MacOS Big Sur Issues | Apple Developer Forums

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I reset my laptop to the default settings normally (I’ve done it before), but when I tried to reinstall MacOS Big Sur it says “No users available for authorization”. I’ve tried making a new admin through terminal in recovery mode but it isn’t working and Command+S to get to single user mode doesn’t work either. Any ideas on how to fix this?

macOS

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Posted by

Gberenise

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Replies

I also have the same issue. Please help. Thanks.

Posted by

aldismac

Just had this happen to me and noticed your question during my search. I was able to fix it by allowing it to boot into normal mode where it asked me to use my apple account to activate the mac, before I "quit recovery assistant" button (IIRC that's what it said) I chose "Erase Mac" from the menu up top. That took a few seconds, rebooted and I was able to continue a fresh install, this time without the “No users available for authorization” message.

Posted by

tgermaneri

This solved also my problem. Huge Thanks.

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Alekss

You are my life saver! Thank you so much. It Works!

Posted by

aldismac

Okay, same issue here, but I'm not given the option for "normal" mode. It just goes into recovery mode straight away. Any ideas?

Posted by

rhweinberger

@rhweinberger "normal" mode in this case was recovery mode. I had just erased the "Macintosh HD" partition because it was just full of crap and I wanted a fresh start. On the screen where you log into your apple account, that's where you'll find the "Erase Mac" option. I don't know if you have to do it before or after you sign on, but you should not exit from the dialog after you sign on. The option is on the menu bar at the top of the screen. Good luck!

Posted by

tgermaneri

I just spoke with Apple support about this issue and they had me go to terminal and then type resetpassword and then I erased the mac and was able to reinstall mac os big sur. Part of the issue was that I had erased the macbook air without creating any user accounts. After it reboots you will need to connect to wifi again.

Posted by

ssearson

I’m having this same issue, only after I type resetpassword into terminal it is saying reset password failed and that there are no users on this volume to recover. Not sure what to do next

Posted by

SkiDiamonds

Having the same issue on my end as well. Accidentally wiped out the disk on my M1. Now getting the “No users available for authorization” message when I try to reinstall OSX.

Tried:

Terminal (resetpassword)
Terminal (rm "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/var/db/.AppleSetupDone")

No luck...

Posted by

user_not_found

I just stucked at the same issue please help me

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muhammaddanishmemon

I had the same issue @tgermaneri answer helped me thank you so much it is reinstalling now. I never had that in an other Mac .

Posted by

hpwot

Agreed, the answer from tgermaneri worked. Note that the Erase Mac option is available right away in the Recovery area, even before I entered in my username and password.

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prombough

I had the same issue and tried

Terminal (resetpassword)
Terminal (rm "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/var/db/.AppleSetupDone")

As this was a fresh install and was happy to wipe all data -what worked for me was erasing the data drive as I had only erased the Macintosh HD drive. Please be careful to ensure you have a backup in place should you not be able to wipe everything before proceeding with this solution.

Posted by

marmaladeBen

go to iCloud.com and erase the Mac then delete it from your account and then long press on power button for of the MacBook with M1 chip to get to reinstall the os

Posted by

Nashyou

This seems like a way to go around having to erase my drive. Does this actually work?? I have the same issue but with the latest update of Ventura on my MacBook Pro 2017; it keeps asking me to login to my iCloud account and then it tells me “There are no users on this volume to recover.” Let me know if this works thanks.

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Chico81

to reinstall macOS big sure on MacBook Air :

utilities window choose Utilities > Terminal from the menu bar
Type resetpassword in Terminal
Click on the Reset Password box(any where) and from menu bar select Recovery Assistant > Erase Mac from the menu bar

(even if there no user inside the box)
4. Click Erase Mac in the window that opens When done, your Mac will restarts.
5. follow the steps in wizard , Until you see Exit to Recovery Utilities.
6. select Reinstall Mac OS Big Sure

Posted by

ahmadBadwan

I literally registered on this forum just to tell you thank you so much for this post

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Ally11111171
thank you, your answer really helped

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NoMoreSauce
Thank you so much! Lifesaver

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Maryak

I eventually managed to get around this by deleting all the volumes/partitions on the disk and starting from scratch.

Posted by

DavePullig

The steps that worked for me is to delete both the "data" volume and "Macintosh HD" volume and create a new volume from scratch. Then the reinstaller stops complaining.

Posted by

protossor

These steps have hopefully worked for me…just waiting for it to reinstall…they certainly do not make it easy!

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Haub12

Delete both Data and macintosh HD and then shut down Disk Utility and reinstall Mac OS Big Sur. This option worked for me as well. All other solutions given, like using Terminal, did not work for me. Thanks protossor.

Posted by

leefe012

This worked for me! thank you leefe012.

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sjfalard