Turn on FileVault to encrypt your Mac's disk

Why it happens

Without FileVault, someone who takes your Mac could get at the files on its disk without your password. FileVault encrypts the whole startup disk, so the data is scrambled until you log in. It costs you nothing day to day, but you must keep a way back in, because if you lose both your password and that backup, nobody can read the disk.

How to fix it

1. Plug your Mac in if it's a laptop. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings and click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.

2. Scroll down to the Security section and find FileVault. Click Turn On. You need to be logged in as an administrator.

   Privacy & Security›FileVault›Turn On…

3. Choose how you'll get back in if you forget your password. Allow my iCloud account to unlock my disk is the easiest. Create a recovery key and do not use my iCloud account gives you a long code instead.

4. If you chose a recovery key, write it down exactly and keep it somewhere safe that isn't this Mac, such as a password manager on another device or a printed copy at home. Your Mac only shows it this once.

5. Follow the prompts to finish. On every Mac that runs macOS 26 or 27 it's ready almost at once, because the Mac's security chip already encrypts the disk. You can keep working straight away.

6. From now on you type your password when the Mac starts up, before anything else loads. That's FileVault doing its job.

Still not fixed?

1. Turn On greyed out? Your account isn't an administrator, or the Mac is managed by a school or company. Log in with an admin account, or ask whoever manages the Mac.

2. If Privacy & Security shows Encrypting… or Connect power adapter to resume encryption under FileVault, plug the Mac in and keep it awake. It carries on by itself, even after a restart.

   Privacy & Security›FileVault

3. Lost your recovery key while you can still log in? Keep FileVault on. Your password still unlocks the Mac, and Apple Support can walk you through making a new key.

4. Automatic login turns off with FileVault. That's on purpose, so the disk stays locked until someone types the password.

5. If you're locked out and have neither your password nor a working recovery key, contact Apple Support. Be aware that nobody, including Apple, can read an encrypted disk without one of them, so keep that key safe.