How to Use Internet Recovery in macOS 13

When the local recovery partition on macOS 13 (Ventura) is damaged or inaccessible, Internet Recovery enables you to boot your Mac directly from Apple’s servers over the internet to repair disks or reinstall the operating system. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for initiating network-based recovery on both Intel-based and Apple Silicon Macs, allowing you to restore your system without relying on the internal drive's recovery partition.

Requirements Before Starting

  • A reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi network (WPA/WPA2/WPA3 personal) or an Ethernet connection. Networks requiring a login portal (captive portals) will not work.
  • The Mac connected to its power adapter to prevent shutdown during the process.

Method 1: Intel-Based Macs

Intel-based Macs feature a built-in firmware fallback that connects to Apple servers when local recovery fails.

  1. Shut down the Mac completely. Wait until the screen and all indicator lights turn off.
  2. Power on and use the key combination: Press the Power button, then immediately press and hold one of the following key combinations:
    • Option + Command (⌘) + R: Upgrades to the latest macOS version compatible with your Mac (recommended for macOS 13).
    • Shift + Option + Command (⌘) + R: Reinstalls the macOS version that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
  3. Connect to the network: Keep holding the keys until you see a spinning globe icon and the text "Starting Internet Recovery."
  4. If prompted, select a Wi-Fi network from the drop-down menu and enter the network password.
  5. Wait for the progress bar beneath the globe to complete. Once downloaded, the macOS Utilities window will appear.

Method 2: Apple Silicon Macs (M1/M2)

Apple Silicon Macs handle recovery differently. If the primary local recovery partition is damaged, the Mac automatically attempts to load the Fallback Recovery operating system (frOS) stored in a separate hardware container, or prompts for network activation.

  1. Shut down the Mac completely.
  2. Access Fallback Recovery:
    • Press the Power (Touch ID) button once quickly.
    • Immediately press and hold the Power button a second time.
    • Hold until you see "Loading startup options" or an alert stating that the system is entering recovery.
  3. Network Activation: If the internal drive is completely unreadable, the Mac will automatically display a spinning globe with an exclamation point or a prompt requesting network connection. Select your Wi-Fi network to authorize and download recovery assets from Apple.
  4. Select an admin user account, enter the password, and proceed to the Recovery menu.

(Note: If an Apple Silicon Mac shows an exclamation mark inside a circle pointing to support.apple.com/mac/restore, the firmware itself is corrupted and must be restored using Apple Configurator and a secondary Mac via DFU mode.)

Repairing the Drive and Reinstalling macOS 13

Once the macOS Recovery window opens:

  1. Repair the Internal Disk:
    • Select Disk Utility and click Continue.
    • Click View > Show All Devices.
    • Select your internal drive (usually labeled "Macintosh HD" or "Apple SSD") and click First Aid > Run to attempt repairs.
    • If the drive is severely corrupted, select the top-level container, click Erase, format it as APFS with a GUID Partition Map, and name it "Macintosh HD".
    • Close Disk Utility.
  2. Reinstall macOS:
    • Select Reinstall macOS Ventura.
    • Click Continue and follow the on-screen instructions.
    • Select your startup disk as the destination and click Install.

The Mac will download a complete, fresh copy of macOS 13 directly from Apple's servers, re-create the missing or damaged recovery partition, and restart several times until the setup screen appears.