{"id":72138,"date":"2022-11-18T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=72138"},"modified":"2024-01-24T12:26:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T17:26:54","slug":"how-to-recover-filevault-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/how-to-recover-filevault-key","title":{"rendered":"How to Recover a FileVault Key"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jump to Tutorial<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FileVault is a disk encryption feature built into macOS to protect your hard drive from unauthorized access. When enabled, your startup volume is locked when the Mac is sleeping or shut down, and the data is encoded so it can\u2019t be read unless the login password is used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When enabling FileVault<\/a>, macOS asks you a critical question on how you would like to unlock your disk. There are two options (Figure 1):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Allow your iCloud account to unlock your disk<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Create a recovery key<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you choose the first option while enabling FileVault, you only need to access your iCloud account to unlock your Mac and the OS will not create a separate recovery key. If you choose the second option, macOS generates a recovery key that you are expected to store in a safe place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, what happens if you lose the key? We\u2019ll cover your options for potentially recovering a FileVault key in this tutorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"screenshot
    Figure 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    Note: If you lose both your Mac password and FileVault recovery key, you will not be able to log in to your device or access the data on your startup disk.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Not Sure if the Recovery Key Is Correct?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Maybe you have a recovery key, but are unsure if it\u2019s the right one for this computer. Fortunately, if you are already\/still logged in to your Mac, there is a way forward. You can validate the recovery key by taking these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n