I’m trying to boot an official macOS installer from USB on a new Mac (with the Apple T2 Security Chip), but I’m unable to:
The Mac is brand new, yet it seems like the recovery partition or required options are missing.
I’ve tried multiple approaches but hit a dead end.
Is there a solution to enable external booting or fix this issue?
This behavior is tied to how the Apple T2 Security Chip enforces boot security.
By default:
External boot is disabled
Changes require Startup Security Utility (via Recovery Mode)
If you can’t access Recovery Mode at all, you should check your way to Recovery Mode:
Try different recovery shortcuts:
Command + R: local Recovery
Or enter Internet Recovery Mode, which connects to the Apple server to enter Recovery Mode. It is a remedy when the local recovery partition is missing or corrupted.
Option + Command + R
Make sure you’re holding keys immediately at power-on
If Internet Recovery works, open Startup Security Utility from there
If none of the recovery options load, then your recoveryOS is likely missing or corrupted (rare, but possible even on new machines).
In that case, you’d better recover files from your Mac first (If you’ve saved some important files on it). The only safe and stable way is to use a data recovery tool (such as iBoysoft Mac Recovery Mode)
The Apple T2 Security Chip blocks you, and you can’t bypass it without Recovery Mode.
And yeah, it’s annoying on a “brand new” Mac, but if Recovery isn’t accessible, your options are basically:
If that doesn’t work either, you’re looking at: