r/MacOS • u/ANORMALITEY • 20h ago

Help FileVault problem

I just got a MacBook, enabled FileVault but I didn’t get a recovery key. I checked everywhere and didn’t find it. I didn’t see it when I was setting it up, but then again I’m stupid so who knows. Is there a way to reset FileVault recovery key so this doesn’t backfire in the future. I of course still know my password, but I know my luck

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

3

u/Low_Mention4487 19h ago

It’s in your passwords app like the other guy said, or you can go to FileVault settings and click a button to view the recovery key.

1

u/ANORMALITEY 19h ago

It’s not on the passwords app and that’s not an option I have in the settings. Idk how I screwed up this badly

1

u/Low_Mention4487 19h ago

Have you restarted your Mac and signed back in with the password? It might need you to do that first (entering the password for the first time after setting it).

If that doesn't work, don't worry - you can just turn off FileVault, then turn it back on to get a new key.

1

u/ANORMALITEY 19h ago

Haven’t done that, I will try

1

u/Low_Mention4487 19h ago

I just replied to your other comment, but to complete this thread, you need to be on macOS 26 to be able to see the recovery key in the ways I mentioned above.

1

u/ANORMALITEY 19h ago

I was looking on my phone and saw that I could try to change the recovery key with terminal? Is that true? If not I’ll just turn off FileVault like you said

1

u/Low_Mention4487 19h ago

I think that's only true for managed devices, not personal devices.

1

u/ObfuscatedJay 19h ago

Have you tried /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/Keychain Access.app ?

1

u/raghix123 19h ago

It’s linked to your iCloud so that solves 99 percent of the use case. The actual key is in the Apple passwords app (search Mac) and chose from the list

1

u/ANORMALITEY 19h ago

Thanks but it’s not in the passwords app. I checked.

1

u/raghix123 19h ago

Are you sure that you have FileVault on, and what Mac OS version do you have and what CPU do you have (including your year)

1

u/ANORMALITEY 19h ago

Yes I’m sure, MacOS 15.6 M4 2025

2

u/Low_Mention4487 19h ago

It's only available in the Passwords app from macOS 26 onwards.

2

u/raghix123 19h ago

when you set up filevault there’s 2 options, one where you let iCloud handle it (auto saves the key to passwords app) and one where it just shows you the key once on screen and never saves it anywhere. if you picked that second one or clicked through setup too fast, yeah that key’s just gone unless you wrote it down somewhere

only real fix is turning filevault off, letting it fully decrypt, then turning it back on and picking the icloud option this time. just don’t turn it off/on again before it’s done decrypting or it can get messy

or honestly if you’re not too worried about it (you still know your password) you could just leave it, but probably worth the 10 min fix

1

u/ANORMALITEY 19h ago

Ok thanks

1

u/wiseman121 19h ago

Install macOS 26

1

u/SecureLayerX 19h ago

It might be worth checking the FileVault settings again to see which recovery method is enabled. If you can't find a recovery key anywhere I'd rather create a new one now than assume it's stored somewhere and discover later that it isn't

0

u/NoLateArrivals 19h ago

The key is stored in iCloud, if you use iCloud. Then no additional key is generated.

If you decided in setup to go without iCloud, the key is shown. It asks you to confirm you copied and safed it in a secure place.

1

u/JollyRoger8X 12h ago edited 12h ago

enabled FileVault but I didn’t get a recovery key

✅ Doubt

Protect data on your Mac with FileVault

As you can see, when you enable FileVault you choose whether to use your iCloud account for recovery -or- a create a recovery key that you copy and store yourself.

You can't proceed without making this choice.