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Notes on Fixing the `-1008F` Error During macOS Internet Recovery

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After not using my Intel Mac mini for a while, I carelessly erased disks to reset it. As a result, the OS would no longer boot at all, and I could not even recover it from the local recovery disk.

So, following the official guidance, I started the machine while holding down option + command + R (Alt + Windows + R on a Windows keyboard) and tried Internet Recovery, but the error code -1008F shown below appeared and I could not proceed.

image-20231024203124319

Reference: Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support

The document below explained two ways to deal with this error in detail: booting with the option + command + R keys and disabling Activation Lock. However, neither helped in my case.

Reference: If your Mac displays error -1008F at startup - Apple Support

After looking into it further, it seems that this kind of problem can occur when the device is registered in the Apple account’s Find My feature.

So I opened the Find My app on my iPhone and removed the mac mini’s information. After that, Internet Recovery succeeded and I was able to restore the OS.

Reference: Find friends in Find My on iPhone - Apple Support

I could not find any official information about this. I ended up wasting quite a bit of time, so I am leaving this here as a memo.