When your system has a startup or disk-related problems, you must enter recovery mode to fix them. Recovery mode is used to troubleshoot and recover your computer. You can also restore your backup and get in touch with the Apple servers through this mode.
Recovery mode can be accessed during the system startup. However, the exact process to do so depends on your Mac’s chipset characteristics. So, Intel Mac users and Apple Silicon Mac users should follow a different key combination to enter the recovery mode.
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Before You Begin
As we mentioned above, the steps to enter the recovery mode depends on if you have an Intel Mac or Apple SIlicon. So, before you enter this mode, it’s important to note down your chipset information.
- Open Finder.
- From the menu bar, go to Apple > About This Mac.
- Select System Report.
- Click on Hardware from the sidebar.
- Check your Chip information.
How to Enter Recovery Mode on Mac?
The steps to enter recovery mode are briefed below. But before we do so, let’s look at how you can look at your hardware characteristics, especially your chipset information.
On Intel Mac
If you have an Intel Mac, follow these steps to enter recovery mode:
- Shut down the system.
- Press Power and start it up again.
- As soon as it starts up, hold Command + R.
- Keep on holding these keys until you see the apple icon.
- You’ll now reach the macOS recovery window.
On Apple Silicon Mac
If you have an Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M2), follow these steps to enter recovery mode:
- Shut down the system.
- Hold the Power key as your system starts up.
- Keep on holding the keys until you get the startup Options.
- Select Options and click on Continue.
- You’ll now reach the macOS recovery window.
How to Enter Internet Recovery Mode?
Internet recovery mode is an alternative recovery window for Intel Mac computers. It functions and operates the same as the original recovery mode. The one difference between these two recovery windows is that the original recovery mode loads up through your disk drive, while the internet recovery mode loads up through the Apple server.
- Shut down the system.
- Keep it turned off for around 10-15 seconds.
- Then, hold the Power + Command + Option + Shift + R keys together.
- Release the hold after you see a spinning globe icon on the screen.
- You’ll now enter the internet recovery mode.
How to Enter Fallback Recovery Mode?
Fallback recovery mode is only available on Apple Silicon Macs. Unlike the internet recovery mode, the fallback mode is accessed through your internal disk drive. It’s like a secondary copy of the original recovery mode and is used when you can’t load up the original.
So, here’s how you can access the fallback recovery window:
- Shut down the system.
- Tap the Power button once and release it quickly.
- Immediately hold down the Power button again.
- Release the hold after you see the Apple icon on the screen.
Recovery Mode and Its Features
Recovery mode has a couple of different features. Most users access this mode to restore their time machine backup. Along with this, here are some tools you can access from the recovery mode.
- Restore From Time Machine Backup: Copy your Time Machine backup files and paste them onto the OS
- Reinstall macOS: Reinstall the entire operating system
- Get Help Online: Connect to the Apple Servers through Safari
- Disk Utility: Maintain your external/internal hard drive health
- Terminal: Access your Mac’s command line interface
