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Restoring Apple Silicon M1 Macs Leading to macOS Installation Errors

Enter_Username said:
From there I selected "Find iPhone / Find My" -> "All devices" (above) -> "Macbook XYZ" -> "Delete Mac".
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Interesting - you are the first person I have seen to report this path. It sort of makes sense given the error message people are seeing.

Please file Feedback with Apple with your findings!
tidbits.com

How to Report Bugs to Apple So They Get Fixed - TidBITS

With another WWDC behind us, that means it's beta season, with new versions of macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS for developers brave enough to test them. Former Apple engineer David Shayer explains what you need to do to increase the chances that Apple will fix the bugs you report.
tidbits.com tidbits.com
 
swingerofbirch said:
I just said to someone today: Apple has one of the most powerful personal computers starting at $899 (EDU pricing), and yet I'm still probably going to move to Windows because the software quality has gotten so much worse over time. But then I thought: Well maybe the M1 Macs will be different! And then I see this. And honestly I have no idea what Windows is like. I probably last used it in the year 2000. Just tired of having to babysit my Apple devices.
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I have consistently used Windows, starting with XP and now 10, on work laptops and I certainly wouldn't expect anything better. In 2020, same old registry that bogs down the machine over time. When I first got my current PC, a Dell Latitude 7480 (2.2 gHz dual core i7, 256GB SSD, 16GB RAM), back in 2017, it was really fast, booted in no time, apps opened quickly. Now, 3 years later (no new software, other than Office/Windows updates), with the SSD 70% full, I'm back to going for a cup of coffee while the system boots up. I'm typing this on a 2012 MBP, 2.3 gHz quad core i7, that I upgraded with a 1TB SSD (about 1/2 full) and 8GB RAM and it will run circles around the Dell. Back when I had my own personal Windows PCs, I still remember wiping the HDD and doing a clean re-install every 18-24 months to 'clear out the crud' that built up and slowed down the PC. Apple isn't perfect for sure, and this whole business of releasing a (buggy) new OS annually is a bit much, but IMO, it's still a hell of a lot better than MS. Anyway, if you do switch, I hope you fare better.
 
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I’ve learned the lesson “don’t fix it if it ain’t broken” when I have decided to change spark plugs at only 15000 km (9300 miles).

Online car shop shipped wrong plugs, workshop installed them and than all went into a spiral of visiting workshop after workshop with check engine and more problems (even with original plugs). Ended up going to a good friend who is a mechanic, after I was told I have scratches inside the engine, thus it pretty much has to be changed (warranty was over by than).

So, it all ended up well, but a lot of cash and time was invested for fixing a problem which would never happen if I would not get to those plugs that early in the first place.

Recovering a several days old completely new Mac on a .01 macOS release... common guys:)

*We really just need to listen to that inside “don’t do it” voice when it rises from the depths of our being...)
 
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Enter_Username said:
Hello everyone,

I just registered for this thread. At first: please apologize my english, I'm not a native speaker. And additionally I would like to point out my strong aversion against the people who complained against those people, who restored their new MacBook, just as @groundedUX mentioned previously.

I was very miserable about the condition of my recently purchased MacBook, as no method of getting Big Sur back on the Mac seemed to work. Though I don't own a second mac, so I was not able to test out the method with "Apple Configurator 2".

I don't know if Apple fixed the problem at that exact moment, but I found a solution that got my MacBook running again.

Since I was able to delete the volumes in the Startup Options -> Hard Disk Utility but not the complete SSD (constant error -69877), I became suspicious and logged into icloud.com with my Windows computer.

From there I selected "Find iPhone / Find My" -> "All devices" (above) -> "Macbook XYZ" -> "Delete Mac".

It then said that the MacBook will be automatically deleted the next time it is online.

I turned my Mac on and it was brought back to the startup options. I opened Safari, just to be sure that the mac connects to the internet. After that the MacBook actually deleted itself - after rebooting I had to select the system language again and in the hard disk utility only the volume "Untitled" was visible below the SSD instead of "Macintosh HD" and "Data".

After that, full of hope, I clicked on "Install MacOS Big Sur" - and indeed - the installation passed without any problems. I am very relieved.

Try it out, the Apple Chat couldn't help me at all (even wrongly recommended shortcuts for the MacBooks with Intel chips, which, as we now know, don't work with the M1-MacBook) and only could have given me an appointment for next week Wednesday.

Please let me know if that helped you.
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This worked for me after trying a ton of different work arounds and calling (useless) Apple Support. It also avoided a Monday Genius bar appointment. Thank you so much!
 
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ivan_k said:
I’ve learned the lesson “don’t fix it if it ain’t broken” when I have decided to change spark plugs at only 15000 km (9300 miles).
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That doesn't apply here at all. A clean install should always be something that can be done anytime.
 
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UK-MacAddict said:
Factual. Historically proven over many years of first gen products.
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Not really. AirPods, iPhone X, iPad, watch, etc.

You’re confused bc tech improves with time and it makes original products appear terrible, but that’s Monday morning quarterbacking.

