DFU Revive and Restore Error

Did you even read my post? - I solved it.

I know the differences between protocols.

I'm just giving whoever needs it a heads up to pay attention to the cable, not trying to get help.

I cannot revive/restore DFU on A2289 (mbp 2020 13" intel i5) either.

Out of nowhere I had a black screen issue on my mac and tried all the typical ways (like command + r) to fix it but nothing worked.

Basically Apple logo appears on the screen, I hear the chime but then nothing: Black screen of death. After a few tries this stopped happening too, now there is nothing on the screen.

Took my computer to a friend and he tried to DFU revive/restore my mac BUT when he opened the Apple Configurator it writes RECOVERY on the disk.

Then he tried to revive/restore but the process cannot be completed, we tried it many times but an error message appears on the screen.

Firstly, what does it mean that it writes RECOVERY on the screen?

Secondly, how do I make it revive/restore?

Additional information: My computer was on Sanoma 14.1.2 when I faced this problem. My friend's intel based mac was on latest Sanoma.

Did you read mine? Things are not always about you, there may be a bigger picture to consider. I will admit I probably should have written the post more generally instead of saying "you" since I think that may have made you think I was only speaking to you, but I wouldn't expect anyone to get upset with having more information. People are so easily offended these days.

I was trying to explain to anyone reading this thread why the cables you tried did not work and what to look for in a cable to be successful with the firmware Revive/Restore procedure. Don't you think other people reading this thread would prefer to purchase the correct cable the first time instead of trying random cables until it succeeded? I also tried to explain how to differentiate between the various cables since manufacturers don't always help consumers to understand the differences. Maybe you don't want to understand the reasons now that you succeeded in that endeavor, but I'm sure others reading this thread would prefer to know exactly what cable they should get the first time and how to tell them apart since it is very confusing.

I should have provided a link to the Apple article which provides the instructions for performing a firmware Revive & Restore, where Apple clearly mentions the details for the necessary USB-C cable needed and which one to avoid. It is unfortunate Apple doesn't provide a bit more detail, but Apple does mention which Apple branded cable to use & which Apple branded cable to avoid. If you read between the lines, Apple says a Thunderbolt cable won't work and implies any USB-C cable supporting just the USB protocol will work (Apple's charge cable only supports USB 2). Plus Apple mentions a USB-C to USB-A cable will work....these cables can support USB3, but definitely do not allow for the Thunderbolt protocol.

from: Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator - Apple Support

* A supported USB-C to USB-C charge cable, such as the one sold by Apple (may not be available in all countries or regions) or a supported USB-A to USB-C cable

* The USB-C cable must support both power and data. Thunderbolt 3 cables aren’t supported.

I added the bold to the quoted section.

It is unfortunate that the who USB-C standard is so confusing & messed up. Device & accessory manufacturers don't help the situation since many do not properly label their products or provide clear descriptions of their products. I'm an experienced tech and I find it very difficult to tell what some of these products actually support. Basic rule....if the manufacturer does not specifically mention/identify something about their product, then assume the worst case & it only supports the lowest standard since manufacturers usually like to boast about the great features to the point that it actually becomes misleading & deceptive advertising.

bedriye80 wrote:

I cannot revive/restore DFU on A2289 (mbp 2020 13" intel i5) either.

Took my computer to a friend and he tried to DFU revive/restore my mac BUT when he opened the Apple Configurator it writes RECOVERY on the disk.

Then he tried to revive/restore but the process cannot be completed, we tried it many times but an error message appears on the screen.

Firstly, what does it mean that it writes RECOVERY on the screen?

If the host Mac running Apple Configurator 2 is saying "Recovery", then it likely means your laptop is now booted into Recovery Mode. The DFU firmware Restore process is different with the Intel Macs than it is with the Apple Silicon Macs. With an Intel Mac, after the DFU firmware Restore process completes, the Mac will automatically reboot into Internet Recovery Mode so that you can then reinstall macOS from the online macOS installer, whereas an Apple Silicon Mac will have had macOS pushed onto the internal SSD during the DFU firmware Restore process.

Once or twice I thought I had one my organization's Intel Macs also have the OS pushed onto its internal SSD, but I wasn't paying close attention to it. I wonder if I had the "broken" Mac connected directly to the Internet using an Ethernet Cable when it happened. I just assume that all Intel T2 Macs will require being placed into Internet Recovery Mode after the DFU firmware Restore in order to perform the reinstall of macOS separately.

Secondly, how do I make it revive/restore?

Make sure to read the Apple documentation very carefully regarding the whole DFU firmware Restore process for an Intel Mac. Every step must be performed exactly as described. Sometimes it takes me multiple attempts just to place these Macs into DFU Mode which will be reflected on the Apple Configurator 2 window with large DFU letters when you are successful. Here are two Apple articles regarding the process, with the second article being the older instructions:

How to revive or restore Mac firmware - Apple Support

Revive or restore an Intel-based Mac using Apple Configurator - Apple Support

I am just now in the process of installing Sonoma in my M1.

