Your new Mac: This is the best way to set up your Apple computer

This story is part of Holiday Survival Guide 2019, featuring tips on the best ways to manage the holiday season.

Getting a brand new MacBook Professional, iMac Mac Professional, or a Mac Mini is downright thrilling. Whether or not you are changing a worn-down MacBook ($1,199 at Walmart), or eliminating a drained PC, it is solely pure to need to tear open the field, hit the ability button and cruise via the setup prompts. However earlier than you do this, take a deep breath and a step again; there are some issues it’s good to find out about organising a Mac.

For starters, the method can take a number of hours if you happen to plan on transferring your knowledge from one other pc. Then there are features to contemplate similar to FileVault and if you happen to want it, or the way you get data off of your outdated Mac or PC and onto the brand new one.

These questions are precisely why we’re right here.

What you will want

Make certain to put aside round an hour to get your Mac arrange. The method will take longer if you happen to plan on restoring your Mac from a Time Machine backup of one other Mac.

Along with a dependable web connection, you will want your Wi-Fi community data, your Apple ID username and password, and the Mac’s charger or energy wire. 

Having a chunk of paper and a pen close by is useful. In the course of the setup course of, you will be requested to create a consumer account, which features a username and password. We do not suggest storing passwords on paper — it is a lot safer to make use of a password supervisor — however a chunk of paper is useful for briefly storing this sort of data till you’ll be able to enter it into your password supervisor. Simply be certain to destroy the piece of paper once you’re achieved. 

After you have every little thing so as, join the charger or energy wire to your Mac and switch it on. 

Apple’s Setup Assistant walks you thru a lot of the course of

The primary time your Mac activates, a setup assistant will greet you. The assistant will stroll you thru choosing your nation and language, and connecting the Mac to the web. You will even be tasked with making a consumer account on the Mac and signing into your Apple ID. 

All through the method you will be requested if you wish to allow providers like FileVault, iCloud Keychain or Discover My Mac. You will even be requested if you wish to allow Siri or present any logs to builders when points are detected. This is what they imply.

FileVault encrypts your Mac’s arduous drive to stop unauthorized entry to the data you retailer on it. For those who aren’t certain, you’ll be able to at all times allow or disable it sooner or later.

Now taking part in:
Watch this:

MacOS Catalina: 5 greatest issues

2:02

iCloud Keychain is Apple’s password supervisor that is constructed into all of its units. For those who use iCloud Keychain on an iPhone ($699 at Apple) or iPad ($359 at Walmart), these usernames and passwords will even be out there in your Mac. iCloud Keychain additionally shops your Wi-Fi community credentials, that means you will not need to log right into a Wi-Fi community in your Mac if you happen to’ve beforehand linked to it in your iPhone. It is a good suggestion to activate iCloud Keychain. 

Discover My Mac works with the Discover My app that will help you observe down a misplaced Apple machine. I like to recommend turning on Discover My Mac, even for a rig as massive as an iMac that is much less more likely to disappear, since you by no means know once you’ll may find yourself with a misplaced or stolen MacBook. Discover My Mac takes little or no time to enroll and there isn’t any downside to turning it on.

Proceed to observe the prompts, coming into any required data similar to your Apple ID or making a consumer title. 

Restore from a Time Machine Backup

In the course of the setup course of, you will be requested if you wish to restore your new Mac from a Time Machine backup of one other Mac via Migration Assistant. If that’s the case, you will want the arduous drive your Time Machine backup is saved on. 

If you have not backed up your outdated Mac via Time Machine, it isn’t too late. We now have a information that walks you thru the method. Or if you happen to’d reasonably straight switch your information and settings from one Mac to a different, Migration Assistant can do this, too. 

Observe the prompts within the Migration Assistant instrument, choosing that you just need to switch your data from a Time Machine backup. Choose the Time Machine arduous drive that is linked to your new Mac, and choose the latest backup.  

Subsequent, you will be requested to substantiate which data you need to switch — together with dwelling folders, purposes, settings and different miscellaneous paperwork. 

The method can take a number of hours, relying on how a lot you must switch. If it may be awhile, you do not have to babysit it. It is completely positive to depart your pc and go watch a present, let it course of in a single day, and even run some errands. 

For those who’re switching from a PC to a Mac, you should use Apple’s Migration Assistant, however the course of is somewhat bit extra concerned and technical (simply firstly). Apple walks you thru the method on this help article. 

Set up any software program updates

As soon as you’ve got accomplished the Setup Assistant and end up taking a look at your Mac’s desktop, it is a good suggestion to test for any pending software program updates. 

To try this, click on on the Apple emblem within the top-left nook of the display adopted by System Preferences > Software program Replace. 

As soon as your Mac’s software program is updated, you will additionally need to test and ensure the entire preinstalled apps are up to date within the App Retailer. Discover the App Retailer icon within the app dock alongside the underside of your display. Click on on it to open the App Retailer after which choose Updates after which replace any apps with pending updates. 

Now that you’ve got your Mac all arrange, it is a good suggestion to be ready for any hiccups it’s possible you’ll run into. Listed here are system tweaks it’s possible you’ll need to make straight away. If that is the primary time you’ve got used MacOS Catalina, you will be stunned that iTunes now not exists and you will need to discover ways to hearken to music or sync your iPhone together with your pc. And when your Mac inevitably slows down, discover ways to pace it again up once more. 

Initially revealed earlier this month.