Use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon
macOS Recovery is the built-in recovery system of your Mac.
You can use the apps in macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon to repair your internal disk, reinstall macOS, restore your files from a Time Machine backup, set the security policy for different disks, transfer files between two Mac computers, start up in safe mode, and more.
Reinstalling macOS requires an internet connection. To connect to the internet, you can use a wireless or wired network connection. See Connect to the internet using Wi-Fi.
Note: if you’re trying to connect to a captive portal (for example, at a coffee shop, library, or hotel) or an enterprise network, you might not be able to access the internet in macOS Recovery.
Apps available in macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon
The following apps are available in macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon:
Recovery: The Recovery app provides access to additional apps in macOS Recovery. See Start up your computer in macOS Recovery and Quit macOS Recovery.
Time Machine System Restore: Restore your data from a Time Machine backup. In the Recovery app window, select Restore From Time Machine, then click Continue. To return to the Recovery app, choose Time Machine System Restore > Quit Time Machine System Restore. See Use Time Machine to restore your system.
Install macOS: Reinstall macOS on your computer. In the Recovery app window, select Reinstall macOS, then click Continue. To return to the Recovery app, choose Install macOS Big Sur > Quit Install macOS. See Reinstall macOS.
Safari: In the Recovery app window, select Safari, then click Continue. To return to the Recovery app, choose Safari > Quit Safari. If you’re connected to the internet, you can use Safari to search for more information on the Apple Support website. Note that Safari browser plug-ins and extensions are disabled in macOS Recovery.
Disk Utility: Repair or erase your disk. In the Recovery app window, select Disk Utility, then click Continue. To return to the Recovery app, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility. See Erase and reinstall macOS and Repair your internal disk.
Startup Security Utility: Set the security policies for your Mac. In the Recovery app, choose Utilities > Startup Security Utility. To return to the Recovery app, choose Startup Security Utility > Quit Startup Security Utility. See Set the security policy.
Terminal: Change settings via the command line. In the Recovery app window, choose Utilities > Terminal. To return to the Recovery app, choose Terminal > Quit Terminal.
Share Disk: Share the disk of a Mac that’s started up in macOS Recovery. In the Recovery app, choose Utilities > Share Disk. See Use Share Disk to transfer files between two Mac computers.
Startup Disk: Set the startup disk for the Mac. Choose Apple menu
You can also use macOS Recovery to perform the following tasks:
Start up your computer in macOS Recovery
Choose Apple menu
Press and hold the power button on your Mac until you see “Loading startup options.”
Click Options, then click Continue.
If requested, enter the password for an administrator account.
Start up your computer in safe mode
Choose Apple menu
Press and hold the power button on your Mac until you see “Loading startup options.”
Select a volume.
Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in safe mode.
The computer restarts automatically.
Set the default startup volume and restart your computer
Choose Apple menu
Press and hold the power button on your Mac until you see “Loading startup options.”
Select a volume.
Press and hold the Option key, then click Always Use.
The computer restarts automatically.
Connect to the internet using Wi-Fi
If the Wi-Fi menu icon (in the upper-right corner of the screen) contains one or more bars 
, Wi-Fi is turned on and connected to a wireless network. If the Wi-Fi menu icon doesn’t contain any bars 
, Wi-Fi is turned on but isn’t connected to a wireless network. If the Wi-Fi menu icon has a slash through it 
, Wi-Fi is turned off. Wi-Fi needs to be turned on before you can join a wireless network.
On your Mac, do any of the following:
Turn on Wi-Fi: Click the Wi-Fi menu icon, then choose Turn Wi-Fi On.
Turn off Wi-Fi: Click the Wi-Fi menu icon, then choose Turn Wi-Fi Off.
Join a network: Click the Wi-Fi menu icon, then choose a network. If requested, type the network’s password.
Join a closed network: Click the Wi-Fi menu icon, then choose Join Other Network. Enter the network’s name and, if requested, the network’s password.
