Fresh reinstallation on MacBook Pro model A2141 (late 2019 - Intel)?

Ringo De Smet wrote:

None of that any more: I ended up in Internet Recovery mode. What I saw was a spinning globe and a Wi-Fi selector. After selecting my home Wi-Fi, it started the process but eventually ended up with an error code of "-2002F". Retrying this didn't help. I only saw other error codes like "-2100F" or "-2005F".

Try power cycling the router. Make sure to wait at least five minutes for the router to finish booting before trying to access Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R).

You can also try accessing Internet Recovery Mode at another physical location....hopefully with a different ISP as well.

I now started searching for "deeper" processes of getting the machine back to work. The first I tried was to create an USB bootable installer. However, my MBP doesn't seem to find this device after booting with the Option key pressed.

FYI, if the bootable USB installer was created correctly using Apple's official instructions, then it should appear as an option on the Option Boot screen.

However, it won't do you any good unless you had previously configured the security settings to allow booting from USB drives which must be done from Recovery Mode using the Startup Security Utility. Unfortunately, when you performed a DFU Firmware Restore, that reset the entire laptop to factory defaults.....meaning the only way to reinstall macOS is by using Internet Recovery Mode. Once macOS has been reinstalled & a user account created....then & only then can you again access the Startup Security Utility to modify the security settings for allowing USB boot.

Going even deeper, I hooked up the machine to another MacBook Pro (M1) and tried the DFU process, also to no avail.

This is not clear. Did the DFU Firmware Restore successfully complete (doesn't matter whether you can reinstall macOS afterwards)?

For the record, before I tried cleaning up the device, this was a perfectly working device. No failures whatsoever, not the SSD, perfectly working with my home Wi-Fi, etc.

Did I brick my machine or is there still hope to get it alive?

You need a good Internet connection for reinstalling macOS. Unfortunately Apple doesn't give any clear error messages other than these cryptic & mysterious codes which are meaningless for troubleshooting the problem.

Right now Internet Recovery Mode is your only option for reinstalling macOS. If you cannot find a good Internet connection to do this, then you may need to take the laptop to an Apple Store where they can help you reinstall macOS through Internet Recovery Mode. You can also try an Apple Authorized Service Provider, but they will likely charge a fee.

Ringo De Smet wrote:

I wanted to give a MacBook Pro model A2141 (Late 2019) a new life and clean it up by reinstalling to a fresh macOS. At reboot, I pressed Command-R to go into Recovery Mode. From older macs, I was used to ending up in a mini-macOS environment having access to Terminal, Disk Utility and Installer.

Command-R is still the key chord to use when booting the Mac to Recovery mode.

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

This is the the current guidance to use to reset your Mac: Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support

None of that any more: I ended up in Internet Recovery mode. What I saw was a spinning globe and a Wi-Fi selector. After selecting my home Wi-Fi, it started the process but eventually ended up with an error code of "-2002F". Retrying this didn't help. I only saw other error codes like "-2100F" or "-2005F".

These codes typically relate to poor or no internet connection. If you happen to have an Ethernet adapter you might try again after connecting the Mac to your router with an internet cable.

I now started searching for "deeper" processes of getting the machine back to work. The first I tried was to create an USB bootable installer. However, my MBP doesn't seem to find this device after booting with the Option key pressed.

You may not have properly created that USB installer. If you want to try that again, then this is Apple's guidance: Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Going even deeper, I hooked up the machine to another MacBook Pro (M1) and tried the DFU process, also to no avail.

DFU is a finicky process. Start it by knowing which USB port is appropriate to use for the process on your particular Mac: Identify the ports on your Mac - Apple Support

For the record, before I tried cleaning up the device, this was a perfectly working device. No failures whatsoever, not the SSD, perfectly working with my home Wi-Fi, etc.

Did I brick my machine or is there still hope to get it alive?

There's still hope, and others will likely chime in here with additional guidance.

In Internet Recovery, these low negative thousands error messages indicate that your provided Wi-Fi Network is inadequate in some fashion, and cannot be used (for this purpose) in its current state. We have seen -1000 to -6000 reported, often with a letter appended.

Common problems include:

Hidden Network-name

required use of a proxy server to get Internet access

required use of a login page to get Internet access

Use of a login server or certificate to get Internet access

Use of PPPoE in the Mac to get Internet access (typically only applies to DSL)

Use of Fixed IP address rather than good old DHCP

Variance of the time by more than five minutes

Failure of Router to provide workable DNS server addresses, or providing 0.0.0.0 [may produce -2002f]

If you have an Ethernet port, you may in some cases be able to move your Mac close to the Router and connect to the Router using Ethernet.

The higher the number, the more obscure the problem.

more specific is the model identifier... you can see this from >(Option key) System Info>Hardware

Get on a differnt network if you have issues on your home Network or have Apple store help you:

From iOS device using the "Apple Support.app” to make a online Genius Bar appointment is easy:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-support/id1130498044?mt=8