How to Quickly Set up a New Mac
Perhaps you’ve treated yourself to a new MacBook Air , or maybe you want to factory reset your iMac —either sell it or wipe all the digital junk off the system. Whatever the reason you are setting up a new Mac, you need to follow these steps.
Apple has continually streamlined this process over the years, and with the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 Sequoia, it’s now easier than ever: If you have an iPhone or iPad, it can handle part of the setup process for you.
You’ll first see a welcome message in multiple languages: Click Get Started , then select the language you want to use on macOS and your country or region. You can then adjust the accessibility settings built into macOS if you need them to complete the rest of the installation process.
The next important step is connecting to Wi-Fi, and once you’ve selected a network and entered its password, you’ll be given the option to download any software updates available for macOS – which is recommended to ensure you have the latest bug fixes and security patches.
You can choose whether you want to transfer data to your new Mac as part of the setup process. The top option, “From Mac, Time Machine, or Startup Disk ,” is good if you want your new Mac to look as much like your old Mac as possible: if you’re upgrading Macs and the old one is still available to you, you’ll be prompted to run Migration Assistant on both computers to copy your user account.
There is also “From a Windows PC” , which saves data such as contacts, calendars, email accounts. If you’re switching from Windows to macOS, this may help the process go more smoothly. Again, you’ll be taken through a step-by-step process that includessetting up Migration Assistant on both Windows and macOS.
The third option is Set Up Using iPhone or iPad , a new feature that was just added. It transfers data such as Wi-Fi logins, your appearance and accessibility settings, and access to your iCloud account. Select this option, hold your iPhone or iPad near your Mac, and you’ll see a prompt on your mobile device. Click “Continue ” to confirm.
A glowing blue orb will appear on your Mac’s screen, which you then need to place in the camera viewfinder on your iPhone or iPad, and the connection will be established. You’ll still have to go through a few more setup steps after this, but it will save you a few minutes.
The fourth and final option in the transfer data dialog is Set Up as New , which I actually prefer: it gives you a clean and fresh installation of macOS, meaning you can gradually move your data and accounts as needed. With this option, you’ll avoid transferring clutter from your old Mac or other Apple devices to your new computer.
After selecting your data transfer option, you’ll need to enter a username and password to use on your Mac, which is not associated with your Apple account. Check the box below the password hint so you can always sign into this Mac with your Apple account credentials if you ever forget your Mac credentials.
You’ll then be prompted to sign in to your Apple account to sync and host all your iCloud data—unless you’ve used an iPhone or iPad shortcut, in which case the Mac already knows who you are. After that, you need to set various permissions for macOS, including location services, device analytics, and Siri access.
Almost done, but there are still a few more dialogues to work on. As for these features, you can configure them immediately or later. First, there’s Apple Intelligence for what it is—right now in macOS you see features like Writing Tools, the Image Playground app , and the ChatGPT extension for Siri.
Next you have FileVault Disk Encryption and Touch ID (your Mac will be much more secure if you enable both of these), and then Apple Pay if you want to use new or previously registered payment cards to make purchases on your Mac. After that, you’re almost done: Click Continue on the Welcome to Mac screen and you’re done.
The process is simple enough that you can reset your Mac from time to time to minimize unnecessary clutter and ensure everything runs as quickly as possible. If you ever want to restart your Mac and go through the setup process again (making sure your data is backed up securely first), open System Preferences from the Apple main menu, then choose General > Transfer or Reset .
Once you’ve mastered macOS, you can start building it yourself again. For me this means removing almost everything from the Dock and hiding it from view, as well as changing the trackpad’s scroll direction so it’s correct, but your results will vary.