I just was setting up (from scratch, not migration) a new M1-based MacBook Pro. During the setup process, it asked to enable FileVault. I did so, and used the default recommendation of allowing for it to be reset using iCloud. Now when I go to FileVault preferences, it says "A recovery key has been set" and has no mention of iCloud. It says there's no way to recover it if I forget my password and recovery key. Any idea what happened?
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FileVault and iCloud issues on new M1 MBP running Big Sur
- Thread starter Brad Smith
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It’s my understanding that the recovery key is, basically, a password to break the encryption at a base level (like in restore mode). If you’ve logged in successfully to your user acct, you should be able to uncheck FireVault in System Prefs, allow it to decrypt, then re-enable FireVault, and in doing so choose the ‘unlock with iCloud’ or ‘generate recovery key’ options once more.
Protect data on your Mac with FileVault
Turn on FileVault to add an extra layer of security to the encrypted data on your Mac.
support.apple.com
I just tried that, turned it back on, and chose the iCloud option. The text doesn't indicate anything about iCloud after it's enabled, instead saying I need a recovery key. This is different than my old MacBook, which has a message about it being able to be unlocked via iCloud.
Update after running the 11.0.1 update and rebooting a few times, as well as turning FileVault off and back on again. Same issue is occurring, where it does not actual enable iCloud reset of password when you choose that setting and it never displays a recovery key either. Anyone else experiencing this?
OK, so here's some screenshots for context.
This is what it looks like on my old MacBook Pro (2015). Note that it references iCloud being setup.
On the new MacBook Pro (M1) setup from scratch, I chose this option:
But after it's setup and turned on, instead of seeing what I think I should see (and what I saw on my old MacBook Pro), I instead see this:
At no time did it show me a recovery key. I'm a bit nervous something really weird is going on with the pre-installed OS on the new machine.
Any ideas?
This is what it looks like on my old MacBook Pro (2015). Note that it references iCloud being setup.
On the new MacBook Pro (M1) setup from scratch, I chose this option:
But after it's setup and turned on, instead of seeing what I think I should see (and what I saw on my old MacBook Pro), I instead see this:
At no time did it show me a recovery key. I'm a bit nervous something really weird is going on with the pre-installed OS on the new machine.
Any ideas?
I see the same thing on my M1 MacBook Pro, but the system does report that FileVault is enabled.
Here's another weird thing: I usually set my laptops to not show a list of users at the logon screen. Instead, I need to type the user name and password in. On all of my other Macs (all Intel) running Big Sur (any version), when I boot the Mac, I'm presented with a list of users at the logon screen, no matter what my login options dictate. Once the disk is unlocked, the logon screen reverts to a the two text boxes for username and password, and the list of users is gone. This was the normal FileVault behavior on Intel Macs forever. On my M1 Mac with FileVault enabled, when I boot the computer, there is no longer a list of users to select from. Instead, the system preference for the name and password field persists. Are you seeing this as well?
I'm assuming this is tied in some way to the integration between the T2 and the new Apple Silicon firmware, with UEFI out of the picture.
Here's another weird thing: I usually set my laptops to not show a list of users at the logon screen. Instead, I need to type the user name and password in. On all of my other Macs (all Intel) running Big Sur (any version), when I boot the Mac, I'm presented with a list of users at the logon screen, no matter what my login options dictate. Once the disk is unlocked, the logon screen reverts to a the two text boxes for username and password, and the list of users is gone. This was the normal FileVault behavior on Intel Macs forever. On my M1 Mac with FileVault enabled, when I boot the computer, there is no longer a list of users to select from. Instead, the system preference for the name and password field persists. Are you seeing this as well?
I'm assuming this is tied in some way to the integration between the T2 and the new Apple Silicon firmware, with UEFI out of the picture.
I got the issue escalated to Apple Engineers via a senior support rep. The response I got was that this is the current behaviour for M1-based Macs, and that the recovery key should be properly stored in iCloud despite the messaging not saying so. Not sure if this is a bug in the UI for Big Sur and M1 Macs, or just a difference in intended behaviour. I noticed that the 11.1 update has not changed this at all.