The topic Apple updates macOS 28 guidance with direct encrypted HFS+ to APFS conversion is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Users who rely on encrypted HFS+ drives will no longer need to decrypt them before converting them to APFS for macOS 28 compatibility. Here’s what that means.
A few weeks ago, Apple published a support document explaining that starting with macOS 28, “the Mac OS Extended file system format will be supported only for volumes (disks and other storage devices) that aren’t encrypted.”
This basically meant that users who currently rely on encrypted HFS+ external drives or other encrypted legacy Mac-formatted volumes would need to “either decrypt or reformat any encrypted Mac OS Extended volumes,” as Apple explained.
Previously, the support page provided step-by-step instructions for either decrypting the volume or erasing and reformatting it using APFS.
Apple has now revised the page to add a third option, allowing users to convert an encrypted HFS+ volume directly to encrypted APFS without decrypting it first. The company now provides the following instructions for the new process:
Apple notes, however, that “this solution doesn’t apply to encrypted Time Machine backup disks.”
The company has also removed its previous instructions for decrypting the volume first, converting it to APFS without erasing it, and then optionally re-encrypting it.
Does this new option make it easier for you to prepare your drives for macOS 28? Let us know in the comments.