Which port is the DFU port on my mac?
Restoring a mac over usb only works through its DFU port. Apple wasn't consistent about which port that is, and it moves around between models. Plug into the wrong one and nothing happens, so find yours here first.
MacBook Pro
- 14″ with M4 or M5 (not Pro or Max)
- Left side, the port closest to the front
- Every other Apple Silicon model
- Left side, the port closest to the hinge
- T2 models
- Left side, the port closest to the front
MacBook Air
- Apple Silicon, 2025 or later
- Left side, the port closest to the front
- Every other Apple Silicon model
- Left side, the port closest to the hinge
- T2 models
- Left side, the port closest to the front
MacBook Neo
- Every model
- Left side, the port closest to the hinge
iMac
- Every model
- Looking at the back, the rightmost usb-c port
Mac mini
- Apple Silicon, 2025 or later
- Looking at the back, the middle usb-c port
- Every other Apple Silicon model
- Looking at the back, the leftmost usb-c port
- T2 models
- Looking at the back, the rightmost usb-c port
Mac Studio
- Every model
- Looking at the back, the rightmost usb-c port
Mac Pro
- Tower
- On top, the usb-c port farthest from the power button
- Rack
- On the front, the usb-c port closest to the power button
From apple's DFU port list. Not sure which year your mac is? Apple menu, About This Mac.
Getting it into DFU mode
If the computer you're fixing it from is a T2 or Apple Silicon mac, you don't have to do anything. Plug into the DFU port and restorekit flips the target into DFU for you.
From windows or linux, a normal usb-c port can't send the message that does it, so either use a dongle-lite or do it by hand with the button combo.
Apple Silicon laptops, by hand
- Plug the cable into the DFU port. Power goes in MagSafe if it has one, nothing else plugged in.
- Hold the power button until the mac turns off.
- Press power once, then right away hold left Control, left Option, right Shift and power together.
- After about 10 seconds let go of the three keys but keep holding power.
- Keep holding power for up to 10 more seconds. The screen stays black, that's DFU.
Apple Silicon desktops, by hand
- Plug the cable into the DFU port and unplug the mac from power.
- Hold the power button, plug power back in, and keep holding for up to 10 seconds.
The timing is fiddly, it can take a few tries. T2 macs use a different combo, the apple wiki has it. Use a usb-c cable that does data and charging (apple says not a Thunderbolt 3 cable) and go straight into both machines, no hubs.
Then restore it
restorekit finds the mac, downloads the right firmware from apple and restores it. It runs on macOS, linux and windows, so you don't need a second mac. It's free and open source.