You’re also fooled by anecdotal stories like these and forget about the 99% that work perfectly. Apple ships 300M devices annually and some people have issues. Software has bugs. They get fixed and we move on.

Apple has the best track record of support, quality, and longevity in the industry. Tech, however, is inherently imperfect and evolving.
 
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If you have a PC capable of virtualization, you can install big sur and run it with oracle VM, then use that to download and install apple configurator 2. There are plenty of easy guides to follow but most link to the big sur ISO so idk if I'm allowed to link to any.

Edit: Can confirm this DOES indeed work! Mine just finished restoring.
 
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Sagertat said:
Geez, finally got into DFU. For those still struggling, boot into recovery by holding the power button during startup. Once at the recovery selection screen, press the power button 1 sec and then the other 3 keys for 10 sec. Let go of the 3 keys and then the power button 4-5 seconds after that. NOW, it looks like the mac is off. It's not. It should be in DFU mode. I kept thinking it was off which made sense since the power button was just held again. ugh :(. Wasted time. Just check the configurator to see if it shows up in DFU.
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wow. you have no idea how thankful I am you posted this here. I wasted 2 evenings and several hours with Apple Support. what frustrates me more than anything is that they changed how to get into DFU mode and don't ****ing update their instructions on their own support site or teach their useless support team.
 
ClassicII said:
I also wrote an article specifically on booting Apple Silicon to DFU mode and how to restore via Apple Configurator 2.

mrmacintosh.com

Restore macOS Firmware on an Apple Silicon M1 Mac + Boot to DFU Mode

Need to install macOS on an Apple Silicon Mac? I will show you how to boot into Boot to DFU Mode + Use Apple Configurator 2 to restore macOS!
mrmacintosh.com mrmacintosh.com
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Mr. MacIntosh, did you see Sagertat's method below? I think it's a more elegant way than the one in your article. to be quite honest I couldn't make it work from what you explained but got it using his method. It's basically how you did it on the intel ones but you need to wait to get into startup selection screen. probably easier now than before tbh. just wish they would let us know that they freaking changed it.

Sagertat said:
Geez, finally got into DFU. For those still struggling, boot into recovery by holding the power button during startup. Once at the recovery selection screen, press the power button 1 sec and then the other 3 keys for 10 sec. Let go of the 3 keys and then the power button 4-5 seconds after that. NOW, it looks like the mac is off. It's not. It should be in DFU mode. I kept thinking it was off which made sense since the power button was just held again. ugh :(. Wasted time. Just check the configurator to see if it shows up in DFU.
Click to expand...
 
russell_314 said:
Apple could have predicted that people would need to restore a factory new computer to the factory new state just like whoever designed electrical outlets could have predicted people wanted to put forks in them.
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Got my macbook yesterday. Started migration from my old one. During migration got an error. Not sure if the cable got unplugged or what. Booted up my 'mostly migrated' new macbook. Full of bugs, some apps were not migrated properly, some wouldn't open, some network settings were preventing me to access the internet. Logical decision: restore it and try migration again from a clean slate.

Your narrow mindset stems from your arrogance in believing you have already thought out every possible scenario. Be humble. Be smart.
 
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Not to get ahead of myself here but I think my Mac mini downloaded the macOS software with no problem so far.......
 
M1 Mac mini is slowly loading something. Not sure if it’s restoring cuz I recall seeing a remaining time. But no errors so far!!!

I erased my Mac mini cuz I was going to restore from time machine in macOS recovery. I had no idea it was going to brick M1 Macs but my Mac mini is restoring I think!!! GOOD. For a second I thought I wasn’t going to be able to try out Apple’s new rubber
 
ClassicII said:
Yes, you can use a USB Installer normally to reinstall macOS on Apple Silicon. The problem here is the particular shipping version of macOS that came on Apple Silicon Macs that is the issue. If the user first updated the M1 Mac to 11.0.1 they might not be having this issue right now. Again it all comes down to the problematic version that was installed on all M1 Macs at the factory.
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Are you sure of this? I have a f***ing seriously OCD. I have just used the recovery with DFU and worked like a champ, but in the future I will not have another MacBook to do that. One installed 11.0.1, will USB boot work on any other macOS versions like always?
 
WTF. Now I can’t reinstall macOS after updating to 11.0.1. I’m getting the same error!!!!!!!!!!! It let me reinstall on 11.0!!!!
 
24 hours later I've spent far too much time on this, including my initial call to Apple Support. But finally a YouTube video that clearly explained how to get the (new, target) M1 MBAir into DFU mode. Thank you so much Andrew Tsai. I owe you. You've restored my sanity.

 
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I wonder if Apple has implemented some kind of unnecessary connection to it's servers which is hidden from customers so it can keep track (snoop) on it's customers but some owners of these new M1's wanting to wipe the hard drive and re-install the OS has exposed this unnecessary connection in the form of the errors that we are seeing posted but Apple not wanting to expose what they are doing are purposely not being helpful, again exposed by M1 owners getting nowhere with Apple support.
 
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