Repair your internal disk
If you have issues with your computer or if you started your computer and saw the macOS Recovery window, you may need to repair your computer’s internal disk.
In the Recovery app window, select Disk Utility, then click Continue.
In the Disk Utility app, select your disk in the list on the left.
Click the First Aid button, click Run, then follow the onscreen instructions.
If Disk Utility can’t repair your disk, back up as much of your information as possible, then follow the instructions in erase and reinstall macOS.
To return to the Recovery app, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.
Use Time Machine to restore your system
If you previously created a Time Machine backup, use Restore From Time Machine Backup to restore everything on your computer to its previous condition.
Important: Only use your Time Machine backup to restore information to the computer that is the source of the backup. If you want to transfer information from this Mac to a new computer, quit macOS Recovery, restart your Mac, then use the Migration Assistant app in macOS.
If your backup is on a Time Capsule, make sure you’re connected to the internet.
In the Recovery window, select Restore From Time Machine Backup, then click Continue.
In the Time Machine System Restore app, follow the onscreen instructions.
Reinstall macOS
Under some circumstances, you may need to reinstall macOS. You can reinstall macOS while keeping your files and user settings intact.
Make sure you’re connected to the internet.
In the Recovery app window, click Reinstall macOS, then click Continue.
Important: In the pane where you select a disk, select your current macOS disk (in most cases, it’s the only one available).
Follow the onscreen instructions.
Erase and reinstall macOS
If you erase and reinstall macOS, your user accounts, network settings, and all of the files and folders on your Mac are deleted. Before you erase macOS, attempt to log back in to your system following the instructions below, then back up any files you want to keep by copying them to another disk or storage device. Also write down your network settings from Network preferences to make it easier to get connected again after reinstalling macOS.
Make sure you’re connected to the internet.
In the Recovery app window, click Disk Utility, then click Continue.
Select your disk in the list on the left, then click the Erase button.
Enter a name for your disk, choose APFS from the Format pop-up menu, then click Erase.
After the disk has been erased, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.
Select Reinstall macOS, click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Set the security policy
In the Recovery app, choose Utilities > Startup Security Utility.
Select the system you want to use to set the security policy.
If the disk is encrypted with FileVault, click Unlock, enter the password, then click Unlock.
Click Security Policy.
Review the following security options:
Full Security: Ensures that only your current OS, or signed operating system software currently trusted by Apple, can run. This mode requires a network connection at software installation time.
Reduced Security: Allows any version of signed operating system software ever trusted by Apple to run.
If necessary, select Reduced Security, enter your administrator user name and password, then do one of the following:
Select the “Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers” checkbox to allow installation of software that uses legacy kernel extensions.
Select the “Allow remote management of kernel extensions and automatic software updates” checkbox to authorize remote management of legacy kernel extensions and software updates using a mobile device management (MDM) solution.
Click OK.
Restart your Mac for the changes to take effect.
Use Share Disk to transfer files between two Mac computers
You can transfer files between a Mac booted into macOS Recovery and another Mac by sharing a volume and connecting the two computers with a USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt cable.
Connect the two computers with a USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt cable.
In the Recovery app, choose Utilities > Share Disk.
Select the volume you want to share, then click Start Sharing.
On the other Mac, open a Finder window, then click Network in the sidebar under Locations.
In the Network window, double-click the Mac that has the shared disk, click Connect As, select Guest in the Connect As window, then click Connect.
Transfer the files.
When you’re done transferring files, eject the volume on the other Mac.
Quit macOS Recovery
Your Mac restarts automatically while restoring your system from Time Machine or reinstalling macOS. In other cases, you need to quit macOS Recovery manually (for example, if you want to back up your files before reinstalling macOS, or if you just changed a setting using Startup Security Utility).
On your Mac, do one of the following:
Restart your Mac: Choose Apple menu
Choose a different startup disk before restarting your Mac: Choose Apple menu
Shut down your Mac: Choose Apple menu