After downloading the 14MB installer from the App Store, the installer window opens. One option given by the window is to the click "Continue".
After a little while a scroll down window says, "The recovery server could not be contacted."
Why?
Is there any other option to download the macOS High Sierra?
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), macOS Sierra (10.12.6)
Solved.
In my case I was trying to do a re-install of the OS form the startup utilities and kept getting this error.
The trick was to set the clock. Start the Terminal app from utilities to get a bash terminal. Type `date` to display the current date/time. In my case it was set to January 1st. I remember it was common with Windows Update to fail to update your system if the system clock was not "close" to the correct time.
Set the date with:
date 1114125317
(this example sets the date to November 14th, 12:53 2017)
Re-run the recover OS option and it should work.
I go it done. Here's how. My problem was that after I erased & reformatted my "Macintosh HD" drive using the Disk Utility, I tried to re-install the macOS High Sierra and got the same message "The Recovery server could not be found". As many suggested, I reset the date in the Terminal and that didn't work. So I looked very carefully at the top right screen on my iMac near the US Flag and saw the VERY DIM grey wifi logo. I clicked that and it searched until it found the several router names in my neighborhood until mine popped up. I clicked mine... it asked for my password ... entered my password and then I was connected and he wifi logo became black.
So, my problem was simply that when I tried to reinstall macOS High Sierra, I WASN'T CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET.
I don't know it the terminal date fix was necessary, since without an internet connection, it wasn't going to work.
Tip: If the screen goes completely gray at any time, don't worry, just press and hold the COMMAND & R key while restarting the iMac (it took me holding the keys over a minute) until the Utility window appears.
I found the Internet cone icon in faint ink in the far right corner. I connected to the Internet and then could proceed.
macOS High Sierra installer says "The recovery server could not be contacted." Why?
