{"id":34462,"date":"2021-12-16T16:43:41","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T21:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=34462"},"modified":"2025-07-30T14:27:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:27:14","slug":"how-recovery-works-on-m1-series-macs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/16\/how-recovery-works-on-m1-series-macs\/","title":{"rendered":"How Recovery Works on M1 Series Macs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Howard Oakley<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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These recent macOS updates break from two traditions: for M1 models, their ‘firmware’ update also brings a new Recovery system which is based on the latest macOS, in this case 12.0.1 even when the update is 11.6.1, and a single Recovery system is installed in each APFS container with one or more bootable systems.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

1 True Recovery (1TR) is engaged as usual by pressing and holding the Power button until the display shows that Options are loading or have loaded. This can only be engaged by the user pressing the Power button, and only 1TR supports the full features, including Startup Security Utility, which you can use to change its Secure Boot settings.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Let’s say that you have an M1 Mac with two Monterey boot systems: one on the internal SSD, the other on an external SSD. To change the Secure Boot settings for the internal SSD, your Mac must boot into the Recovery system installed on the internal SSD, which is in the same container and paired with that macOS system. To change the Secure Boot settings for the external SSD, you must first boot from that external SSD, shut down, then start up in Recovery, which will be the Recovery volume on the external SSD.<\/p>\n

Unlike in Big Sur, the Recovery system in the boot container on the internal SSD doesn’t have the ability to change Secure Boot settings for the bootable system on the external SSD.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

I think this means that if you install a beta version of macOS, even on a different drive, your firmware 1TR gets replaced with a beta version.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n