APFS or APFS Encrypted?

Discussion in 'macOS Mojave (10.14)' started by MacFL, Dec 7, 2018.

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  1. MacFL, Dec 7, 2018

    MacFL macrumors newbie

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    Dec 7, 2018
    #1
    Hello,

    I just bought the 2018 MacBook Air with 128gb of storage and plan to keep it for a few years. Would it be a good idea to reformat with APFS encrypted?

    I heard that the new T2 chip automatically encrypts the data on the SSD, so would this be overkill or is reformatting necessary to enable the encrypting feature?

    Would APFS encrypted cause more stress on my system/SSD?

    Undecided on what to do, any responses are greatly appreciated.
     
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  2. chrfr, Dec 7, 2018

    chrfr macrumors 604

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    #2
    You don't need to reformat. Just turn on Filevault in System Preferences/Security and Privacy. The T2 chip always encrypts the drive anyway, so there is no performance penalty at all.
     
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  3. MacFL, Dec 7, 2018

    MacFL thread starter macrumors newbie

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    Dec 7, 2018
    #3
    I need to reformat anyway. Do you suggest I do APFS without encryption and then turn on FileVault?
     
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  4. haralds, Dec 7, 2018

    haralds macrumors 6502a

    haralds

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    #4
    You do not have to reformat. Be very careful with that unless you have corruption you cannot remove.
    I ended up locking myself out after reformatting from recovery. They had to replace the machine, could not be restored.
    I you want to create a fresh version:
    - Create another APFS container
    - Install on that
    - Delete the old container after making sure, you can boot into the new one.
     
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  5. chrfr, Dec 8, 2018

    chrfr macrumors 604

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    #5
    If you're going to reformat, then yes, just use APFS and turn on Filevault afterward. But, as the previous post states, it is not necessary to reformat and reinstall the operating system on a brand new computer.
     
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  6. Panthera Tigris Altaica, Dec 8, 2018

    Panthera Tigris Altaica macrumors member

    Panthera Tigris Altaica

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    #6
    Why do you 'need to reformat anyway'?
     
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5 December 7, 2018