Hello! I am trying to do a factory reset on my MacBook Air 11” 2015, however, when I boot in recovery mode and try to reinstall the OS after it finishes the process I get an error code -2103F. As far as I’ve been able to tell that code means I need to reinstall the OS but that is what I’m trying to do so I don’t know how to fix it. Any help would be much appreciated!
MacBook Air 11″, macOS 10.15
Did you erase the drive before reinstalling macOS? If there are any file system issues with that boot volume, then reinstalling macOS over top of itself without erasing the drive can result in failure and may be why you had problems with booting macOS previously. Erasing the drive will destroy all data on the SSD so I'm glad you have a good backup of your files.
I suggest booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to attempt to access the online macOS installer for macOS 12.x Monterey which is the most recent OS compatible with your 2015 laptop.
FYI, in the future when you have such an issue with macOS, it would be best to try booting into Safe Mode and to run Disk Utility First Aid on the physical drive and the hidden Container to make sure there are no unfixed errors with the drive or hidden Container (and APFS volumes). It could save you a lot of hassles.
I'm really glad you have backups, since they are extremely important. In fact they are even more critical with the 2018+ model Macs since there are so many more new ways to permanently lose access to your data if you don't have good backups.
When do you get that error code exactly? Once the initial phase one copy process completes, the computer reboots so that phase two of the installation proceeds, then there may be a third reboot where you are supposed to be greeted with Setup Assistant.
Also, why are you reinstalling macOS? The reason for the reinstall may be the same reason it is failing. Are you reinstalling macOS over top of itself, or did you perform a clean install by first erasing the drive?
What version of macOS are you installing?
Try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.
Make sure to disconnect all external devices in case one of them is causing a problem.
See: What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support
and Learn more about reinstalling macOS from macOS Recovery.
follow instructions for an Intel Mac
I’m trying to do a factory reset because I cannot get the OS to start up. When I try to boot up normally it crashes. It will power on and start the process but before it completely loads up it will crash. I already have all my files I need backed up so I am just hoping a factory reset will clear up the issue
Factory Reset MacBook Air giving error
