Troubleshooting WiFi downloading MacOS in Recovery Mode

Question

I erased my disk and rebooted to download and install macOS over the internet in Recovery Mode.

I do not believe there is any damage to my hardware since it worked completely fine before this.

It may have been something about Internet, but I do not think so since my Internet is fast and I use it regularly.

The installer log showed it was basically stuck and not making any progress. Meanwhile the loading bar was estimating longer and longer time, from 3 hours to 4, and beyond.

What are the factors that can influence this, and why?

Someone said the download works much better plugged into Ethernet. But, can it really be that finicky to download macOS over WiFi in the modern era? I do not think Internet connection should have been a problem.

Since I erased the disk completely I feel like there should not be any particular settings there that is interfering with the installation, but maybe there is. I tried to use fsck, but it gave an error saying disk5 was mounted; so I tried to unmount disk5, which gave an error that it couldn’t be done for some reason.

I do not know the general reason why this would not work. Is it more likely to be my Internet, or something deep in my disk? If so, why? Why wasn’t my disk back to normal after I completely erased it?

Answer 1

the loading bar was estimating longer and longer time, from 3 hours to 4, and beyond.

What are the factors that can influence this, and why?

There are several factors that could be at work here:

• Latency. This could be your WiFi, the connection to the modem/gateway, your ISP, their network, the content delivery network, the content servers (that serve up the file(s) to download, and Apple’s network and server’s.
• Network congestion. Your WiFi could be saturated with traffic causing a slowdown. This is one of the reasons for trying Ethernet
• Hardware. This again ranges from your WiFi to Apple’s servers. But, being pragmatic here, you might have a defective router\switch or a bad gateway (supplied by ISP)

Someone said the download works much better plugged into Ethernet. But, can it really be that finicky to download macOS over WiFi in the modern era?

Ethernet will always be more reliable to WiFi. WiFi continues to improve, but so does Ethernet. A wired connection gives you a clean connection to the network without worrying about rogue signals your neighbors are broadcasting. As far as “WiFi in the modern era goes,” if the gear is faulty it won’t matter what year it is. Always eliminate suspect factors based on function, not the calendar.

I tried to use fsck,

Your disk is irrelevant here. macOS is loaded into RAM disks so that you can mount/dismount your main drive to facilitate erasure and formatting. Even if you formatted it, the downloaded OS won’t be aware of this and needs to be able to manipulate the drive.

Is it more likely to be my Internet, or something deep in my disk? If so, why? Why wasn’t my disk back to normal after I completely erased it?

My guess, based on extensive experience, is this is a network issue. Try the Ethernet cable. Take the unit to an Apple store and download there or try a different network (like work). As far as your disk goes, “normal” is relative. Without putting hands on, it’s impossible to see what’s abnormal. Either way, you need to get the OS reinstalled to get back to normalcy.