DFU Restore M1, M2 or M3 MacBook Pro/Air & IPSW Reinstall macOS + DFU Mode 3 different ways!

This video will show you 3 different ways to boot your NEW 14" & 16" Apple Silicon MacBook Pro + Air into DFU mode so you can Restore or Revive macOS!! UPDATES & CHAPTERS BELOW!

UPDATES:
#1. Current Apple Configurator Version is 2.17

0:00 DFU Mode Intro
0:30 Updates & Chapters
0:42 I will show you 3 ways to boot DFU Mode
1:00 Why would you need to use DFU Mode
2:15 Getting Started booting into DFU Mode
2:56 Missing USB-C charge Cable for 14” & 16”
3:45 Which cables will work?
4:21 Prerequisites for DFU Mode
6:39 How to boot 14” MacBook Pro into DFU Mode
7:11 How to boot 16” MacBook Pro into DFU Mode
9:17 How to boot 13” MacBook Pro/Air into DFU Mode
10:44 #2 NEW FASTER way to boot into DFU Mode
12:26 #3 THE FASTEST way to boot into DFU macvdmtool
14:46 Prerequisites for IPSW AC2 to Revive & Restore macOS
16:48 M1 Mac can you downgrade macOS?
17:45 Using AC2 to Revive & Restore macOS
19:00 Any questions & Thank you!

Support Mr. Macintosh

LINKS!
MacOS Big Sur and Monterey IPSW Download files

Apple Configurator 2 Download

macvdmtool Download

macvdmtool Install Instructions

Supplies - (Support Mr. Macintosh with Amazon Affiliate Links) As an affiliate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made using the link

Belkin USB-C to USB-A for older Macs

AmazonBasics USB Type-C to USB-A 2.0 Male Charger Cable, 6 Feet (1.8 Meters), Black

6.6ft (2m) Thunderbolt 3 Cable, 100W 20Gbps, Nylon Braided, Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 3 Cord, for Thunderbolt 3 (USB C) Hub, Adapter, Devices, 20V/5A

Anker USB C Hub Adapter, PowerExpand+ 7-in-1 USB C Hub, with 4K USB C to HDMI, 60W Power Delivery, 1Gbps Ethernet, 2 USB 3.0 Ports, SD and microSD Card Readers, for MacBook Pro and Other USB C Laptops

Anker USB C Hub [Upgraded], 5-in-1 USB C Adapter with 4K USB C to HDMI, Ethernet Port, 3 USB 3.0 Ports, for MacBook Pro, iPad Pro

Apple DFU & Apple Configurator 2 Article

Main Article

Apple Configurator gives you 2 options

Restore - You can erase & reinstall macOS on your mac in under 10 minutes
Revive - This will retain user data and reinstall macOS recovery if you are having problems booting into macOS recovery.

This mode will also help you if your Mac will not boot or if it is booting to an exclamation point.

I will go over how to restore macOS on your new Apple Silicon Mac. Your first line of defense for installing macOS on Apple Silicon should be macOS Recovery. But if for some reason you are having problems with that you can boot your Apple Silicon Mac with a Big Sur USB installer drive.

Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon with Apple Configurator 2 Hardware Compatibility
2020 Apple Silicon M1 Mac Mini
2020 Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air
2020 Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Pro 13"
2021 Apple Silicon M1 24" iMac
2021 Apple Silicon M1 Pro & Max 14" & 16" MacBook Pro

Links

Twitter

New Article How to reinstall macOS on your Apple Silicon Mac

macOS ISPW Firmware Database - Download Full macOS ISPW Files!

macOS Big Sur Full Installers Download!

macOS Big Sur Full Installers Download!

Subscribe to "The Apple Ninja's" YouTube! If it wasn't for him, I would not even be on YouTube today. Thank you!!!

