The initial boot screen of my M3 shows a wrong time different from the time it shows when i login with my password. I have tried everything to ensure the correct time setup is done, but error message stays same.
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 27.2
Incorrect time on the FileVault startup screen — M3 MacBook Air
If FileVault is enabled, the difference between the time shown before login and the correct time displayed after login may be related to how the Mac starts up.
Why this can happen
When you enter your password on the initial FileVault screen, your password unlocks the encrypted startup disk so macOS can continue loading. At this stage, the normal macOS environment and all its services may not yet be fully initialized.
Once macOS has loaded, it can apply the appropriate time and time-zone settings, which may explain why the time is correct after login.
However, this is a possible explanation, not a confirmed diagnosis. Apple explains how FileVault protects and unlocks your data in its guide to FileVault security.
What I recommend
Avoid changing Preboot information prematurely. The Terminal command sudo diskutil apfs updatePreboot / refreshes APFS Preboot information, but Apple does not document it as a specific fix for this symptom. I would not treat it as a guaranteed solution without further diagnosis.
If the time is correct after startup and the discrepancy is confined to the initial FileVault screen, this alone does not establish a hardware fault or a problem with FileVault encryption.
One detail would help narrow this down: Is the incorrect time shown on the very first password screen, before the Apple logo and progress bar, or on a login screen after macOS has started?
Incorrect time on the FileVault startup screen — M3 MacBook Air
If FileVault is enabled, the difference between the time shown before login and the correct time displayed after login may be related to how the Mac starts up.
Why this can happen
When you enter your password on the initial FileVault screen, your password unlocks the encrypted startup disk so macOS can continue loading. At this stage, the normal macOS environment and all its services may not yet be fully initialized.
Once macOS has loaded, it can apply the appropriate time and time-zone settings, which may explain why the time is correct after login.
However, this is a possible explanation, not a confirmed diagnosis. Apple explains how FileVault protects and unlocks your data in its guide to FileVault security.
What I recommend
Avoid changing Preboot information prematurely. The Terminal command sudo diskutil apfs updatePreboot / refreshes APFS Preboot information, but Apple does not document it as a specific fix for this symptom. I would not treat it as a guaranteed solution without further diagnosis.
If the time is correct after startup and the discrepancy is confined to the initial FileVault screen, this alone does not establish a hardware fault or a problem with FileVault encryption.
One detail would help narrow this down: Is the incorrect time shown on the very first password screen, before the Apple logo and progress bar, or on a login screen after macOS has started?
What "error message" are you seeing?
Have you tried changing your wallpaper?
M3 Mac boot screen shows incorrect time
