If you can't start up from macOS Recovery

Find out what to do if you can't get your Mac to start up from macOS Recovery.

If using a Mac with Apple silicon

If you're using a Mac with Apple silicon and the steps to start up from macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon aren't successful:

  1. Make sure that your Mac is turned off. If you can't shut it down, press and hold its power button for up to 10 seconds to force it to turn off. (On laptop computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID.)

  2. Try again to start up from Recovery: press and hold the power button on your Mac, and continue to hold it until you see a message that startup options are loading.

  3. If your Mac doesn’t load startup options, but stays on a black screen or some other screen during startup, find out what to do if your Mac doesn’t start up all the way.

If using any other Mac

If you’re not using a Mac with Apple silicon, you’re using an Intel-based Mac. If the steps to start up from macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac aren't successful:

  1. Make sure that your Mac is turned off. If you can't shut it down, press and hold its power button for up to 10 seconds to force it to turn off. (On laptop computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID.)

  2. Try again to start up from Recovery: press and release the power button to turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold one of the following Recovery key combinations. If none of them work, review the guidelines for startup key combinations.

    • Command-R to start up from the built-in Recovery system, if available

    • Option-Command-R or Shift-Option-Command-R to start up from Recovery over the internet

  3. When starting up from Recovery over the internet, your Mac shows a spinning globe.

    Failed to start up from macOS Recovery over the Internet

  4. If you see the globe with a warning symbol (exclamation point), the attempt to start up from Recovery over the internet was not successful. One of these solutions might help:

    • Make sure your Mac can connect to the internet. Choose a network from the Wi-Fi menuNo alt supplied for Image, if available.

    • Connect to the Internet from a different Wi-Fi or Ethernet network, in case your network configuration doesn't allow the Internet access that Recovery needs.

    • Connect to the internet using Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi, or vice versa. If your Mac doesn't have an Ethernet port, use an Ethernet adapter.

    • Try again later, because the issue may be temporary.

    • Start up from another disk or volume, if available.

    • Use a bootable installer to reinstall macOS.

  5. If your Mac stays on a black screen or some other screen during startup, find out what to do if your Mac doesn’t start up all the way.

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