This guide is written to assist users who have just purchased their new MacBook and need some additional help walking through the setup process. Users of this guide have likely never had a MacBook before and need a bit of help getting it set up correctly.
It starts with unboxing the MacBook, including a list of the items that you will find and what to do if you are missing any parts. It continues by guiding the user through the necessary steps to properly set up all needed IDs, accounts, and settings. The guide ends with the user learning about the most important settings and features to customize once they’ve logged into the computer.
Congratulations to you, new MacBook owner! You’ve safely returned home from braving the crowds at the Apple Store —or from your front porch if you had your order delivered from Apple’s online store— and now your shiny new computer anxiously waits your instructions. But wait! In all of your excitement, you’ve forgotten that you’ve never used a MacBook before and you don’t know where to start. Never fear! Following this guide will have you up to speed in no time, MacBook newbie.
Unboxing Your MacBook
Step One always starts with the basics and this guide will be no different: let’s open the box. Inside the sleek and glossy white box, you should find the following equipment:
1 MacBook computer (MacBook Air, MacBook, or MacBook Pro)
1 USB-C power adapter
1 USB-C cable
1 instruction booklet
Figure 1: USB-C Charging Adapter and Cable
1 pack of Apple logo stickers
If you are missing any of these components, you should contact your local Apple store or AppleCare to arrange a replacement at the following phone number: 1-800-275-2273.
Powering and Turning on Your MacBook
Powering on your MacBook is as simple as opening the lid and looking for the power button. On newer models, it is located on the top right corner of the keyboard. Press and hold the button until the computer flashes an Apple logo and begins to boot (“How to Turn…”).
Figure 2: Diagram of a MacBook Keyboard with Power Button Indicated
NOTE: Your MacBook will come straight from the box with a small amount of charge added for testing at Apple’s warehouse. This will be enough to power on the device, but not enough to sustain power.
Once the system powers on, you will need to plug in your MacBook using the USB-C adapter and USB-C cable from your box. Plug one end of the USB-C cable into the jack on the left side of your MacBook’s keyboard and the other into the slot on the USB-C adapter. You will then plug the adapter into the wall socket. If all of this has been done correctly, your MacBook’s battery will start to charge.
Running the Initial Setup
Starting the Setup Assistant
Setup Assistant is Apple’s software wizard that will guide you through the process of setting your computer from start to finish in a simple and user-friendly way. Apple designed their setup system to be as simple as possible, which means that this should be a piece of cake!
Your MacBook will start up as soon as you press the Power Button as discussed in the previous section. You’ll see a gray screen with a black Apple logo and a spinning icon as your computer prepares for the setup process. Once your Mac is ready to begin, it will launch Setup Assistant and open the welcome screen.
Welcome Screen
The first selection you will make is in which country you’ll be using your Mac. If you don’t see your country on the list that Setup Assistant has populated, select the “Show All” checkbox to show a list that includes other countries from around the world. Once you’ve chosen your desired country, click on the “Continue” button.
The setup assistant will prompt you
Figure 3: Setup Assistant Welcome Screen with language choices based on the region that you’ve chosen. Be sure to choose the language that you’d like to use on your system’s menus and navigation (Breen).
Selecting a Keyboard
Recognizing that different countries use different keyboard layouts, Apple has programmed different options for you to choose from. On the next screen, you will be choosing which keyboard you’d like to use based on the country that you selected in the previous step. If you don’t see your preferred layout in the available list, select the “Show All” checkbox to display all of your options. Once you’ve chosen your keyboard layout, click “Continue”.
Choosing Your Internet Connection
Your Mac will help you to connect to the Internet to complete several of the upcoming steps. It will start to search for nearby Wi-Fi networks for you to connect to. This process can take a few minutes, so please be patient. Once the list appears, select the network to which you’d like to connect and enter the password. For this step, you will want to choose the most stable network that you have access to as to not interrupt the process. Click “Continue” to move on to the next step
Figure 4: Select Your Wi-Fi Network (Breen).
Note: If you aren’t near a Wi-Fi network, that’s okay! Select the “Other Networks” button at the bottom-left corner and choose “My Computer Does Not Connect to the Internet”.
Transferring Information to Your MacBook
You will be presented with the option to transfer information from your previous system, Mac or PC via Apple’s Migration Assistant. If you’d like to transfer your data, you will want to follow the on-screen prompts to walk you through the individual steps of the transfer process. If you’d rather do this at a later time, you can select “Not Now” and continue with the set-up process.
Setting Up and Signing In with Your Apple ID
Your Apple ID is the account that you will use to access Apple’s services on all of your devices. If you’ve ever owned an iPhone, iPad, or an iPod touch before, you likely already have an Apple ID that you can use to sign in, which makes this an easy process. You will use the same Apple ID every time and on every
Figure 5: Sign in with Your Apple ID device that you use iTunes & App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, iMessage, or FaceTime by signing in with your email and password (“Sign in with…”).
