You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

User profile for user: RestoringOSmac
RestoringOSmac Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

I can't restore macOS Catalina 10.15.7 despite Shift-Option-command-R combinations on startup

I have a 21 inch late 2013 iMac running macOS Catalina version 10.15.7. I can't restore mac OS despite Shift-Option-command-R combinations on startup and I end up, after some waiting with exclamation mark and the message 2002F. Can anyone help please? Apple support materials don't seem to work (it is connected to the internet)


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 27″, macOS 14.0

Posted on Oct 9, 2023 4:04 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Mike Smart
Mike Smart
User level: Level 1
38 points

Posted on Oct 9, 2023 4:46 AM

According to How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support —

  • Command-R start offers to reinstall if you have a current version with a working recovery partition, otherwise it may try to download from Apple which requires a working network / WiFi connection
  • Command-Option-R offers to reinstall the latest compatible version (Catalina)
  • Shift-Option-Command-R offers the closest version to the original (possibly Mountain Lion if that's even possible to obtain any more)


Try these and report the results.


Failing that, you may be forced to create a bootable installer disk using another machine, but this is a useful thing to keep around afterwards and I think you only need a 16GB USB stick for the bootable installer disk. Download a fresh copy from Apple to make sure that the app signing is up to date.


View in context

Similar questions

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Mike Smart
Mike Smart
User level: Level 1
38 points

Oct 9, 2023 4:46 AM in response to RestoringOSmac

According to How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support —

  • Command-R start offers to reinstall if you have a current version with a working recovery partition, otherwise it may try to download from Apple which requires a working network / WiFi connection
  • Command-Option-R offers to reinstall the latest compatible version (Catalina)
  • Shift-Option-Command-R offers the closest version to the original (possibly Mountain Lion if that's even possible to obtain any more)


Try these and report the results.


Failing that, you may be forced to create a bootable installer disk using another machine, but this is a useful thing to keep around afterwards and I think you only need a 16GB USB stick for the bootable installer disk. Download a fresh copy from Apple to make sure that the app signing is up to date.


Reply
User profile for user: BDAqua
BDAqua
User level: Level 10
245,201 points

Oct 9, 2023 9:21 AM in response to RestoringOSmac

Besides the USB Bootable option Mike Smart recommends, might try tis...


Error 2002u… Router needs DNS setting...

I was getting pretty frustrated at this point, but I finally found a post on the Apple Support forums by someone who was having a similar problem to mine (different error code, -2002U if I’m remembering correctly). With only one reply, I didn’t have my hopes up for a way out of this mess. Nevertheless, I looked it over.

The sole solution suggested going into my router settings, changing my DNS to 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4 (Google’s public DNS server addresses,) and trying again.

https://medium.com/@lucchetto/2018-1-d4b628a2587e

Reply

I can't restore macOS Catalina 10.15.7 despite Shift-Option-command-R combinations on startup

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up