If your Mac is acting erratically—taking five minutes to boot up, refusing to connect to Wi-Fi, displaying graphical glitches, or crashing immediately after you log in—you must figure out who is to blame. Is the Apple hardware failing, or did you accidentally install a malicious third-party application? To isolate the problem, you must boot the Mac into Safe Mode. Safe Mode forces macOS to perform a complete directory check on your hard drive, securely deletes all corrupt system caches, and completely blocks all third-party fonts, drivers, and startup items from loading.
How to Enter Safe Mode (Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3)
If you purchased your Mac after late 2020, it likely has an Apple Silicon processor. The process for entering Safe Mode is completely different than on older Intel Macs.
- Click the Apple logo in the top left corner and select Shut Down. Wait until the screen is completely black and the machine is off.
- Press and hold the physical Power Button (or Touch ID sensor) on your Mac. Do not let go.
- Keep holding the button until the screen turns on and says “Loading startup options.” You can now release the button.
- You will see an icon for your main hard drive (usually named “Macintosh HD”). Click it once to select it.
- Press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard.
- A button will appear beneath the hard drive that says “Continue in Safe Mode.” Click it.
How to Enter Safe Mode (Older Intel Macs)
If you have an older Mac with an Intel processor, the process relies entirely on a keyboard shortcut during the boot sequence.
- Shut down your Mac completely.
- Press the Power Button to turn it on.
- The absolute instant you hear the startup chime (or the screen turns on), press and hold the Shift key.
- Keep holding the Shift key until you see the Apple logo and a progress bar appear on the screen. You can then release the key.
Regardless of which processor you have, when you finally reach the login screen, you will see the words “Safe Boot” written in bright red letters in the top right corner of the menu bar, confirming you have successfully entered the diagnostic environment.