How to Boot a Mac into Safe Mode for Diagnostics (Intel and Apple Silicon)

When a Mac experiences kernel panics, fails to boot completely, or suffers from severe performance issues, the first troubleshooting step should always be booting into Safe Mode. Safe Mode performs a directory check on the startup volume, clears specific system caches, and—crucially—prevents third-party kernel extensions, login items, and custom fonts from loading. This allows you to determine if an issue is caused by the core macOS system or third-party software.

However, the method for accessing Safe Mode changed significantly with Apple’s transition from Intel processors to Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3 chips).

How to Boot an Intel Mac into Safe Mode

If your Mac has an Intel processor (generally models from 2020 and earlier), follow these steps:

1. Shut down your Mac completely.
2. Press the power button to turn on the Mac.
3. Immediately after you hear the startup chime (or as soon as the screen turns on), press and hold the Shift key.
4. Keep holding the Shift key until the Apple logo and a progress bar appear on the screen.
5. You can release the Shift key once the login window appears. You should see “Safe Boot” written in red text in the upper-right corner of the menu bar.

How to Boot an Apple Silicon Mac into Safe Mode

If your Mac is equipped with an Apple Silicon processor, the traditional Shift key method will not work. Instead, you must use the Startup Options menu.

1. Shut down your Mac completely.
2. Press and hold the power button (or Touch ID button) on your Mac.
3. Continue holding the button until the screen displays “Loading startup options…”
4. When the screen shows your startup disk (usually named “Macintosh HD”) and an “Options” gear icon, select your startup disk by clicking it once.
5. Now, press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard.
6. The button below the startup disk will change from “Continue” to “Continue in Safe Mode”. Click it.
7. The Mac will reboot. When the login screen appears, verify you are in Safe Mode by checking for “Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner.

What to Do Once in Safe Mode

Once booted, test the system. If the issue you were experiencing (such as a system crash or slow performance) disappears, the problem is almost certainly caused by a third-party application launching at startup. You should check System Settings > General > Login Items to identify and disable the offending software.

To exit Safe Mode, simply restart the Mac normally without holding any keys.