If you already have this ID, go ahead and enter it and your established password in this window. If you don’t, click on “Create a Free Apple ID” and the wizard will walk you through the steps to create one.
NOTE: If you’d like to complete this step later, you can go ahead and click on “Skip” as this is something that can be completed once your system is setup.
Enabling iCloud Services
iCloud is Apple’s cloud-based backup and data service. iCloud may arguably be one of the most critical services that you activate for your Mac. Not only will you receive a free iCloud email address for yourself, but you will be able to use iCloud to sync your contacts, calendars, email, browser bookmarks, notes, reminders, photos, documents, backups, and other files between your Apple devices. Go ahead and enable iCloud services associated with your Apple ID.
One of the most critical iCloud features available is a service called “Find My Mac”. You want to make sure that this option is enabled because if you ever lose, misplace, or have your Mac stolen, this system allows you to determine the exact GPS location of your computer.
Creating Your User Account
Mac OS allows you to create multiple users that can each have customized interfaces on their user accounts. You could have one for work, one for home, even ones for your spouse and children based on who uses the computer.
Enter your full name is the first field. From this information, your computer will generate an account name for you. If you like the name that you see, you can leave it as is or if you’d like to shorten or customize it, you are welcome to do so!
Next, you’ll assign your account’s access password. Please be sure to use something that is safe, secure, and only known to you. This is a layer of security against thieves, hackers, and prying family members, so you want to make sure that you create a password that is difficult to guess.
NOTE: Here are a list of the most common passwords that you should never use:
123456
Password
Qwerty
Abc123
login
Finally, you’ll set your time zone for your user based on where you’ll be when you use the device and click “Finish”.
Finishing Touches Updating Your Operating System Congratulations! You’ve finished setting up your computer for basic use, which means that you can now begin to use your new computer. Before you get too far into playing around with all of the amazing features, let’s make sure that your system is up-to-date with the latest version of Apple’s Mac OS.
Select the icon in the top left corner of your screen, then choose “System Preferences”.
Click on “Software Updates”. If any updates are needed, you will see an “Update Now” button. Clicking this button will install any available system updates (“How to Update…”).
Figure 6: Software Update menu
NOTE: If you’d like for your Mac to update automatically, select the “Automatically keep my Mac up to date” checkbox at the bottom of the “Software Update” menu.
Updating Your Preferences
Most (if not all) of your customized settings can be selected on the “System Preferences” menu. In case you need a refresher, select the icon in the top left corner of your screen, then choose “System Preferences”. From this menu, you will be able to choose how your Mac looks and functions based on your own personal needs. You will want to choose your favorites on the following useful settings:
General
Light or Dark Theme
Your default web browser
Dock
Size of your dock
Location on the screen
Automatically show or hide
Accessibility options (if needed)
Zoom level
Voiceover
Font Size
Now that you’ve set up your MacBook correctly, you are ready to move on to more advanced settings and customization so that you can use your system to its full potential. For assistance with those advanced featured, be sure to checkout our next guide, “Newbie’s Guide to Using Your MacBook”.
Bibliography
Documents
“How to Turn Your Mac on or Off.” Apple Support, Apple Inc., 6 Nov. 2018, support.apple.com/en-us/HT201150.
“How to Update the Software on Your Mac.” Apple Support, Apple Inc., 2 Nov. 2018, support.apple.com/en-us/HT201541.
“Sign in with Your Apple ID.” Apple Support, Apple Inc., 17 Sept. 2018, support.apple.com/en-us/HT204053.
Breen, Christopher. “Mac 101: Getting Set Up.” Macworld, Macworld, 4 Oct. 2012, www.macworld.com/article/2010716/mac-101-getting-set-up.html.
Images
“Apple 61W USB-C Power Adapter and USB-C Charge Cable.” Apple Support, Apple Inc., 6 Nov. 2018, https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/MacBookpro/61w-usb-c-power-adapter-usb-c-charge-cable.png.
“Diagram of MacBook Keyboard.” Apple Support, Apple Inc., 6 Nov. 2018, https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/MacBookair/MacBook-air-2015-tech-spec-power-button.jpg.
“Select Your Wi-Fi Network.” OSX Tips, Baligu, www.baligu.com/pondini/OSX/SetupLion_files/1. Select WIFI network.jpg.
“Setup Assistant Welcome Screen.” The Instructional, The Instructional, 26 Feb. 2014, www.theinstructional.com/guides/how-to-re-run-the-os-x-setup-assistant.
“Signing in with Apple ID.” Apple Support, Apple Inc., support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/macos/macos-mojave-ios12-iphone-x-macbook-apple-id-sign-in.jpg.
“Software Update Menu.” Apple Support, Apple Inc., 6 Nov. 2018, https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/macos/Mojave/macos-mojave-system-preferences-software-update-available.jpg.