Steps
4. Enter Recovery
Cmd+R on Intel, power-hold on Apple Silicon — timing matters on both.
Turn the Mac on (or restart it) and immediately press and hold Command (⌘) + R — start holding right after pressing power, before or during the startup chime, not after the screen lights up.
Keep holding both keys until the Apple logo or a spinning globe appears, then release. Don't let go at the chime — too early and it boots normally.
Wait for the macOS Utilities window to load.
Related combinations, held the exact same way — press immediately, release at the Apple logo/globe:
| Keys | What you get |
|---|---|
| ⌘R | Built-in Recovery; the latest macOS that was installed on this Mac |
| ⌥⌘R | Internet Recovery; upgrades to the latest macOS this Mac supports |
| ⇧⌥⌘R | Internet Recovery; the macOS the Mac shipped with (or closest still available) |
| ⌥ | Startup Manager, the boot-device picker — see Step 5 |
If a padlock prompt appears instead of the Apple logo, that's a firmware password — go to Step 3.