About Startup Security Utility on a Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip
Use Startup Security Utility to make sure that your Mac always starts up from your designated startup disk, and always from a legitimate, trusted operating system.
If you're using a Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip, Startup Security Utility offers three features to help secure your Mac against unauthorized access: Firmware password protection, Secure Boot, and the ability to set allowed boot media.
If you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, learn how to change security settings on a Mac with Apple silicon.
Open Startup Security Utility
Turn on your Mac, then press and hold Command (⌘)-R immediately after you see the Apple logo. Your Mac starts up from macOS Recovery.
When you're asked to select a user you know the password for, select the user, click Next, then enter their administrator password.
When you see the macOS utilities window, choose Utilities > Startup Security Utility from the menu bar.
When you're asked to authenticate, click Enter macOS Password, then choose an administrator account and enter its password.
Set allowed boot media
Use this feature to control whether your Mac can start up from external or removable media. The default, most secure setting is to disallow it. If you attempt to boot from such media and you get a warning that your security settings do not allow it, you can change the setting in Startup Security Utility.
Your Mac doesn't support booting from network volumes, whether or not you allow booting from external or removable media.
Published Date: April 15, 2024
