Erased the main disk on my macBook can't recover

During the update erased the disk. Hold command+R appears a lock with a password. I didn't set a password. Tried the login passwords and icloud password then entered everything on the back cover none of them fit. What to do how to restore?

MacBook Air 11″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Oct 28, 2025 6:23 AM

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Posted on Oct 28, 2025 6:40 AM

Did you buy the machine used?


If you're seeing a padlock and boxes to enter a pin, that's a firmware passcode. If you bought the machine used, you're hosed. There is no way to bypass it.


If you bought it new directly from Apple or an authorized retailer, and have the original proof of purchase, you can take it to Apple to have the firmware passcode removed provided it isn't in lost mode.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 28, 2025 6:40 AM in response to mackillerr

Did you buy the machine used?


If you're seeing a padlock and boxes to enter a pin, that's a firmware passcode. If you bought the machine used, you're hosed. There is no way to bypass it.


If you bought it new directly from Apple or an authorized retailer, and have the original proof of purchase, you can take it to Apple to have the firmware passcode removed provided it isn't in lost mode.

Erased the main disk on my macBook can't recover

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