In the upshot of a serious problem with your Mac, you may need to reinstall your Mac operating system. There's a simple way to do this using your Mac Recovery sectionalization or via Mac Internet Recovery. You lot can admission the Recovery way via the keyboard combination Command + R on an Intel Mac (the process on an M1 Mac is slightly unlike as we will talk over below).

But what practise you lot exercise if Mac recovery mode isn't working or Command + R doesn't work?

We'll await at the all-time solutions to these problems below. If you want to acquire how to reinstall Mac OS using Recovery Style we cover that in a separate article (via the link in a higher place).

What is Mac Recovery?

A quick word on what Mac Recovery mode can do and how it works.

Most people don't really think most their hard drives (well, SSD these days) in terms of partitions. They just see the whole drive as one thing. A hard drive is typically a unmarried volume, but it is and then split upwardly into multiple areas, known as partitions or volumes. Call back of your difficult drive as the firm, and the partitions as unlike rooms. (Read: How to segmentation a Mac hard drive or SSD, or create a APFS volume for more information.)

You're used to only seeing one room in the house, the i which has your Desktop, Folders and Applications. But at that place are actually four partitions, and 1 is used in extreme cases where you may desire to completely reinstall the operating organization macOS (or Mac OS X on really former Macs).

Even if you completely wipe your Mac, and first again from scratch, the Recovery partition should nonetheless exist there to brand information technology possible to reinstall macOS, restore from your Time Machine backup, and repair or erase your hard disk. We expect in detail at what y'all tin can do in Recovery way hither.

Information technology'due south a problem if you demand to reinstall the operating system from scratch and the Recovery partition is missing or for some reason you can't access. A problem, but luckily there are solutions available.

Back in the days before Mac OS X Lion launched in 2022 there wasn't a Recovery partition, instead you lot needed to have a physical disc with the software on it and an optical drive to insert it into. These days it'southward rare to find a Mac with a optical drive, let alone find someone who has their original discs - non that Macs have shipped with install discs in recent times. We'll look at what to practise if you fit into this category later in this article.

Why is Command R not working?

There are a few reasons why yous might observe that Command + R doesn't piece of work and your Mac won't outset upwardly in Recovery Mode:

  • Number i reason correct at present is that your Mac is a M1 Mac - ane of the new Macs introduced since November 2022 which uses one of Apple tree'due south new processors rather than Intel. If that sounds similar yous there is a new way to enter Recovery on an M1 Mac. Nosotros embrace this in new ways to do things on M1 Macs, but we'll also discuss it below.
  • If your Mac is really former - as in then old it'due south running Mac OS X Snowfall Leopard or older - it will not have a Recovery sectionalization, the only way to reinstall the OS is to use the discs that shipped with the Mac. We'll look at what to practise in that case later.
  • If your Mac is running a version of macOS older than Sierra (which launched in 2022) then you won't have all the Recovery options available that yous may accept heard of.
  • The keyboard might be faulty or your Mac may not connect to information technology via Bluetooth - in which case, try using another - we propose one that plugs in directly.
  • Something might have corrupted your Recovery division, or you might accept deleted it while replacing your hard bulldoze, or installing Windows via Kick Army camp.

M1 Mac

How to enter Recovery when Command+R doesn't work

Follow these steps to find out why Recovery mode isn't working for y'all.

Step i: Try again

The first thing to attempt is to restart your Mac and press Command and R once again as you boot up. It may work the second fourth dimension.

Step 2: Check your keyboard

You may likewise want to check your keyboard (particularly if it's a Bluetooth keyboard). Try using a wired keyboard if possible. Perhaps y'all tin't enter Recovery because your keyboard isn't working.

Step 3: Make sure you lot are using the right Recovery command on an M1 Mac

You may also be using the wrong command for your Mac. If you have an M1 Mac so you should follow these steps to start in Recovery fashion:

How to enter Recovery on an M1 Mac:

  1. Plough off the Mac.
  2. Press the on button - and keep information technology pressed.
  3. When the Apple logo appears text volition announced informing you that if you continue holding the power push you volition be able to access startup options.
  4. Somewhen y'all volition exist able to select Options > Go along and this volition open up Recovery.

If Recovery mode isn't working on your M1 Mac then try 'fallback recovery manner'. This is a new feature for M1 Macs (detailed by Apple hither). It esseicnally replaces the Internet Recovery option found on Intel Macs.

To enter Fallback Recovery Mode on an M1 Mac you need to:

  • Double printing the power button: first press it, release, and and so printing and concur downward the ability button.

This gives you access to a second copy of the recoveryOS.

Pace iv: Endeavour alternative Recovery options for Intel Macs

In that location are a few other ways you might be able to force your Mac to starting time up in recovery mode if Control + R isn't working for you. Apple has a couple of other commands that y'all could try:

Yous could use Internet Recovery Way - an option that we volition talk over in more particular beneath. This method will download a version of macOS from the internet, which might be a solution if you lot can't access the Recovery sectionalisation on your Mac. We discuss Net Recovery Fashion in more detail in a section below.

