How to restore Mac M1 and reinstall macOS

byFlorian published on

Along with the switch to Apple Silicon, performing tasks like a restore is different with M1 Macs compared to their Intel predecessors. Find out how to revive and restore Mac M1s, what's the difference, when to use them, and what to try before following these steps.

Performing a restore (factory reset) with Macs Intel uses macOS recovery. While this is always an option for doing things like reinstalling macOS on Mac M1s, there is a different process for completely restoring a Mac M1 or, in limited cases, the need to restart a Mac M1.

How to Revive and Restore Mac M1 - MacBook Air, Pro, and Mac mini

What is an M1 Mac revive?

Here's how Apple describes when you would need to 'restart' a Mac M1 and what it does:

In very rare circumstances, such as a power failure during a macOS upgrade, a Mac may become unresponsive and the firmware must therefore be reactivated. A revive updates the firmware and updates recoveryOS to the latest version. A revive is designed not to make changes to the startup volume, user data volume, or any other volume.

However, keep in mind that if you need to reinstall macOS after performing a relaunch, it will erase your drive.

What is an M1 Mac restore?

A restore will erase your Mac's drive, but it also restores the firmware, updates recoveryOS to the latest version, and reinstalls the latest version of macOS. As such, you will want your data to be backed up.

Ever tried reinstalling macOS?

If you can boot your M1 Mac to macOS recovery, you may be able to reinstall macOS without having to reactivate or perform a full restore which both require a second Mac and Apple Configurator 2. This will erase your drive.

  • When your Mac is off, press and hold the power button until you see "Loading Startup Options"
  • Choose Options and click Continue
  • If necessary, enter your password
  • Now choose Reinstall macOS and hit Continue and follow the instructions

What you need to restart or restore Mac M1

If you can't do that or want to completely restore your Mac M1, here's what you'll need:

  • A second Mac with the latest version of Apple Configurator 2 installed (and Internet access)
  • Apple notes, "You may need to configure your web proxy or firewall ports to allow all network traffic from Apple devices to the Apple 17.0.0.0/8 network." To learn more, click here.
  • A USB-C to USB-C cable (or USB-A to C cable) Apple notes that it must support power and data, and Thunderbolt 3 cables will not work for this process.

How to revive or restore

If your Mac M1 is unresponsive, you can first try a relaunch that won't erase your data. If that doesn't work or you know you want to erase your Mac M1, you can perform a restore. Here are the main steps:

  1. Launch Apple Configurator 2 on a secondary Mac and connect it to your Mac that's having issues
  2. Restart your unresponsive Mac M1 with a special sequence
  3. Use Apple Configurator 2 on the secondary Mac to restart or restore

On a secondary Mac (working)

  1. Make sure you are using the latest version of Apple Configurator 2
  2. Plugged in to the mains and connected to the Internet
  3. Connect the USB-C cable
  4. Launch Apple Configurator 2

Preparing a non-functional MacBook Air or Pro M1

  1. press the ignition button
  2. While holding down the power button, press all of these keys simultaneously for about 10 seconds
    • Right shift key
    • Left option key
    • Left control key
  3. After 10 seconds, release all keys except the power button until the Mac appears in Apple Configurator 2 on your secondary Mac

Apple notes that "You will not see any screen activity" on the Mac you are trying to wake up / restore.

Preparing a non-functional Mac mini M1

  1. Plug it into a monitor to see when the process is complete
  2. Unplug the power cable from your Mac mini for at least 10 seconds
  3. Press and hold the power button
  4. While pressing the power button, reconnect the power cable
  5. Release the power button
  6. You should see the status light turn red (amber) but you will not see any activity on the screen at this time

Relaunch from secondary Mac (running)

  • In Apple Configurator 2, select the Mac M1 you need to wake up / restore
  • From the menu bar at the top, choose Actions> Advanced
    • Or Control-click device> Advanced
  • Choose your favorite Revive Device
  • Apple notes that "When you re-enable the firmware, you should verify that the process was successful because Apple Configurator 2 may not alert you."
  • You can now exit Apple Configurator 2 and unplug the USB cable

Restore from secondary Mac (operational)

  • In Apple Configurator 2, choose the Mac M1 you want to restore
  • From the menu bar at the top, choose Actions> Restore
    • Or Ctrl-click M1 Mac> Restore
  • Choose Restore in the dialog box to confirm the process
  • The process may take a while and during this time the Apple logo will appear and disappear
  • Your Mac will restart when the process is complete
  • As with a relaunch, "When you restore the Mac, you should verify that the process was successful because Apple Configurator 2 may not alert you." "
  • Apple points out that when a restore is successful for a Mac M1, the macOS setup wizard will appear
  • You are ready to exit Apple Configurator 2 on your secondary Mac and unplug the USB cable.

To learn more about relaunching and restoring Mac M1s, you can find Apple's support document here. And here is the support documentation on using macOS Recovery with Mac M1s, including reinstalling macOS.

Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more information on Apple:

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