How to get the Neo to show Mac startup options?

[hajime]

Hello, usually continuing to press the power button during reatart leads to startup options like disk utility to erase the drive and OS reinstallation. However it does not work on the Neo. The screen just remained black after an Apple logo showed up and a progress bar appeared briefly. The machine turned itself off. How to do that?

 

[Boppi]

Try again maybe. It's not during a restart that you hold the power button. It needs to be completely powered off first. It works the same for all Apple silicon Macs.

How to start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

macOS Recovery is your computer’s built-in recovery system, with utilities to reinstall macOS, repair or erase your startup disk, restore from a Time Machine backup, and more. Follow the steps for your type of Mac.

support.apple.com

 

[4sallypat]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102...,then click Continue** to open macOS Recovery

 

[hajime]

Try again maybe. It's not during a restart that you hold the power button. It needs to be completely powered off first. It works the same for all Apple silicon Macs.

How to start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

macOS Recovery is your computer’s built-in recovery system, with utilities to reinstall macOS, repair or erase your startup disk, restore from a Time Machine backup, and more. Follow the steps for your type of Mac.

support.apple.com

I have done that many times on other Silicon Mac. I know what I am doing. Tried a few times already but still doesn’t work. There is something different with the Neo. Perhaps the phone chip?

 

[Boppi]

I have done that many times on other Silicon Mac. I know what I am doing. Tried a few times already but still doesn’t work. There is something different with the Neo. Perhaps the phone chip?

Did you read the manual?

J/k, I wish I knew more. I don't own one but there's nothing I can find online that leads to a different start to recovery routine other than what we all know.

Weird.

 

[bapegg]

There is nothing different with the A18 Pro chip that is keeping you from accessing the startup options On the Neo compared to any other AS Mac.

Follow the instructions posted above.

 

[Mike Boreham]

I have done that many times on other Silicon Mac. I know what I am doing. Tried a few times already but still doesn’t work. There is something different with the Neo. Perhaps the phone chip?

If for some reason Recovery is not working for you could try Fallback Recovery detailed in this Eclectic Light article. It is possible that Neos dont have Fallback Recovery but worth trying if your Recovery is not working.

Next step for an M series Mac would be DFU mode for another Mac. Since DFU mode can be done with iPhones I would expect it to work with Neos.

Does your Recovery volume appear in diskutil list?

There is nothing different about Neo procedure from this video.

 

[hajime]

Thanks. Fallback Recovery alone doesn’t work but after trying that and then press and hold the power button again like the procedure in the video, it works.

Did Apple screw up something?

After choosing Options, the progress bat moved very very slowly before Language showed up.

 

[DeltaMac]

No, sounds like nothing is wrong - just a minor adjustment in how the Neo boots to startup options.
Good to hear that you found out how to get there.