FileVault De-encryption Stuck(Paused)

Try booting into Safe Mode.

Is the Magsafe LED green or amber when you connect the charger?

Try a PRAM Reset (hold it for at least three chimes). I doubt this will do anything, but it never hurts to try it. You can also try an SMC Reset in case you have some sort of power related issue that is affecting Filevault from recognizing the connected charger.

You may have to resort to performing a clean install of macOS by first erasing the drive followed by installing macOS & restoring from a backup. Once Filevault is in the middle of encrypting or decrypting a drive, First Aid and data recovery apps will no longer work since the file system is in an in-between state with partial encryption.

FYI, Filevault does not affect the amount of free storage space on the drive.

silicon-V wrote:

Hello, So i was looking up ways to free up space on my mac and turning off filevault was suggested as one measure.. I did use the "turn off" button but while my mac wasn't plugged in, and it's been stuck de-encrypting ever since..

I've gone through help guides here and elsewhere of plugging in power, issue is my machine keeps restarting just once i plug in power and never allows sign in once plugged. I can only log back in successfully once i plug off power

I've run apple diagnostics, response was 3403D, checked over the net and they say it means the machine won't run the internet-based AHT or the command+D one is too old.

I've done the Utility Disk first aiding, still i am stuck on "restarting" once power gets plugged in.

What more effective solution can i get?

What exact Mac is this...

<< turning off Filevault >>

Changing the setting of encrypted/decrypted takes under a minute.

However, that simply sets in motion a process of reading in your entire drive in one state, and writing out in the other state. This process continues in the background for the rest of the afternoon up to several days, depending on you much data needs to be converted and how much awake-and-not-too-busy time is available.

Shutting down, starting up, sleeping. attempting to run in Recovery, are all distractions that will make the conversion take longer.

Your Mac is restricted from doing certain things, and you can not make a different choice until the conversions completes.

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

Use Disk Utility to erase an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support

... and by the way, encrypted or decrypted takes the same amount of space. You are saving NOTHING.