Internet Recovery Stuck on Mac. How to Solve?

Written By Santosh Kumar Gupta
Approved By Rohit Arora
Updated on 23 Jan 2024
Min Reading 9 Min

The Mac Internet Recovery can get stuck on Apple logo, Wi-Fi selection, grey screen, globe, or at 24 hours. Also, your Mac Internet Recovery may not be working due to some issues. Learn how to fix ‘Internet Recovery Stuck’ issue on your Mac running on macOS Ventura or earlier. In case you’ve lost data due to incomplete macOS reinstallation, you can download this free-to-try software on a working Mac. The software creates a bootable recovery drive and recovers data from the affected Mac.

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Note: Create Recovery Drive feature is only available in Stellar Data Recovery Version 10 & earlier! The latest version has eliminated the need of any other Mac or external device. User can directly use Stellar Data Recovery through an activated link.

When your Mac is not performing as it should, you can use macOS Recovery mode to reinstall macOS. And, if the internal recovery drive is corrupt, your Mac automatically switches to the Internet Recovery mode to reinstall macOS from the Apple server; however, it requires the Internet connectivity through Wi-Fi or wired connection. You can even manually start up your Mac into your macOS Internet Recovery by powering on your system, then holding Option + Command + R keys until the Globe icon appears.

However, due to Internet connectivity issue or power cut, the Internet recovery process may not complete successfully and get stuck. This incomplete reinstallation of macOS could result in data loss on your Mac. Don’t fret. Go through the data recovery solution presented next to salvage inaccessible data on your Mac.

Use an Active Internet Connection

Your Mac Internet Recovery can get stuck before completion in the following scenarios:

Mac Internet Recovery stuck on Apple logo
Mac Internet Recovery stuck on Wi-Fi selection
Mac Internet Recovery stuck on a grey screen
Mac Internet Recovery stuck on spinning globe
Mac Internet Recovery stuck at 24 hours

In any of the feasible Mac Internet Recovery not working situations, you need to force shutdown your Mac. Place your MacBook Air/Pro, iMac, or Mac mini to a place where you have robust Wi-Fi network connectivity or use a wired ethernet connection to start the Internet recovery process. Hopefully, this time if you use a fast internet connection, you could perform the Internet recovery successfully. If the issue persists, then read on.

Reset NVRAM, PRAM, SMC

Even if you connect your Mac to a fast-active Internet, you can’t complete the Internet recovery process. In such circumstance, try to reset your Mac settings.

To reset NVRAM and PRAM on your MacBook, iMac, or Mac mini, do the following:

Power on your Mac.
Immediately press and hold Command + Option + P + R keys.
Release the keys after about 20 seconds. Meanwhile, Mac appears to start up or restart.

To reset SMC on your Mac, do the following:

For iMac or Mac mini, shut down the system and unplug the power cable. Wait for 15 seconds, then plug the power cable. Wait for 5 seconds, then turn on your Mac.
For notebook computers with the T2 chip, shut down your Mac, then press-hold the power button for 10 seconds and release it. Wait for a few seconds, then power on your Mac.
For MacBook Air/Pro with a non-removable battery and without T2 security chip, shut down your Mac and press-hold Shift + Control + Option + Power button for 10 seconds. Release the keys, then power on your Mac normally.
For notebook computers with a removable battery, shut down your Mac. Remove the battery. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds. Reinstall the battery, then turn on your Mac.

After you perform the above system reset, you can try to complete the Internet recovery process using an active Internet connection. In case this doesn’t help, proceed further.

Use a Bootable Mac Data Recovery Software

You can use a bootable Mac data recovery software to recover your inaccessible data from the Mac that has corrupt macOS due to stuck Internet recovery process.

Watch the following video for a quick overview:

The software steps are as follows:

Download & install Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac on a working Mac. Activate the software using the purchased license key.
Connect an empty USB flash drive of at least 8 GB of storage space, then launch the Mac data recovery software.
On the bottom-left corner, click the Click here link beside Create Recovery Drive. Perform the on-screen instruction to create a bootable USB flash drive.
Connect the bootable drive to the affected Mac. Turn on the Mac and hold the Option key. Release the key when the Startup Manager screen appears.
Select the Stellar USB recovery drive, then press Return. Your Mac will now boot from the recovery drive.
On the macOS Utilities window, click StellarDataRecovery and then click Continue. Use the software to scan, recover data from the Mac. Save the data to an external hard drive.
After the data recovery, use a high-speed active internet connection to reinstall macOS using the Internet Recovery method. Finally, restore the recovered data to the revived Mac.

Note: The Create Recovery Drive feature is also available in the Premium and Technician edition of the software.

In case the Internet recovery isn’t successful, relax, now you at least have recovered your data from the storage drive. To complete the macOS installation, proceed to the next solution.

Use a Bootable Installer

Once you’ve recovered your data by using a bootable data recovery software, proceed to reinstall macOS using a bootable installer in case the Internet recovery failed.

Steps to install macOS using bootable installer are as follows:

Connect the bootable installer (say DVD, USB Flash Drive, or USB Drive) on your Mac.
In macOS Recovery, open Terminal and type the following in the command prompt:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Ventura.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

Here, you replace the name of the macOS that the installer has (for instance use Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app for macOS Monterey) and replace MyVolume with the name of the bootable installer, then press Return.

Type the admin password when prompted, then press Return. The password characters won’t show up on the screen.
Type Y to confirm erasure of your Mac storage drive (don’t worry; you’ve already taken the backup using bootable data recovery software), then press Return.
Click OK to allow copy from the bootable installer. Once Terminal says done, quit Terminal and eject the bootable installer. Now, restore the recovered data to the revived Mac.

Conclusion

A bootable data recovery software for Mac, such as Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac, can be a saviour if your Mac is stuck on Internet Recovery and no other troubleshooting method works. The software is compatible with the latest macOS Ventura 13 and supports APFS, HFS+, HFS, and other file systems. The software comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, just in case.

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