Factory reset Macbook air m1

Hey mangesh131,

Thanks for the post to Apple Support Communities. Usually in macOS Recovery, there is a Wi-Fi symbol in the upper-right screen. We don't see that here so try closing out that pop up by selecting OK. Does anything change in the menu bar then? If the Wi-Fi symbol appears, click on it, then choose Turn Wi-Fi On as mentioned in the 'Connect to the internet using Wi-Fi' section of Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support. If available, you can also try an Ethernet connection.

If the same continues, try starting in Recovery mode again using one of the key combinations mentioned in the article above.

Have a great day!

Hi mangesh131,

Try the following to get the Wi-Fi icon to appear in macOS Recovery.

0. Connect an Ethernet cable and adapter

If you have this available, connect it to your Mac to download macOS. Not sure why the Wi-Fi icon would ever be missing in the first place, but connecting to Ethernet will always resolve the issue.

If you prefer not to use Ethernet, try the steps below.

A. Start up normally

1. Shut down your Mac: click the Apple logo in the top left corner, and select Shut Down.
2. Wait 10 seconds, then press the power button (Touch ID) to power on your Mac.
3. If you correctly erased your Mac, it will automatically start up in macOS Recovery.
4. If you're asked for administrator credentials to continue, your Mac wasn't erased correctly. Skip to section C.
5. If the Wi-Fi icon still doesn't appear, try these next steps.

B. Invoke System Recovery

If your Mac was erased correctly, it can only start up in System Recovery (the backup copy of macOS Recovery). However, this method explicitly requests System Recovery, instead of the Mac falling back to it.

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press, release, then immediately press and hold the power button until Startup Options begins to load.
3. If successful, Options will appear on screen. Click Continue to proceed into System Recovery.
4. If the Wi-Fi icon still doesn't appear, proceed to section C.

C: Erase your Mac again

1. If you're being prompted for admin credentials by Recovery Assistant, skip to step 5.
2. If you're using one of the apps in macOS Recovery, quit that app. The list of utilities should return.
3. At the top of the screen, select Utilities -> Terminal.
4. Type this command and hit Enter (Return): resetpassword
5. The Recovery Assistant app should appear. At the top of the screen, select Recovery Assistant -> Erase Mac.
6. Follow the onscreen instructions to erase your Mac. It will automatically restart when the erase is complete.
7. If the Wi-Fi icon still doesn't appear after this, please let me know, and continue to section D.

D: Revive or restore the firmware

If you have another Mac, you can use it to revive or restore the firmware of your M1 MacBook Air. In this case, I recommend restoring it, as that will erase all data and reinstall macOS.

Use the steps in this article to revive or restore the firmware: Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator - Apple Support (CA)

faith185 wrote:

If the same continues, try starting in Recovery mode again using one of the key combinations mentioned in the article above.

OP has an Apple silicon Mac, not an Intel-based Mac. It won't respond to any of the key combinations listed in the article you linked.

Apple silicon Macs currently respond to these commands from a shutdown state:

• Press power button once (or trackpad, keyboard, or open the lid): Power on normally and attempt to boot macOS. If that fails, fall back to macOS Recovery. If that fails, fall back to System Recovery.
• Press and hold power button for 10 seconds: Power on and attempt to boot macOS Recovery (Startup Options). Security authorization is granted to change all Secure Boot settings for the current default startup disk.
• Press, release, then immediately press and hold power button for 10 seconds: Power on and attempt to boot from System Recovery (Startup Options). This is a backup copy of macOS Recovery stored locally and is immune to most erases.
• Device Firmware Update (DFU) Mode: Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator - Apple Support (CA)