Restore macOS on an Apple Silicon M1 Mac! + Boot to DFU Mode Deep Dive Tutorial - MacBook Pro & Air!

Restore macOS Firmware on an Apple Silicon Mac + Boot to DFU Mode

Main Article

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. I wrote an article covering all the changes to macOS Recovery here.

Order of that you should follow for reinstalling macOS on Apple Silicon.

1. macOS Recovery
2. System Recovery – (Will boot automatically if macOS Recovery is unavailable)
3. macOS Big Sur USB Installer Drive – (External boot for macOS Installers is enabled by default on Apple Silicon)
4. Apple Configurator 2 REVIVE option – This option will reinstall macOS Recovery (retains user data on the SSD hard drive)
5. Apple Configurator 2 RESTORE option – This option will Reinstall macOS Recovery, ERASE your SSD hard drive and reinstall macOS
Apple has just posted a new articles on macOS recovery, booting to DFU mode and how to restore macOS Firmware.

Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon with Apple Configurator 2
Apple Silicon M1 Mac Mini
Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air
Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Pro 13"

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

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

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

Links

Twitter

Mac Transition to Apple Silicon Everything you need to know!

New Article How to reinstall macOS on your Apple Silicon Mac

macOS ISPW Firmware Database - Download Full macOS ISPW Files!

MacOS Big Sur Index of need to know changes! (UPDATED)

macOS System Status (Issues) – OS, Xprotect & App Version Database

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[Mr.Macintosh]

This video is a deep dive into everything that you might need to know about restoring macOS using DFU mode on a 2nd Mac. I go over the cables that you need, the OS requirements, Apple Configurator 2, ISPW files and where to download them and troubleshooting. Let me know if you have any questions!

[ramshadurrani]

Absolutely God sent.
I just bought my apple silicon macbookpro and accidentally deleted all hard drive trying to reboot, i am very blessed to have my sisters macbook pro (intel, 2020) AND THIS VIDEO THAT MADE A TECH NAIVE PERSON LIKE ME ACTUALLY RESTORE MY MAC 🥵❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ thankyou so much for this video Sir! Can everyone pls appreciate his calming voice and style of troubleshooting problems. Handsdown the best channel on YT for me❤️

[JettingChen]

Thank you for showing how differently you entered DFU compared to the Apple Document page AND showing both scenarios of 11.0.1 and 11.0.0 . That helped me solve my issue.

[markmccormick]

Absolutely fantastic info on this site. My wife just got a silicon M1 MacBook Air and after installing her time machine backup with the initial new computer install the WiFi would not work. Even though the network symbol showed full bars, the computer kept saying you are not connected to the internet...therefore no mail, no safari, no siri. So we decided to try an erase and restore and since it is not in Intel machine...we did not know how to proceed. Mr. Macintosh had videos and several options that we could not find on apple sites (at least not that were understandable, thorough and worked. His did and w are back working! Thanks much.

[TheMaxwilder]

Just did this.
To get to DFU Mode, I found I had to switch from my LG UltraFine 4K Display Thunderbolt 3 to a Belkin Thunderbolt 3 cable ( perhaps a bad cable )
Once I switch the cable, it immediately connected to DFU Mode in the Apple Configurator 2 app.
The rest went extremely smooth and was done in about 90 min.
Thanks for the video, Sir!

[PointKnowledge]

My operation failed. Later, I found a key point. You must keep pressing the power button for 1-2 seconds, and then press other key combinations. I was successful like this. You can try

[petriseppanen]

Huge thanks for your help :) It was difficult to get my M1 to DFU mode, butt your pieces of advice did solve the problem. I have a hint for you. You can use a virtual machine and MacOs on a Windows machine also. I can tell you more if you want.

[brianbeaumont]

I think you’ve been meaning to say IPSW File instead of ISPW. No big deal, just wanted to be accurate. Great video by the way and super detailed. Keep them coming. Thanks. You do have IPSW on your site.

[ringokarim]

how to open the window "All devices" in the macbook air thank you

[alinalvdemkiv]

Hi, I have a problem. When I start the process of installing my MacBook, at about 50 minutes before the end of the installation, it suddenly shuts down and does not turn on.Maybe you know what to do in such a situation?

[michaelineichen]

Even after DFU restore it stays stuck with the apple logo. No missing Drive Icon nor able to start the globe for internet boot…

[DevanKula]

i am getting system cannot be restored due to the device added from invalid state restoring please advice

[adriana-talmeida]

I bought a Mac M1 2020 and without knowing how it entered recoveyactivate mode, I asked Apple for support with proof that it belongs to me, I sent an invoice for my purchase, but they refused to help me, now I'm without a Mac and with twelve installments to pay, What do I do, help!

[IndianVloggerSmita]

Thank you so much for nice and useful explaination

[eraytanrver]

Excellent. Mr. Macintosh can you confirm whether the same combination to enter DFU mode works or not now?

[lazo-sixstar]

Great you solved my issue. Keep it up 👍, Thank you .

[shubhanggupta]

My keyboard and trackpad are also not working what should I do??

[Silvakia]

How are you supposed to do this if you don’t have a second Mac?

[mrbela]

You saved my day!! Thanks a lot for you video! (MBP M1 2020)

[rossm]

Hi Mr Mac - I tried it and everything went as per video with one exception. I still had the activation screen. My outcome was not at all per your video. Did I miss a step / a key???