How to Reinstall macOS Using Internet Recovery
Boot an Intel or Apple Silicon Mac into Internet Recovery mode, format internal storage using Disk Utility, and cleanly reinstall a fresh macOS operating system.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Mac computer (Intel or Apple Silicon)
- ✓ Apple power adapter and charging cable
- ✓ Wi-Fi router with reliable internet connection
- ✓ External USB backup drive
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Apple ID credentials
- ✓ Wi-Fi network SSID and password
- ✓ Ethernet cable with USB-C adapter (optional)
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Ensure the Mac remains connected to wall power throughout the entire reinstallation to avoid firmware corruption.
- • Verify all critical data is backed up before formatting, as Disk Utility erase operations are irreversible.
- • Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks requiring captive portal browser logins, as recovery mode cannot display login pages.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Connect Power and Shut Down Mac
Plug your Mac into continuous wall power using its official charging cable. Save any open files to an external drive, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, and select Shut Down. Wait until the screen goes completely black and all peripheral indicator lights turn off.
- • Power adapter LED illuminates or screen shows battery charging icon.
- • Mac display is completely dark with no backlight bleed.
- • Attempting the reinstall on battery power.
- • Selecting Restart instead of a complete Shut Down.
Trigger Internet Recovery Mode
For Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3), press and hold the power button until 'Loading startup options' appears. For Intel Macs, press the power button and immediately hold Option-Command-R until a spinning globe appears. Release the keys once the visual recovery indicator is displayed on screen.
- • A spinning globe icon with 'Starting Internet Recovery' or the macOS Options gear icon appears on screen.
- • Releasing the key combination too early on Intel Macs.
- • Quickly tapping the power button instead of holding it on Apple Silicon Macs.
Select Wi-Fi Network
When prompted by the Wi-Fi dropdown menu on the recovery screen, select your private network. Enter your Wi-Fi password using the on-screen prompt and press Return. Wait for the progress bar beneath the globe to begin filling.
- • Wi-Fi network icon displays active signal bars.
- • A progress bar and timer appear beneath the spinning globe.
- • Selecting a 5GHz network with a weak signal instead of a strong 2.4GHz network.
- • Selecting an open hotel or university network requiring web browser authentication.
Format Storage in Disk Utility
In the macOS Recovery Utilities window, select 'Disk Utility' and click Continue. Click 'View' in the toolbar and select 'Show All Devices', then select your top-level internal SSD (e.g., Apple SSD). Click 'Erase', set the name to 'Macintosh HD', format to 'APFS', scheme to 'GUID Partition Map', and confirm the erase.
- • Disk Utility displays a single container labeled 'Macintosh HD' formatted as APFS.
- • Operation successful confirmation checkmark appears.
- • Erasing only a sub-volume instead of the top-level container.
- • Choosing Mac OS Extended instead of APFS on modern macOS versions.
Run the macOS Installer
Quit Disk Utility to return to the Recovery Utilities window, then click 'Reinstall macOS' and select Continue. Agree to the software licensing terms, select 'Macintosh HD' as the installation destination, and click Install. Allow the Mac to download files and reboot automatically without manual intervention.
- • A large macOS system icon appears with a progress bar and 'About X minutes remaining'.
- • The computer automatically reboots to an Apple logo screen.
- • Closing the MacBook lid while the installation is underway.
- • Selecting an external backup disk as the destination drive.
Complete Setup Assistant
When the installation finishes, the multi-language 'Hello' welcome screen will appear. Select your country or region, configure accessibility options, and connect to Wi-Fi. Sign in with your Apple ID or choose 'Set Up Later' to land on the clean macOS desktop.
- • The 'Hello' screen renders in multiple languages.
- • Default macOS desktop with Finder dock and top menu bar is visible.
- • Restoring a full Time Machine backup immediately if you intended a fresh troubleshooting baseline.
- • Skipping FileVault disk encryption configuration.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by Techable Labs — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Wi-Fi connection? Direct Ethernet connection via USB-C adapter