How to boot Mac into Recovery Mode

Which Mac do you have?

Choose Apple menu › About This Mac. Chip followed by a chip name means a Mac with Apple silicon. Processor followed by an Intel processor name means an Intel Mac. The steps to start Recovery differ between the two.

How to boot into Recovery Mode on a Mac with Apple silicon

1. Shut down your Mac. If it won’t shut down normally, press and hold the power button for up to 10 seconds.
2. Press and hold the power button until you see Loading startup options or the Options icon, then release it.
3. Click Options, then click Continue below it.
4. If asked, select your startup disk, such as Macintosh HD, and click Next.
5. If asked, select a user whose password you know, click Next and enter that password.

How to boot into Recovery Mode on an Intel Mac

1. Shut down your Mac. If it won’t shut down normally, press and hold the power button for up to 10 seconds.
2. Press and release the power button, then immediately press and hold Command-R until you see an Apple logo or a spinning globe.
3. If asked, choose a Wi-Fi network or connect a network cable.
4. If asked, select your startup disk and a user whose password you know, then click Next.

Hold the keys on the Mac’s built-in keyboard, or on a wired keyboard made for Mac. A lock icon means the Mac has a firmware password: enter it to continue.

Internet Recovery on an Intel Mac

If the built-in Recovery doesn’t start, an Intel Mac tries to start it over the internet and shows a spinning globe. You can also choose it with the keys. The key combination also decides which macOS version Reinstall macOS offers:

• Command-R: the Recovery on your Mac. Installs the current version of the macOS you had last.
• Option-Command-R: Internet Recovery. Installs the latest macOS that works on your Mac.
• Shift-Option-Command-R: Internet Recovery. Installs the macOS your Mac came with, or the closest version still available.

A globe with an exclamation point means Internet Recovery failed. Errors such as -2001F, -2002F and -2003F are usually network problems: try an Ethernet cable, another network, each key combination, or try again later. These key combinations are for Intel Macs only.

What you can do in macOS Recovery

Recovery opens a window with a short list of tasks. Select one and click Continue:

• Restore from Time Machine: bring back your Mac from a Time Machine backup.
• Reinstall macOS: install macOS again. It keeps your apps and files, though a backup first is still wise.
• Disk Utility: check and repair the startup disk with First Aid, or erase it.
• A web browser, to read Apple Support while the Mac can’t start.

More tools are in the Utilities menu at the top of the screen: Startup Security Utility sets the security policy of the startup disk, Terminal runs commands, and Share Disk on a Mac with Apple silicon lets another Mac copy files from this one.

How to leave Recovery Mode

Choose Apple menu › Restart or Shut Down. To start from another disk, choose Apple menu › Startup Disk. Restoring from Time Machine and reinstalling macOS restart the Mac on their own.