Why is my MacBook Pro 2013 taking 11 hours to reset?

Your Mac is the last model-year before the T2 chip and its complexities were added.

there are two slightly different kinds of Recovery.

one is in a Recovery partition on your boot drive. if it is corrupted, then your Mac is forced to use Internet Recovery, where part of that software is loaded off the internet.

From your grousing, it sounds like you have been forced to use Internet Recovery, and have spent quite a while watching a spinning globe. Perhaps you are far from your Router so the Wi-Fi speed is slow. if you move closer to your Router, it might take less time.

If you are re-installing, it will need to download about 12 GB Installer image from the internet, then unpack and install.

frameyboy wrote:

I decided to reset my 2013 Macbook Pro tonight.

The latest macOS was installed and has been for a while so the boot image should have been saved on the recovery partition.

Why is this piece of crap telling me it's going to take 11 hours to reset? I've been on 11 hours for about the last hour already.

It also took me around 2 hours to get to this point because...my macOS didn't support it's own reset function?

Seriously, what?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.5

lets see— all 2013's are limited to macOS 11 Big Sur, currently 11.7.10

we can not support hack-a-Mac here according to the TOU we all agreed to participate here.

Apple Support Communities TOU - Apple Support Communities Terms of Use Agreement

Apple Support Communities Use Agreement - Apple Community

good luck

exactly what model are we talking about?

Identify your MacBook Pro model - Apple Support

in addition to the methods suggested, a model designator will be silkscreened on the bottom of the unit.