
  4. Keep the keys pressed until the system loads.
  5. Once you’re in recovery, select “Disk Utility” from the utility list.
  6. Continue through, choose the disk you would like to erase by click on it.
  7. Click the erase button
  8. Click the security options button.
    The higher the preference of security, the harder it is to recover any data. We recommend setting it high and leaving it to process as the higher the security, the longer it will take.
  9. Once you’ve selected your security preference, click the ok button.

10. Click the erase button, and your system will begin the wipe.

Once the wipe has completed your Mac will be clean, and you’re free to do what you will with it.

3. Before You Frisbee Your Used MacBook into the Bin It Could Be Worth Something.

Macs are renowned for holding their value. Hey, let’s be honest. It’s why we’re in business! Oh and don’t take the Apple trade-in price seriously, they’ll give you at best half of its actual value. So to find out how much it’s worth you’ve got two options.

The Easy Route.

You can approach a UK apple store like ourselves and provide a few bits of information about your used Mac. We can offer you a value. Unlike Apple, we are only focused on refurbished used Macs, so we’re able to provide a much higher value for it. However, you can still get more money for your Mac by taking the hard route.

The Hard Route.

A little research is involved here to get maximum value. We recommend starting on eBay, searching for your Mac then using the search filters to see only sold listings. You’ll be able to see how much your model is selling for by using this search method. Taking an estimated average and starting is always an excellent way to start because the price is usually the deciding factor. If you would prefer not to sell on eBay, then facebook marketplace is an excellent place to find a buyer because you can do everything face to face.

4. You May Be Able to Upgrade Your Mac. Shouting at It Won’t Help.

Depending on the model and age, it may be worth doing some upgrades to your old Mac. If you’re feeling confident upgrading your storage is our highest recommendation as moving from an HDD (hard disk drive) to an SSD (solid state drive) is one of the best investments you’ll make all year! Your Mac will load faster, respond quicker and be more reliable. 

Alternatively or as well as, you can upgrade your RAM (Random Access Memory). RAM is the middle man between your storage and your Macs brain. Your Mac will load data into the RAM for the brain to use so the more RAM you have, the more the mind can access.

5. We Can Take the Hassle out of Switching Your Mac!

If you decide that you’re going to sell your Mac or trade it in then, please get in touch. Our team can organise the delivery of your Mac to us and transfer all of your data onto the new Mac ready for you to use. When it arrives at your door, you’ll be able to get started exactly where you left off.

This is a free of charge service that we offer to all customers shopping with us, and it takes any risk of data loss or technical complication of doing it yourself at home. Not only does it save you the worry but it gets you money back for your Mac at the same time. Please be aware we only take systems from 2012 and newer.

We hope you could find something useful. Please head over to our UK apple store if you have any questions or if you’re looking for where to buy a refurbished apple mac. Our team are available 9-5 Monday to Friday if you have any questions.