How to Restore macOS on Apple Silicon

Apple’s M1 chip, the company’s first silicon, has been out in the wild for nearly two months. The lineup of Macs integrated with the new processor including the new ‌MacBook Air‌, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and ‌Mac mini‌ has been getting fairly positive reviews from consumers and media. Though, as with any new piece of hardware, there is room for improvement.

In the case of the M1 chip, some have pointed out the wiping and restoring process could be a bit more streamlined. Six Colors has recently pointed out that Apple’s boot process is built on the one found on iOS, only adapted to Mac. Furthermore, Six Colors has published a step-by-step breakdown of what you should do in the event that you must wipe your Mac and restore macOS on M1 devices, via Mr. Macintosh.

Order of that you should follow for reinstalling macOS on Apple Silicon.
1. macOS Recovery
2. System Recovery – (Will boot automatically if macOS Recovery is unavailable)
3. macOS Big Sur USB Installer Drive – (External boot for macOS Installers is enabled by default on Apple Silicon)
4. Apple Configurator 2 REVIVE option – This option will reinstall macOS Recovery (retains user data on the SSD hard drive)
5. Apple Configurator 2 RESTORE option – This option will Reinstall macOS Recovery, ERASE
your SSD hard drive and reinstall macOS

Overall, it does not appear to be the most intuitive process. Though, having to restore your entire device rarely ever is. The macOS Recovery tool does require an internet connection to use. As Apple points out, its purpose is to repair the internal disk, reinstall macOS, or start-up in safe mode. Additionally, macOS Recovery can be used to restore Time Machine files, set security policies to different disks, and transfer files between two Mac devices.