About macOS Recovery
The utilities in macOS Recovery help you restore from Time Machine, reinstall macOS, get help online, repair or erase a hard disk, and more.
macOS Recovery is part of the built-in recovery system of your Mac. You can start up from macOS Recovery and use its utilities to recover from certain software issues or take other actions on your Mac.
How to start up from macOS Recovery
- Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold these two keys: Command (⌘) and R. Need help?
- Release the keys when you see an Apple logo, spinning globe, or other startup screen.
- You might be prompted to enter a password, such as a firmware password or the password of a user who is an administrator of this Mac. Enter the requested password to continue.
- Startup is complete when you see the utilities window:
- After starting up from macOS Recovery, select a utility, then click Continue:
- Restore From Time Machine Backup:Restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup.
- Reinstall macOS: Download and reinstall the Mac operating system.
- Get Help Online: Use Safari to browse the web and find help for your Mac. Links to Apple’s support website are included. Browser plug-ins and extensions are disabled.
- Disk Utility: Use Disk Utility to repair your disk or erase your disk or other storage device.
Additional utilities are available from the Utilities menu in the menu bar: Startup Security Utility (or Firmware Password Utility), Network Utility, and Terminal.
- To quit macOS Recovery, choose Restart or Shut Down from the Apple menu . If you want to choose a different startup disk before quitting, choose Startup Disk from the Apple menu.
If you can’t start up from macOS Recovery
If your Mac can’t start up from its built-in macOS Recovery system, it might try to start up from macOS Recovery over the Internet. When that happens, you see a spinning globe instead of an Apple logo during startup:
To manually start up from Internet Recovery, press and hold either of these key combinations at startup:
If startup from Internet Recovery is unsuccessful, you see a globe with an alert symbol (exclamation point):
In that case, try these solutions:
- Make sure that your Mac can connect to the Internet. If you’re not prompted to choose a Wi-Fi network during startup, move your pointer to the top of the screen, then choose a network from the Wi-Fi menu , if available.
- Press Command-R at startup to try using the built-in Recovery system instead of Internet Recovery.
- Connect to the Internet using Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi, or vice versa.
- Connect to the Internet from a different Wi-Fi or Ethernet network. Your network configuration might not allow the Internet access that macOS Recovery needs.
- Try again later, because the issue might be temporary.
- Start up from another disk or volume, if available, or use a bootable installer to reinstall macOS.
If you still need help, please contact Apple Support.
How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery
Learn how to use macOS Recovery to reinstall the Mac operating system on your built-in drive or an external drive.
Reinstall from macOS Recovery
macOS Recovery makes it easy to reinstall the Mac operating system, even if you need to erase your startup disk first. All you need is a connection to the Internet. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the Wi-Fi menu , which is also available in macOS Recovery.
1. Start up from macOS Recovery
To start up from macOS Recovery, turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold one of the following sets of keys on your keyboard. Release the keys when you see an Apple logo, spinning globe, or other startup screen.
Command (⌘)-R
Reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac (recommended).
Option-⌘-R
Upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
Shift-Option-⌘-R
Reinstall the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
You might be prompted to enter a password, such as a firmware password or the password of a user who is an administrator of this Mac. Enter the requested password to continue.
When you see the utilities window, you have started up from macOS Recovery.
2. Decide whether to erase (format) your disk
You probably don’t need to erase, unless you’re selling, trading in, or giving away your Mac, or you have an issue that requires you to erase. If you need to erase before installing macOS, select Disk Utility from the Utilities window, then click Continue. Learn more about when and how to erase.
3. Install macOS
When you’re ready to reinstall macOS, choose Reinstall macOS from the Utilities window. Then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions. You will be asked to choose a disk on which to install.
- If the installer asks to unlock your disk, enter the password you use to log in to your Mac.
- If the installer doesn’t see your disk, or it says that it can’t install on your computer or volume, you might need to erase your disk first.
- If the installer is for a different version of macOS than you expected, learn about macOS Recovery exceptions.
