FileVault is an excellent peter to protect your Mac ’s drive when it ’s shut down . When FileVault is active , someone powering up your auto can not realize memory access through any mean value to the encipher information on your inauguration bulk without screw the word of one of your accounts .
( FileVault also enables full - disk encryption on Intel Macs without a T2 Security Chip . All T2 - equipped Macs starting in 2017 and all M1 Apple silicon Macs have FDE always enabled . )
When you turn on FileVault , macOS motivate you about a critical stand-in ingredient , the FileVault Recovery key . you could choose to store it in escrow and securely via iCloud . Then you just need your iCloud bill , word , and 2d - factor ( like a trusted twist ) to find entree if you ever find yourself lock in out of your Mac , where an account password cease to work .
But you may also opt to get over the Recovery Key yourself , as I describe inthis chromatography column from 2018 . However , a reader enquire a question that can result if you disable and re - enable FileVault — which takes just second with a T2 - equipped or M1 Mac — or transmigrate to a new Mac . This might exit you with multiple Recovery Keys you ’ve noted over time .
If you have n’t carefully tracked your Recovery Key , you could wind up being unsure which is accurate for your current Mac and FileVault encoding setup . There ’s fortunately an easy mode to suss out .
You will seetrueif the Recovery Key the current key;falseif not . If you get the latter and you typed rather than paste in your Recovery , regard you might have mistyped it and assay again .
If you did n’t enter the key in exactly the data format that they ’re provided in , the app will take note “ Error : not a valid recovery headstone . ” stress re - entering .
If none of your keys prove valid , you should immediately disable and re - enable FileVault , follow the operating instructions in this columnunder the gallery , “ No record of Recovery Key . ”
FileVault controls are located inSystem Preferences > Security & Privacy , under the FileVault check .
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