How to use an M1 Mac’s Recovery system to boot in Safe mode, boot from another disk, and use its other important features. With a map.
recovery mode
Most users won’t have noticed, but Recovery now works quite differently on M1 series Macs than it did in Big Sur. Here’s a detailed explanation of the changes.
There’s 1 True Recovery, Fallback Recovery and one other recovery mode. Disambiguation, explanation and how this changed in macOS 11.4.
You may encounter this when trying to boot into Fallback Recovery Mode. Currently it doesn’t appear to be fully functional, and doesn’t help.
Created when you update macOS, its Fallback Recovery OS is made from the previous Recovery OS. Here’s how to check whether it’s available on your M1 Mac.
Apple has revealed the hidden Fallback Recovery OS mode available on M1 Macs. How to enter and use it, and why it’s another big plus.
From Startup Manager to Internet Recovery on Intel Macs, and how to engage each of those in an M1 Mac. With comprehensive diagrams.
Intel Macs have 14 different startup modes and variations, each engaged using different key combinations. One True Recovery replaces those with a single action and GUI with help. It’s a big step forward.
If you try booting into Big Sur in Remote (Internet) Recovery, you’ll get Catalina instead. But nowhere does Apple alert users to this problem.
A short introduction to some of the highlights and quirks of M1 Macs, from dealing with apps which don’t run properly, to entering Recovery Mode and dealing with disaster.
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