- If the installer offers you the choice between installing on Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD — Data, choose Macintosh HD.
Please allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. During installation, your Mac might restart and show a progress bar several times, and the screen might be empty for minutes at a time.
If your Mac restarts to a setup assistant, but you’re selling, trading in, or giving away your Mac, press Command-Q to quit the assistant without completing setup. Then click Shut Down. When the new owner starts up the Mac, they can use their own information to complete setup.
macOS Recovery exceptions
The version of macOS offered by macOS Recovery might vary in some cases:
- If macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later has never been installed on this Mac, Option-Command-R installs the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available. And Shift-Option-Command-R isn’t available.
- If you erased your entire disk instead of just the startup volume on that disk, macOS Recovery might offer only the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available. You can upgrade to a later version afterward.
- If your Mac has the Apple T2 Security Chip and you never installed a macOS update, Option-Command-R installs the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.
- If you just had your Mac logic board replaced during a repair, macOS Recovery might offer only the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
If you can’t get macOS Recovery to offer the installer you want, you might be able to use one of the other ways to install macOS.
How to start up your Mac in Recovery Mode
Starting your Mac in Recovery Mode provides the tools you need to solve various problems, and is typically your last chance to repair the startup disk, reinstall macOS or restore from a backup after a fatal failure that prevents your Mac from starting up properly. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to enter Recovery Mode at boot time and use the built-in recovery tools to bring your Mac in perfect working condition.
Our prior tutorials educated you on the ways to start up your Mac from a bootable media, pick a startup disk at boot time or after the fact, mount another Mac’s startup drive on your desktop in Target Disk Mode and boot your computer in Safe Mode or Verbose Mode.
macOS’ startup modes can be quite helpful. For instance, you may use them for troubleshooting complex issues that might require more than fixing disk permissions. However, the aforesaid startup modes aren’t very helpful if the startup disk has become corrupted or damaged. And that is where knowing how to start up your Mac in Recovery Mode can come in handy.
What is Recovery Mode
Recovery Mode is a special mode that loads macOS’ built-in recovery tools from a special disk partition that holds a recovery image along with a copy of the macOS installer.
If your Mac cannot be recovered in any other way, use Recovery Mode to diagnose disk problems, get help online or install the version of macOS that previously ran on this Mac.
Use Recovery Mode to:
How to enter Recovery Mode on your Mac
1) In the Apple menu choose Restart, or power on your Mac.
2) As your Mac restarts, hold down the Command – R combination immediately upon hearing the startup chime. Hold the keys until the Apple logo appears. If you own a Mac notebook, press the keys on its built-in keyboard as the keystroke might not register on external keyboards.
If you see a login window or your own desktop, you didn’t press the keyboard combination early enough and have booted in regular macOS mode. Restart your Mac and try again.
3) If asked, type in your administrator username and password. After a few seconds (or minutes, depending on your setup), the macOS Utilities window will appear.
At that point, you can do any of the following:
- Restore from a previous Time Machine backup
- Reinstall macOS
- Access Safari to get help online
- Launch Disk Utility
How to exit Recovery Mode
To exit macOS Recovery Mode, click on the Apple icon in the Menu Bar, and select Restart or Shut Down. Additionally, you may also select Startup Disk from the Apple menu to chose a different startup disk before exiting.
Standard Recovery vs. Internet Recovery
If the recovery partition itself is damaged and you cannot use Recovery Mode, enter Internet Recovery Mode by pressing Command – Option – R at boot time.
Internet Recovery basically starts up your Mac directly from Apple’s servers and performs a quick test of its memory and hard drive to check for hardware issues. For example, if the boot sector is missing on the startup volume, or the recovery partition itself has become damaged or corrupted, your Mac will automatically enter Internet Recovery Mode.
Check out our tutorials on how to start up your Mac in Internet Recovery Mode for complete details about the process.
Related tutorials
Check out these resources that cover a myriad of ways you can start up your Mac:
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