What is Mac Recovery Mode and How to Use It

If your Mac is not booting normally, the startup disk may be damaged or corrupted. The reasons behind this could be a corrupted file or a slight power surge that you are not aware of. Either way, macOS’s Recovery Mode can be effective in solving such problems without resorting to extreme measures like reinstalling macOS.

With the Mac Recovery Mode functionality, you can fix this problem and repair the startup disk, restore from a backup or reinstall macOS after a fatal error that prevents it from booting properly.

We’ll explain what macOS Recovery Mode is and the steps to use it when diagnosing and fixing any problems or completely reinstalling macOS.

What is Mac Recovery Mode?

Mac Recovery Mode is a special macOS mode that installs local recovery tools that help you restore from a Time Machine backup, get online help, reinstall macOS or erase a hard drive, and more.

Recovery tools are installed from a special partition that contains a recovery image and a copy of the macOS installer.

Recovery Mode comes in handy if you’re unable to recover your computer in other ways, when diagnosing Disk problems, installing previous macOS running on your Mac, or getting online help.

Mac Recovery Mode comes with four main features:

• Restore from Time Machine Backup: Time Machine copies all your files, operating system, and settings, and you can then copy them to an external hard drive and use it to restore your Mac’s data. This erases the current disk.
• Disk Utility: This feature will scan, verify and repair your drives from the recovery screen in case of a problem. It is a faster and more convenient method than wiping and reinstalling your computer.
• reinstall macOS: This feature deletes the current operating system and its data, replacing it with a clean version. Upload your files to iCloud or other storage before use, and then reinstall the operating system.
• Get Online Help: This feature allows you to use Safari to troubleshoot any internet connection or other computer related issues.

When to Use Recovery Mode on macOS

The Recovery Mode tool first appeared with OS X 10.7 Lion in 2010. It contains the latest version of macOS you have installed so you can troubleshoot your computer. You may never need to use it unless you want to:

• Erase your computer to give away or sell it. Recovery Mode allows you to erase it and remove all your data and Apple ID.
• Troubleshoot problems such as startup errors.
• Use Disk Utility to make repairs when there are problems with your disk, or when the Disk Utility tool is unable to repair problems with your drive.
• Revert to an older version of macOS.
• Perform a clean install of macOS to fix any issues that slow it down.
• Erase your disk.
• Fixing internet connection problems.
• You want to restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup.

How to Use Recovery Mode on macOS

Stage 1: Boot into Recovery Mode by shutting down and restarting your Mac. While starting up, hold Command and ‘R’ keys to enter Recovery Mode.

step 2: Release the Command and ‘R’ keys when you see the Apple logo, spinning globe, or any other startup screen. If prompted, enter a password for the Mac (user admin or firmware password) and continue to the next step.

Stage 3: If you see the macOS Utilities window, initialization is complete. Here you will see the four services that Recovery Mode offers: Restore from Time Machine backup, reinstall macOS, Get Online Help, and Disk Utility. The Utilities menu in the menu bar has extra utilities such as Network Utility, Startup Security Utility, and Terminal.

Step 4: Exit Recovery Mode by going to the Apple menu and click Restart or Shut Down. You can choose a different startup disk from the Apple menu before exiting.

Depending on what you want to do with Recovery Mode, there are different key combinations to use at startup. The Command+R shortcut is helpful when installing the latest version of macOS on your Mac before the problem occurred. The Option/Alt+Command+R shortcut works when upgrading to the latest version of macOS compatible with your Mac. The Shift+Option+Command+R shortcut works when installing the version of macOS your Mac has, or the closest version available if it’s not available as a download.

What To Do If You Can’t Boot In macOS Recovery Mode

If macOS Recovery doesn’t work, force boot into Recovery Mode over the internet. You can do this manually by holding down Option/Alt+Command+R or Shift+Option+Command+R at startup.

When you do, you will initially see a spinning globe instead of the usual Apple logo.

If that doesn’t help the Mac boot, try booting using an external Mac startup disk or bootable installer.

note: You must have an internet connection to use Internet Recovery, Get Online Help, or reinstall the macOS utility.

When to Use Internet Recovery

Internet Recovery is useful when your Mac cannot create a partition for Recovery HD because the drive has been partitioned and replaced with Boot Camp Assistant, or you are using a RAID volume that does not support the recovery partition.

Even if the partition was created successfully, Recovery Mode may not be able to access the partition due to serious system errors or damage to the drive.

In such cases, your Mac will automatically start Internet Recovery, but you cannot access that mode if there is a working recovery partition. Reinstalls the original macOS version that came with your Mac, which is the factory-installed version. And this may not be the latest version.

Internet Recovery uses embedded code that contains an image for a specific operating system on your computer. When you enter this mode, this image is forwarded to the Apple servers, sending a request for the correct reinstallation codes.

Booting from Internet Recovery mode takes longer than using regular partition-based recovery. It also requires an internet connection, so make sure yours is strong and stable and your Mac is carrying enough charge.

Restore Your Beloved Mac to Full Health

Recovery Mode is the last resort to use when troubleshooting boot problems on your Mac. Regular scans are a better way to ensure you don’t have to use this tool anytime soon, before problems turn into worse ones.

Next: If you’re having trouble updating or restoring your Apple TV, entering recovery mode may fix it. Find out how in our next article.