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Stuck in Internet Recovery Mode

I have a 2020 MacBook Air model a2179 with the intel processor and it is stuck in Internet Recovery Mode. I have tried everything I could find online and no commands work. Most the time when I connect to the internet it gives me an error. I think the recovery partition was messed with but I have no way to get into the OS to check anything. Any help is very much appreciated before I take it into an Apple store. I like to think of myself as tech savvy but this is my first Mac computer and id like to solve it myself for the experience and possible future issues

MacBook Air (2020 or later)

Posted on Feb 26, 2022 3:30 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 26, 2022 4:50 PM

If you are receiving a large negative error code, it indicates some type of network issue. Try power cycling your router and waiting at least five minutes for the router to finish booting before trying Internet Recovery Mode again.


You can also connect the laptop directly to the router using an Ethernet cable and a USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter for a faster more reliable connection which bypasses any hard to troubleshoot WiFi issues.


Try a PRAM Reset (hold for at least two chimes) in case the Mac is stuck booting to some previously incorrect bootloader.


You can also create a bootable macOS USB installer using the instructions in this Apple article assuming you have previously allowed the Mac to boot from USB, otherwise you won't be able to boot from USB unless you can boot into Recovery Mode to access the Startup Security Utility to allow for booting from USB:

How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


About Startup Security Utility on a Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip - Apple Support


You will need access to another Mac which can run Big Sur or Monterey (possibly even Catalina if the laptop shipped with Catalina from the factory). This means you can use most Macs from 2013 to 2022 for Big Sur/Monterey and if your laptop is compatible with Catalina, then that also adds 2012 models as well.


Another option is to "Revive" the T2 firmware which should not affect the data, but more likely you will need to "Restore" the T2 firmware which will end up destroying all data on the drive.

Revive or restore an Intel-based Mac using Apple Configurator 2 - Apple Support

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1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 26, 2022 4:50 PM in response to gader259

If you are receiving a large negative error code, it indicates some type of network issue. Try power cycling your router and waiting at least five minutes for the router to finish booting before trying Internet Recovery Mode again.


You can also connect the laptop directly to the router using an Ethernet cable and a USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter for a faster more reliable connection which bypasses any hard to troubleshoot WiFi issues.


Try a PRAM Reset (hold for at least two chimes) in case the Mac is stuck booting to some previously incorrect bootloader.


You can also create a bootable macOS USB installer using the instructions in this Apple article assuming you have previously allowed the Mac to boot from USB, otherwise you won't be able to boot from USB unless you can boot into Recovery Mode to access the Startup Security Utility to allow for booting from USB:

How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


About Startup Security Utility on a Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip - Apple Support


You will need access to another Mac which can run Big Sur or Monterey (possibly even Catalina if the laptop shipped with Catalina from the factory). This means you can use most Macs from 2013 to 2022 for Big Sur/Monterey and if your laptop is compatible with Catalina, then that also adds 2012 models as well.


Another option is to "Revive" the T2 firmware which should not affect the data, but more likely you will need to "Restore" the T2 firmware which will end up destroying all data on the drive.

Revive or restore an Intel-based Mac using Apple Configurator 2 - Apple Support

Stuck in Internet Recovery Mode

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