Re-Provision a macOS Device

By Rick Metzner

Best practices for moving computers within your organization

Many organizations will have a situation arise where they get a computer back from a user and prepare it for a new user. Whenever you move a computer from one user to another, it is best practice to wipe the computer and reinstall macOS. Erasing the device ensures the user has a clean experience, a new setup, and there is no question about data left on the computer. If the computer is already enrolled in Kandji, you can erase the device by following these steps.

Depending on the macOS version and hardware support, one of two actions will occur for macOS devices. There are multiple conditionals in which remote wipe behavior is unique to the hardware and macOS version. These conditionals are outlined in our support article on the Lock Device and Erase Device commands.


If you need to wipe the computer locally, there are a few options. Apple has a support article on How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery

Please read the entire article, as there are important details regarding exceptions.


To automate the process of resetting devices locally, there are tools that can help support this, such as Mac Deploy Stick (from TwoCanoes), or Mac Provisioner from Apple Professional Services. The ability to create simple or complex workflows as required for your environment, and to reuse tools like this to deploy 1-1000 devices, make these very scalable solutions.