  • Printing Pick/Alt + Command + R when you kicking up to enter Internet Recovery Mode.

Once you enter this mode you volition be able to access an Apple server to download the version of macOS. This will be the latest macOS compatible with your Mac. Note: If you lot aren't running Sierra 10.12.4 of later, this volition install the version that came with your Mac.

If yous don't desire to install the latest version of macOS endeavor this:

  • Shift + Option/Alt + Command R (if y'all are running Sierra 10.12.4 of later) will install the version of macOS that came with your Mac, or the one closest to it that is yet available.

Annotation that if your Mac has a T2 chip there may exist a unproblematic reason why Command + R isn't working for you. In that case:

  • Option/Alt + Command + R will install the latest macOS on your Mac if yous accept a T2 scrap.

What to do if Mac recovery mode isn't working

Perhaps you have tried the above and had no luck. Or peradventure you got into Recovery Mode simply for everything to freeze upwardly.

Possibly your Mac's disc is across repair and Recovery Mode inaccessible. In that instance our article virtually How to recover data from a damaged Mac might be helpful. For means to check whether your Recovery division is broken or missing jump to this section below.

There are some other options to endeavor earlier you endeavor to set up your Recovery partition though. Nosotros explain how to apply Net Recovery on Intel Macs and Fallback Recovery on M1 Macs side by side. We as well run through how to install macOS from a bootable USB stick below and in a split up commodity here: How to create a bootable USB macOS installer.

How to utilise Internet Recovery to reinstall macOS (Intel Macs)

How to restore a Mac without a recovery partition: Internet recovery

Here's what to do if you haven't got a recovery partitioning on your Mac and demand to reinstall macOS (in fact, even if you don't demand to reinstall macOS you probably should, because a missing Recovery Partition is not a good sign).

The first approach is to use a characteristic called Internet Recovery. Newer Macs are able to boot direct from an cyberspace connection, fifty-fifty with no Recovery partition available. Here is how to use macOS Internet Recovery:

  1. Close down your Mac.
  2. Hold down Command-Option/Alt-R and press the Ability push button. (On some Mac keyboards the Pick key volition be named Alt).
  3. Hold downwards those keys until you lot a spinning globe and the message "Starting Net Recovery. This may take a while".
  4. The message will exist replaced with a progress bar. Await for it to fill up. Wait it to have a while...
  5. Wait for the MacOS Utilities screen to appear.
  6. Click Reinstall macOS and follow the installation process.

If you have accessed Net Recovery mode it might be a very boring process depending on your connection speed. When nosotros experienced this trouble we connected our Mac to the hub via an Ethernet cablevision (you may demand an adapter, such as this Thunderbolt to Ethernet Adapter from Apple, £29/$29).

How to employ Fallback Recovery to reinstall macOS (M1 Macs)

If there is a problem with Recovery Mode on the M1 Mac there is a new 'fallback Recovery way', that is detailed past Apple tree here. In this case you double printing the power button: first press it, release, and then printing and hold down the power push.

Fallback recovery style accesses a second copy of the recoveryOS on the SSD of the Macs with M1 Chip. Apple says the second re-create is there for resiliency.

On M1:

  1. Close down your Mac.
  2. Printing and concur the Power push and look while your Mac starts up.
  3. Eventually you lot will see the Apple Logo. Once a "Loading Startup Options" message appears you tin let become of the Power push button.
  4. Now click on Options.
  5. This will take yous to the Recovery Manner.
  6. Cull your linguistic communication and click on Next.
  7. Wait for the net recovery screen to load.

How to restore a Mac with no Recovery division

It is possible to restore a Mac without a recovery partition, simply information technology can be tricky (peculiarly on older Macs). You have a few approaches available:

  • Use Internet Recovery to reinstall macOS on an Intel Mac with a missing recovery partition. Jump to this section to find out how to do that.
  • Create a bootable macOS installer to install a copy of macOS from.
  • Utilize your Time Machine fill-in as your start-up drive.
  • You may besides be able to create a Recovery segmentation, we await at how to do that here: How to create a Recovery partition on Mac.

We're going to look at these options below - but kickoff, a quick explanation of what a recovery partition is.

How to check if your Recovery partitioning is working

Recovery Mode macOS

Start y'all should bank check that your Mac definitely hasn't got a working Recovery partition. It'due south possible that you have been using the wrong key combination, or that your keyboard wasn't working, for example.

Equally higher up, you need to follow the usual method to accomplish Recovery Mode. And then, on an Intel Mac press Command + R, and on an M1 Mac printing On and keep it pressed until you see Choice.

