Internet recovery does not work. No bar appears and wants to connect to an network

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Level 1

14 points

Internet recovery does not work. No bar appears and wants to connect to an network

I tried to restore my Mac Mini to factory settings however internet recovery had done nothing other than bring a globe and some wi-fi connections to connect to then I tried to connect to one of them however the wi-fi icon lit up but it never loaded with a bar. I tried Ethernet but it also had no effect. What am I doing wrong? I did test Ethernet in MacOS and I had no problems and wi-fi also worked without problem.

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Sep 25, 2021 11:47 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

PRP_53

Level 10

91,411 points

Oct 2, 2021 2:20 AM in response to monkeyboy537

What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Yes, realize one is not selling, giving away the unit bit does revert the System to Factory Setting

Try the SMC Reset and perform this action three times consecutively.

Then try the Reset NVRAM and perform this action three times consecutively.

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Answer 2

monkeyboy537 Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 2, 2021 9:13 PM in response to PRP_53

Hello, I didn't actually see in 'What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac' that you could just use regular recovery if I wanted to wipe the hard drive clean. Although the problem is still there I think this is the best answer if I was trying to reset and not recover MacOS. Thank you P.Philips.

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Answer 3

BxxxFR

Level 1

12 points

Oct 5, 2021 4:45 PM in response to BxxxFR

Hello All

In reading several threads, it appears that:

WiFi for Internet Recovery does not work with old routers that still use WEP ID (like mine).
Ethernet can be used but must be applied to the Thunderbolt rather than the USB3 port - so you need to purchase the correct adapter.

If have an old router and also cannot apply Ethernet to the Thunderbolt port, the other option is to obtain a bootable recovery thumb drive. Make sure it will plug into the available ports on your computer. The drive can either be purchased from a third party or generated with another Mac.

If ordering a bootable recovery drive, it is a good idea to check the reviews of the supplier and also check for complaints with the better business bureau. (search--Name of supplier reviews bbb).

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Answer 4

BxxxFR

Level 1

12 points

Oct 2, 2021 12:18 AM in response to monkeyboy537

I have the same spinning globe problem with an A1502 Mac Book pro. I upgraded to Big Sur and the machine hangs during bootup, so I am trying to revert to an older OS using CMD OPT R (internet recovery).

Ethernet and wifi both work fine in regular recovery (CMD R), but not with the spinning globe. It does not even recognize my own wifi but presents a list of several others, presumably my neighbors, that cannot be accessed. I can enter my ESSID number, but the WEP KEY password (all numbers and caps) gets rejected. With a direct connection to the router, after over an hour, there is still no progress bar or activity.

I tried CMD OPT P R (3+ chimes) to reset things, but that did not help either.

I am new to Apple, but unless there is something else to try, my guess is the BIOS is somehow corrupted.

I anxiously await any helpful replies.....

Thanx

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