Yesterday had a perfectly normal day at work, with the only exception that I ran out if space on disk while editing some videos.

Deleted a few, got 16GB left, turned the laptop off and went home.

At home I opened the laptop to clean up some of my files in my personal user profile (I have it split) and free'd up about 200GB.

Of course macOS wanted to upgrade or update, but given I run specific packages that might not be compatible with Sonoma yet, I went with the option of a regular update.

Packages were some version of Ventura, ProFormats and Safari.

The laptop tried to update itself but never woke up again.

Gave it time: Nothing.

Plug re-plug: nothing.

Check any NVRAM or any resets: nothing.

It would turn on, chime, show the apple logo and go to black.

Found out the DFU/revive procedure. Have a mac studio at home so tried with that.

Tried with a TB3/usbC cable - TB3 cables are not supported.

Tried a TB4, failed.

Error 21.

Tried a different sabrent usbC - didn't see it as DFU. Etc.

Came to the office today, tried a different rescue mac and cable altogether, and seems that it has done the trick.

Either the different rescue mac did something or the different cable allowed it to pass the data it needed. But just now it has finished installing Sonoma and I'm back in my laptop. Seems I haven't lost a thing.

This is definitely a software problem that corrupts something at a very low level. It's human error, not hardware problems.

Apple should definitely do more appropriate testing before pushing updates.

Samuel_Caron wrote:

Unfortunately, my M1 Pro MacBook Pro

I followed the steps outlined in the support article on how to use Apple Configurator and another Mac to revive/restore the device and was met with this error as the process seemingly was drawing to a close:

If you used another Mac in an effort to restore your problem " M1 Pro MacBook Pro "

and no resolve take it in —

In or out of warranty you can get a free over the counter 'Apple Service Diagnostics' test /assessment

Make an appointment for a "hardware issue"

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Outside the USA

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Check your coverage

My Support - Official Apple Support

Irav88 wrote:

Tried with a TB3/usbC cable - TB3 cables are not supported.

Tried a TB4, failed.

Error 21.

Tried a different sabrent usbC - didn't see it as DFU. Etc.

Came to the office today, tried a different rescue mac and cable altogether, and seems that it has done the trick.

Either the different rescue mac did something or the different cable allowed it to pass the data it needed. But just now it has finished installing Sonoma and I'm back in my laptop. Seems I haven't lost a thing.

You need a USB2 rated USB-C cable. The Apple USB-C charging cable which ships with USB-C Macs from the factory will work....these Apple USB-C cables have no markings or symbols on the USB-C connector. If you have a USB3 USB-C cable with just a USB trident symbol.....maybe that will work, but I'm not sure. I am sure that any USB-C cable marked with a lighting bolt icon will not work for the firmware "Revive" or "Restore" procedure since those are Thunderbolt3/4 cables (also utilized USB3/4 protocols, but the Thunderbolt protocol most likely is chosen first by macOS since it is the better/preferred protocol.

I kept having this problem with my ipad pro (12.9" gen 2) which I had never had before. I tried restoring and reviving a bunch of times. I switched from a USB-C Lightning cable to a USB-A Lightning Cable and it immediately worked first try. Figured I'd share for future readers.

Hi, I got the same problems. I got all these type of error messages:

The device is not connected. [ConfigurationUtilityKit.error – 0x25B (603)]

Failed to copy preflight options during recovery mode restore. [com.apple.MobileDevice.MobileRestore – 0xB (11)]

The operation couldn’t be completed. No space left on device [NSPOSIXErrorDomain – 0x1C (28)]

Failed to restore device in recovery mode, libusbrestore error:21 [com.apple.MobileDevice.MobileRestore – 0x15 (21)]

Failed to unzip the restore bundle [com.apple.MobileDevice.MobileRestore – 0xFB5 (4021)]

Failed to unzip the restore bundle [com.apple.MobileDevice.MobileRestore – 0xFB5 (4021)]

Failed to restore device in recovery mode, libusbrestore error:21 [com.apple.MobileDevice.MobileRestore – 0x15 (21)]

And Irav88's message helped me! I used my Thunderbolt Cable which came with my mac, but it turns out this does only transfer power and not data! Still very bad UX that the mac still shows up in the Configurator Tool but u can't do anything with it. So after changing to another cable which supports data connection all worked fine!

About the only thing you can do is force a power off, then try to put it into DFU Mode again to try another "Restore". I seriously doubt it will work, but unfortunately it is all you can do.

Yeah, that's probably what I'll be stuck doing–shame it's as far away for me as it is...

The support page will refer you to an Authorized Repair Center that is likely closer.

The official Apple docs repeatedly say TB cables won't work. There are anecdotal reports of them working here or their but you can't really complain if they tell you it won't work and it doesn't.