Recovery Mode - No Administrator was found

If you have a 2018 model, then you will not be able to boot from USB until you have installed & configured an OS on the laptop since the T2 security chip must be able to authenticate a valid macOS admin user account. Your only option at this point is to reinstall macOS through Internet Recovery Mode. Try using Command + Option + R to access Internet Recovery Mode to access the most recent online macOS installer which at this time is macOS 14.x Sonoma.

The "The recovery server could not be contacted" error has been reported by users for months now for accessing older versions of macOS, but I wasn't sure if it was based on OS or just on older Obsolete hardware, but your laptop suggests it is OS based. I would suggest providing Apple with product feedback here making sure to mention your 2018 laptop model since it is still fully supported hardware (or is supposed to be anyway).

Product Feedback - Apple

If you still have trouble with Internet Recovery Mode for Sonoma, then you may need to perform a firmware "Restore" followed by another attempt at Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R.

Keep this in mind if you ever decide to repair your laptop since one day you may be unable to use Internet Recovery Mode at all to reinstall macOS once this laptop becomes Obsolete.

I'm on a M1 Mac mini and I'm also having the same issue. However, there's one additional message that shows for me (see attachments). Not sure why this message is showing. I don't use nor have an Apple keyboard let alone one with Touch ID! Having access to the System Extensions is a requirement for some 3rd party applications.

Is this a bug that only shows after restoring from back-up or selecting Migrate from Windows?

The user account is setup as the administrator. Plus, it's the only user account on my machine!

Yes creating a new macOS admin user account may be an option to be able to get past the "No Administrator was found" error when booting into Recovery Mode, but it is only a workaround and not a true fix because the Apple Silicon Mac still has some sort of problem with the security enclave chip & the information it contains.

Sooner or later you will encounter this problem again, or one similar to it. The next time the only fix may be to perform a DFU firmware Restore which will completely destroy all data on the internal SSD & push a fresh copy of macOS onto the internal SSD as well as resetting the security enclave chip & system firmware.

Make sure to always have frequent and regular backups of the computer because there are a lot of new ways to permanently lose access to the data on an internal SSD these days. This "No Administrator found" error is just one possibility especially if macOS cannot boot normally to create a new macOS admin user account.

Thanks for providing a workaround, but I highly recommend anyone who encounters this issue should find a permanent fix for it.

iciconnect wrote:

I'm on a M1 Mac mini and I'm also having the same issue. However, there's one additional message that shows for me (see attachments). Not sure why this message is showing. I don't use nor have an Apple keyboard let alone one with Touch ID!

It may not quite be the same issue, although it may be similar since there are differences between the Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. I have found that macOS error messages can be very cryptic and even misleading these days.

Having access to the System Extensions is a requirement for some 3rd party applications.

Is the app compatible with your version of macOS? And with an Apple Silicon Mac? macOS 13.x+ is changing the way extensions work, so older style extensions may no longer be compatible. Check with the developer of the app for assistance and to confirm compatibility with your Apple Silicon Mac and version of macOS.

You may want to try booting into Safe Mode to see if that makes a difference since maybe you have some other third party software installed which is interfering with the normal operation of macOS. Usual culprits are anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software.

Is this a bug that only shows after restoring from back-up or selecting Migrate from Windows?

The user account is setup as the administrator. Plus, it's the only user account on my machine!

Both are certainly a possibility. I have even seen authentication bugs with the Intel T2 Macs. Apple Silicon Macs have introduced the concept of ownership which can further complicate things with the security enclave chip.

Just curious if you have Filevault enabled?

So you may have just one issue, or maybe two different issues. You obviously have an authentication issue with the security enclave....most likely it will require reinstallation of macOS or a firmware "Restore", but I'm not certain. A second possible issue may be a compatibility issue with your third party app with macOS/Apple Silicon Mac, or a compatibility issue with other third party software. I would suggest resolving the security enclave authentication issue first since that may require you to reinstall macOS. Probably would be best to start your own new thread if you need any assistance beyond this little bit I've provided. Please make sure to reference my post and anything you have tried so the new thread has enough background details.

I have this same problem, but the temporary new administrator user workaround did not work for me.

I also found out something that the others are not describing: to use the temporary administrator workaround, you need to login normally with that user at least once, or Recovery Mode will not show it to you as an option to login in (probably the new user's profile must be created).

My case may be a bit more complicated than what the others describe. I need to reduce security on a macOS installation on an external disk. The external disk installation works nicely on my first laptop (M1 Pro) , including all the extensions, but not on the second (M2), that is where the temporary administrator workaround fails.

Check out this video worked for me : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhITaH3VcyU(1) Enabling System Extensions with "No Adminstrator Was Found" on an M1/M2 Mac [FIXED] - YouTube