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Summary
The “recovery server could not be contacted” error can be caused by a temporary server problem, so you may just need to wait. Check your internet connection to ensure that you’re connected to the internet, and then make sure that your Mac’s time is set correctly. Failing this, consider installing macOS manually with a USB drive instead.
Are you receiving an unhelpful error while trying to restore your Mac or reinstall macOS? The “recovery server could not be contacted” error shows up mostly in Recovery Mode, but may affect the macOS upgrade and install process too. Here are some things you can try to solve the issue for good.
Check You’re Connected to the Internet
It might sound obvious, but not being connected to the internet will make it impossible for your Mac to contact any servers required for recovery, updates, or installation of macOS.
You can click on the Wi-Fi icon in the top-right corner of your screen and make sure that you are indeed connected to a Wi-Fi network. Simply being connected to a local network doesn’t guarantee internet connectivity though, so it’s also worthchecking if the internet connection is workingby testing on other devices connected to your network.
If you suspect that the problem is your network hardware or local internet connection, trypower-cycling your modem and routerby turning it off, waiting up to 30 seconds, then switching everything back on and trying again.
Related:Why Am I Connected to Wi-Fi But Not the Internet?
Make Sure the Time and Date Are Correct
Apple’s servers will sometimes refuse to play ball with a Mac if thetime and dateare set incorrectly. Take a look at your Mac’s clock and make sure it’s set correctly. On a standard modern Mac desktop, you may head to System Settings (or System Preferences) > General > Date and Time. Check “Set time and date automatically” to set your time using Apple’s servers.
If you’re stuckin Recovery Mode, you can use a Terminal command to set the time manually. First launch Terminal under Utilities > Terminal.
To clarify,mmis the month,ddis the day,hhis the hour,ssis the minute, andyyis the year. So June 23, 2025 at 4.24 pm would be0630162423.
You can also try using the following Terminal command on macOS 10.14 Mojave or later to set the time automatically:
If you’re running macOS 10.13 High Sierra or earlier you may instead use:
Since you’re using thesudocommand you will need to authenticate with your admin password when doing this. Once you’re confident the time is set correctly, try again.
Install macOS Manually via USB
Rather than relying on your Mac to download the software right before you install it, consider downloading macOS yourself and installing it from USB instead. Check outour full guide for a USB install(which includes support for older versions of macOS), though be aware you will need a working Mac to make it happen.
If you choose to install macOS without first erasing your drive, you will keep your existing user data. If you’d rather have a fresh install you can choose toerase your Mac the easy way, oruse Disk Utility in Recovery Mode to erase your macOS partition. If you go this route make sure youback up first with Time Machine, where possible.
Alternatively, Wait and Try Again Later
Sometimes server errors are caused by temporary glitches. If a server goes down for maintenance or is under heavy load, you might see an error that says it’s not contactable. If waiting is an option, try giving it an hour or two before trying the operation again.
If USB restoring your old Mac is the only option, considerinstalling an unsupported version of macOSinstead.
