I understand your frustration with getting stuck in internet recovery mode after erasing your MacBook Air's disk. This situation can be particularly challenging, but there are several approaches we can try.
First, let's understand what's happening: Error codes 2003F, 2004F, and 2005F typically indicate network-related issues during recovery, even though your internet connection seems fine. The fact that you can't access the startup manager with the Option key suggests something more fundamental might be wrong.
Here are some potential solutions:
- Try a different network connection: Sometimes macOS recovery is sensitive to certain network configurations. If possible, connect to a different WiFi network or use a direct ethernet connection with an adapter.
- Create a bootable USB installer:
- Use another Mac to download the macOS installer from the App Store
- Use Terminal to create a bootable USB drive (minimum 16GB)
- For example, for macOS Big Sur: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
- Replace "MyVolume" with your USB drive's name
- Try Apple Configurator 2:
- If you have access to another Mac, download Apple Configurator 2 from the App Store
- Connect your MacBook using a USB cable
- Use Configurator to restore the firmware
- Try DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode:
- For T2-equipped Macs like your 2020 Air, you can try putting it in DFU mode
- Turn off your Mac completely
- Press and hold the right Shift key + left Option/Alt key + left Control key
- While holding these keys, press and hold the power button for 10 seconds
- Release all keys and power button
- Press the power button again to boot
- Contact Apple Support: If these solutions don't work, your MacBook might need professional service. The issue could be related to hardware or firmware corruption that requires specialized tools to fix.
Since you mentioned the MacBook Air 2020 with the i3 processor, it has Apple's T2 security chip which can sometimes complicate recovery processes when things go wrong at the firmware level.
Let me know which of these approaches you'd like to try first, or if you've already attempted any of them.
