Why does recovery mode show Monterey instead of Ventura?

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Why does recovery mode show Monterey instead of Ventura?

On my Mac Mini Apple Silicon M1, when I go into recovery mode on my M1 Mac Mini it shows “Reinstall macOS Monterey” instead of “Reinstall macOS Ventura”. Since I have macOS Ventura installed shouldn't it always show "Ventura"?

Also, depending on the way I enter recovery mode, it shows “Reinstall macOS Ventura” or “Reinstall macOS Monterey”.

If I "restart" instead of "shutdown" and wait for the light to go out, then hold down the power button and lift it up when the light goes from Bright to dim, it shows me “Reinstall macOS Monterey”, after clicking on options and providing a admin password.

However, if I do a shutdown and start and hold down the power button until "options" shows on the screen, “Reinstall macOS Ventura” appears, after clicking on options and providing a admin password.

This behavior is not documented anywhere.

Since it is quicker to restart and lift the power button as soon as the light dims, I have become accustomed to doing that, rather than following the textbook way to enter recovery mode.

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Dec 6, 2022 11:21 AM

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Answer 1

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markfromlandolakes Author

Level 1

73 points

Dec 6, 2022 11:45 AM in response to markfromlandolakes

On an Apple Silicon M1 Mac Mini, the proper way to enter recovery is to start from a shutdown and press and hold the power button until the options menu appears. If you have an HDMI connected instead of a Thunderbolt connection, or you are using another Apple Silicon machine, you may have prompts that tell you when it is Okay to stop pressing the power button.

Apparently, any other method that may get you into the recovery mode, can produce unexpected results. Including, but not necessarily limited to, no recognition of your current OS and the mouse not connecting.

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Why does recovery mode show Monterey instead of Ventura?

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