Level 1

88 points

Mac going into Recovery Mode when running OS updates

This is something that has now happened to me 3 times across 2 entirely different Macs when running Ventura updates and I'm wondering why it's happening and whether I can fix it?

So what happens is that I run the OS update from the System Prefs, the update will be doing it's usual thing and the Mac will restart a few times, but on one restart I get the Recovery screen. I managed to get around the first time by restarting in safe mode and the other 2 times I've just clicked restart and the Mac has restarted OK, and when it did I checked the About This Mac pane and noticed that the update had been installed.

So yeah, I'm confused as to why it would be going into recovery mode at all? It's something that's never ever happened before and now it's happened on my M1 Studio Ultra and my iMac Pro. Seems strange that it would happen on 2 entirely different Macs.

Mac Studio, macOS 13.4

Posted on Jun 16, 2023 9:30 AM

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27 replies

brimg87

Level 1

8 points

Dec 22, 2023 1:17 PM in response to benekk

I've been experiencing this on my M1 MAX for a year or two now. It's really annoying to say the least. Been using Macs for 20 years and have never had an issue like this. Wondering if Apple is going to do anything about it?

benekk Author

Level 1

88 points

Dec 28, 2023 10:01 PM in response to benekk

Just an update that this happened again when I updated from Ventura to Sonoma. I unplugged all my external devices and had just one Studio Display attached to the Mac, but still it went into Recovery Mode during the install.

Jan 5, 2024 8:55 AM in response to benekk

I've Macbook Pro M2 Max and since I updated to Sonoma, every single time after system update macOS is going to Recovery Mode. After restarting, I can log back into the system just fine.

This is a bit frustrating and I feel like every time I do macOS updates there is a chance of being unable to use my Macbook... I wish there is some update from Apple that would fix it for everyone!

Jan 23, 2024 1:23 AM in response to benekk

It happened again during the update to 14.3. Does anyone has the problem that after the update the system gives this warning: "System software from developer "Apple Inc." has been updated"? Because this warning occurs also on my system after every single update.

etresoft

Level 9

56,338 points

Jan 27, 2024 4:37 PM in response to benekk

This is a well-known bug. It's pretty funny actually. People who want to upgrade to the latest version of the OS regularly have problems doing so. People who don't want to upgrade to the latest version of the OS will have their computer forcibly upgrade by Apple without their consent.

If you run a virtual machine, it's quite possible to have both problems at the same time. I run Sonoma in a VM, but it's very difficult to get it upgraded.

benekk Author

Level 1

88 points

Jun 18, 2023 2:15 AM in response to leroydouglas

Interesting… OK, I'll try that next time. May I ask what the reasoning behind this is?

Owl-53

Level 10

102,643 points

Jul 28, 2023 1:52 AM in response to benekk

Worth a try without any external 🤞 on a possible further update to Ventura ?

benekk Author

Level 1

88 points

Jul 28, 2023 2:25 AM in response to Owl-53

I suppose it won't hurt to try

Owl-53

Level 10

102,643 points

Jul 28, 2023 2:26 AM in response to benekk

Keep us posted, time permitting

Dec 13, 2023 2:37 AM in response to benekk

I have the exact same problem on my Mac Studio M1 Max since every single os update i was running on the machine.

RadRost

Level 1

8 points

Jan 11, 2024 8:42 AM in response to benekk

I have the same issue on my Macbook pro 14, M2 Max

Apr 1, 2024 2:32 PM in response to benekk

Same issue here on an M1 Max MacBook Pro...every single OS update ends up in recovery mode. This is the 4th update in a row at least where this has happened.

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Mac going into Recovery Mode when running OS updates