Yet, despite pressing these primal combinations the Mac boots up to your normal view, or you're faced with a completely blank screen, then you haven't got a Recovery sectionalization.

If your Mac does kicking into macOS and then you can at least check Terminal to see if you take a recovery segmentation, hither'due south how to do that:

  1. Open up Last.
  2. Enter diskutil listing.

You should see a list of all the volumes and partitions on your computer. The kickoff drive (/dev/disk0) should have a partition (typically listed as "3" with Apple_Boot Recovery HD afterwards information technology). Try using the Command-R process once more.

You could also these tips to meet if it makes your Recovery partition miraculously appear.

  • Reset your PRAM or NVRAM: If you have an Intel Mac you could shut down your Mac and concord down Command-Option-P-R during boot. Wait for the chimes and permit get. (This isn't really an option on M1 Macs though, NVRAM does exist in M1 Macs, but it's not the aforementioned - we exercise talk over how to reset it here though if yous want to try: How to reset NVRAM on an M1 or Intel Mac).

Okay, then either your Recovery Partition is missing, or doesn't piece of work and you've tried everything. So information technology's time to look at reinstalling macOS without it. First, if it's an option here, yous should take fourth dimension to dorsum up upward your Mac using Fourth dimension Machine. This volition enable you lot to restore all your files, folders and apps one time yous've reinstalled macOS.

Create a macOS bootable installer on a flash drive

Terminal createinstallmedia

If you can't admission Internet Recovery, then you are left with the pick to create a bootable installer from a flash drive (at least 12GB in size). Note that this completely erases the USB flash drive, so be careful to remove whatsoever files from it get-go. We embrace how to create a bootable installer for macOS here, but we'll requite an overview of the method below.

The simplest style to create a USB flash installer it to use Terminal:

Open your Applications folder and look to see if you lot have the Install files for the version of macOS or Mac Os X you require. In the instance of Sierra or High Sierra you lot''ll see: something similar this, for example.

Install files for macOS

If you lot don't have the files read about how to get older versions of macOS or Mac Bone Ten here.

When you take got concord of the installer for the version of macOS that y'all require, follow these steps:

  1. Attach your USB flash drive to your Mac.
  2. Open Disk Utility.
  3. Select the volume (under External) in the sidebar. The Volume is the top part, not the division (which is underneath).
  4. Click Erase.
  5. Make certain it says "Untitled" in the Name field. Don't alter this. Click Erase.
  6. Open Terminal.
  7. Cut and paste the right createinstallmedia text into Concluding (the code will depend on the version of macOS, so nosotros suggest getting information technology from this commodity: createinstallmedia commands for versions of macOS. Information technology will await something like the below image.)
  8. You'll then need to enter your admin password. Then enter "y" and press Return. Information technology will first wipe your flash drive, then turn it into a bootable installer.

How to restore a Mac without a recovery partition: Create installer media

Wait to await a while for the process to finish.

Install macOS from the bootable installer

Now you lot tin can follow these steps to use the bootable installer:

  1. Make certain the bootable installer (USB flash drive) is continued to your Mac.
  2. Shut down your Mac.
  3. Hold down Selection/Alt and press the Ability push button.
  4. The startup device list window should appear displaying a yellow drive with Install (software name) beneath it.
  5. Select it and press Return. Wait for the progress bar to fill.
  6. Select Disk Utility.
  7. Select the drive under Internal (your main hard drive).
  8. Click Erase.
  9. Give the drive a proper name; "Macintosh Hd" is traditional merely you can choose. Ensure that the Format is Mac Bone Extended (Journaled) and the Scheme is GUID Division Map.
  10. Click Erase.
  11. Click Washed.
  12. Choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.
  13. Select Install macOS and click Continue.
  14. Follow the install macOS options.
  15. Select Macintosh Hard disk drive as the installation deejay, when presented, and click Install.

MacOS will now be installed on your hard drive from the bootable installer. The whole process can take around one-half an 60 minutes. Later this has finished you will have a new installation of macOS along with a Recovery division.

You may get the message: "This copy of the Install [macOS name] awarding can't be verified. Information technology may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading." If and so you lot need to conform the date and time in macOS.

How to reinstall Mac OS X on an older Mac without Recovery mode

As we mentioned above, if your Mac is running Snow Leopard or older, it won't have a Recovery partition. And then if everything goes pear shaped and you need to reinstall your operating system what can you do.

If you lot accept the original discs that shipped with the Mac, you lot should be able to use them.

If you don't have those discs, yous may be able to purchase them from Apple. Apple used to sell Snow Leopard until relatively recently for £19.99 only it is no longer available here. Apple does nonetheless explain how to get older OS X versions here.

You can all the same buy a copy of Lion from the Apple Store here, simply what you will receive is a download code, rather than physical discs.

One time you lot have the Mac App Store on your Mac y'all will be able to get a newer version of macOS.