Need DFU procedure for 2019 Mac Pro 7,1

My Mac Pro 7,1 (2019) was bricked during an update from 15.4 to Tahoe. Password was not accepted post-install, different boot screens were presented between boots, machine was ultimately firmware locked, and had to be taken to a nearby authorized service center due to the closest Apple Store being hundreds of miles away. Tech there ran internet recovery, wiped the machine's onboard memory completely, and reinstalled OS 15. Machine booted but runs differently. For example, launching Disk Utility requires providing the same password twice; each boot presents desktop icons in different places; I was able to boot into Recovery Mode upon bringing the machine home, but after creating a new partition I can no longer do that. Recovery Assistant is all that's available in Recovery Mode. I'm persuaded that something elemental is wrong in the OS or the machine's OS-supporting substructure. Upshot is I can no longer trust that anything I do on the machine will be accessible or retained the next time I boot it. Therefore, I believe I need to restore it to its original specs, which seems to mean a DFU. I looked at the board's content and found info about that process regarding MacBook Pros and iMacs, but nothing about how it's done to a 2019 Mac Pro. Not interested in running Tahoe, but would like to install Sequoia again.

Mac Pro, macOS 15.7

Posted on Jan 8, 2026 8:54 AM

Reply
1 reply

Jan 8, 2026 2:52 PM in response to Hominahomina

<< reinstalled OS 15. Machine booted but runs differently. >.


You don't need to envies or restore unless you meet these criteria:


When to revive or restore

If the firmware stored in its memory needs to be revived or restored, a Mac with Apple silicon or the Apple T2 Security Chip might experience issues such as the following. These can occur in certain rare circumstances, such as after a power failure interrupts macOS installation. 


from:

How to revive or restore Mac firmware - Apple Support


what you may need to do is re-install MacOS.

be sure you start that with the Approved method to erase all content and settings:


Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support


Some of your issue sound like they are related to disk encryption. Be sure you decide whether you want your Intel Mac's boot drive encrypted or not.




Need DFU procedure for 2019 Mac Pro 7,1

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