[noahmihalik]

Thank you! I am an IT tech with a customers dead M1 Max Macbook Pro that wont get past the apple logo. This helped me get it into DFU mode where none of the apple documentation would

[-Will-]

Think my battery died during an upgrade. MBP14 M1 wouldn't start up or go into recovery mode. This is by far the best video for getting into DFU mode. I wasn't able to until I watched this. Thank you so much!

[gooden]

My M1 MacBook Pro decided to go crazy and give me a black screen. Spent all day trying to recover and get off months of data that wasn’t backed up (won’t make that mistake again). This saved my butt and let me recover all my work data. Thank you for this video!

[wassimcherouana]

God bless him just revived my imac 2021 😭 after hours trying

[summoner]

2 years later.. found this video, and it got me instantly into DFU on an m1 2020.. after trying the key combo for half a day (also with the wrong cable lol)

[bolelemax]

Can I download the Ventura Final M1 IPSW file for a macbook pro i9 intel and drag it into apple configuration 2?

[eustices]

Thanks! - This really worked for me, DFU mode was explained and demoed perfectly.

[orxion]

it appears Apple Configurator 2 is gone, its just configurator now (no numbers), but its version 2, 17 so that's probably it .. just confusing that everybody is talking about version 2 :))

anyway, you're the man .. I have tried several YouTube "how to do" videos, but always running in to error 21, which according to some was wrong USB-C cable, but after watching you, I gave it last try .. used my iPhone and stopwatch app, to count 10 seconds .. and .. what a surprised, it worked, just like a magic .. thx, really appreciate it :)

[C-S-G]

Thank you so much! I was able to restore my 13” with a windows computer running VMWARE workstation pro (trial) with a macos vm patch

[FalkBerger]

Thank you Sir, you saved my day. My new 14" M1 MacBook was broken during upgrading to macOS Monterey version 10.3 and the solution was to revive the system with DFU mode and with the old macOS 10.2.1 ISPW file. It wasn't possible to revive the device with the new - default - version 10.3 in DFU mode (libusbrestore error 2006). No data loss and a lot of time saved.💐

[danadalessandro]

OMG, you are a lifesaver! I was trying to restore my wife's computer after I "hand me down" to her. I failed to erase it proper so I have not been able to run updates as I wasn't "owner". In the process of trying to reset, I completely hosed it. This saved me a lot of time and effort, thank you!

[emailant]

Just want to say thank you so much! Apple Support articles just don't illustrate the recovery well enough compared to your actual demonstration. Saved me heaps of time trying and failing and not even knowing why. 🙏🙏

[lexwaldez]

Good lord you mad lad you got my user's MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021) back up and running. You HAVE to use an Apple Thunderbolt cable, not any USB-C cable will do. I followed Apple's directions and couldn't get it to connect properly - it kept coming up in locked mode not recovery model. I did it like you demonstrated and it worked perfectly. Thank you so much!!!

[stefanwuensch]

WOW! Just wow! I spent more than 2 hours struggling with this 16" 2021 model (before I found this video!) because of the different timing. THANKS!!

[akronite]

Found a much easier way and works everytime for me even when it is on!
1. Turn off the Mac (or leave it on)
2. Once it starts booting, hold the power/keyboard combo (right shift, left control, left option) until it shuts off
3. Count to 3
4. Release all but the power button for 7 seconds (or until it shows up in AC2)

[divawatts]

You are fantastic been trying for hours to get into DFU mode. Using your timing count

[Meditation_Music_]

Thank you, tried to use Apple official instructions and there was no mention about the extra seconds for the original MacBook M1 2020 DFU! Your video is awesome. Saved me time and money. Thank you!

[aleksejssitdikovs]

Thanks for this new way of entering DFU. This one has only worked for me!

[jonathankeith]

Super helpful - I was getting stumped on restoring via a downloaded IPSW and your very thorough instructions did the trick. 😁 Thank you!

[vhxrgsj]

Wow two days strugling and this fixed it just connecting cable and and running dfu blaster, was bricked, completely deadand fixed in 5 seconds. Thanks