what to know
- Intel Mac: Restart your Mac and hold down the Command+R keys to boot into recovery mode.
- Apple Silicon Mac: Press and hold the power button and wait for the prompt.
- Recovery mode allows you to restore or reinstall your Mac.
This article will teach you how to restart your Mac in recovery mode and explain what recovery mode means for you and your data.
Booting into recovery mode takes just a few steps, as long as you know what keys to press. Here's how to boot into recovery mode on an Intel-based Mac.
Click the Apple logo on the desktop.
Click Restart .
Now hold down the Command+R keys until you see the Apple logo or spinning globe appear.
Select from the recovery mode utility options. These include restoring from a Time Machine backup, reinstalling macOS, and obtaining online help or disk utility.
If you have a newer Mac with an Apple-based processor (such as an M1, M2, or M3 chip), the process is slightly different. Here's how to boot your Apple Silicon-based Mac in recovery mode.
Shut down your Mac.
Press and hold the power button.
A message will appear stating that you will soon be able to access startup options. Continue to hold the button.
Click Options > Continue to open recovery.
If your Mac can't enter recovery mode the traditional way, try the following steps to force entry.
Restart your Mac.
Press and hold Option / Alt+Command+R or Shift+Option / Alt+Command+R to force your Mac to boot over the Internet into macOS recovery mode.
This combination should boot your Mac into recovery mode.
Yes and no. Simply booting into recovery mode will not delete everything on your Mac. However, if you choose to reinstall macOS or erase the disk through Disk Utility, you will delete everything on your Mac.
It's wise to reinstall macOS before selling your Mac to someone. Alternatively, use Restore from a Time Machine backup to restore the system to an earlier version. Depending on how old the backup was, you might lose some files.
Terminal can also be accessed through macOS recovery mode. Here's how to do it.
Boot into recovery mode.
Click Utilities .
Click on Terminal .
You can also use the Launch Security Utility app and Network Utility app from here.
If you're wondering why being able to boot into recovery mode is helpful, here's a quick overview of why it is.
- You're selling your Mac : If you're selling your Mac, be sure to erase all your data, including your Apple ID. Recovery mode is a valuable tool for achieving this goal.
- You're solving a problem : Like Windows' Safe Mode, Recovery Mode starts your computer using minimal resources, allowing you to solve any problem.
- You need to use Disk Utility : If your Mac has a hard drive problem, you can use recovery mode to boot into Disk Utility to fix it.
- Restore from Time Machine backup : Recovery mode makes it easy to restore the system from Time Machine backup.
On a Windows keyboard, the Windows key is equivalent to the Command key on a Mac keyboard. So, if you are using a Windows keyboard, restart your Mac and then hold down the Windows key + R key combination to boot into recovery mode. Alternatively, use Terminal commands. Open a terminal and type sudo nvram "recovery-boot-mode=unused" followed by sudo shutdown -r now . Afterwards, after restarting the computer from recovery mode, the computer will resume normal startup.
Unfortunately, you need a keyboard to reboot your Mac into recovery mode. If you don't have a Mac keyboard, try finding a Windows keyboard and using the Windows key + R key combination as mentioned above. Or, consider purchasing a quality Mac keyboard for your device.
To force a restart, go to the Apple menu and select Restart . If your Mac is unresponsive, try holding down the power button. Alternatively, use the keyboard combination Control+Command+Power button (or TouchID or the eject button, depending on your Mac model.) If things get worse (or if you're selling it), you may need to factory reset your Mac, which will Wipe your system clean.
There are several ways to troubleshoot Mac startup issues. Try booting your Mac into safe mode or resetting PRAM or NVRAM. You can also try resetting your Mac's System Management Controller (SMC) to fix startup issues.
