diff --git a/doc/manual/installation/installing-binary.xml b/doc/manual/installation/installing-binary.xml
index 86cbce6bf..7f4bba3a0 100644
--- a/doc/manual/installation/installing-binary.xml
+++ b/doc/manual/installation/installing-binary.xml
@@ -199,6 +199,7 @@ nix
 </screen>
 
 <screen>
+alice$ /System/Library/Filesystems/apfs.fs/Contents/Resources/apfs.util -B
 alice$ sudo diskutil apfs addVolume diskX APFS 'Nix Store' -mountpoint /nix
 alice$ mount
 /dev/disk1s6 on /nix (apfs, local, journaled)
@@ -231,7 +232,7 @@ LABEL=Nix\040Store /nix apfs rw
       </para>
 
 <screen>
-diskutil apfs enableFileVault /nix -user disk
+alice$ diskutil apfs enableFileVault /nix -user disk
 </screen>
 
     </listitem>
diff --git a/scripts/create-darwin-volume.sh b/scripts/create-darwin-volume.sh
index a1a67acea..e2b49c9a0 100755
--- a/scripts/create-darwin-volume.sh
+++ b/scripts/create-darwin-volume.sh
@@ -73,12 +73,22 @@ main() {
     if ! test_synthetic_conf; then
         echo "Configuring /etc/synthetic.conf..." >&2
         echo nix | sudo tee /etc/synthetic.conf
-        /System/Library/Filesystems/apfs.fs/Contents/Resources/apfs.util -B
+        if ! test_synthetic_conf; then
+            echo "error: failed to configure synthetic.conf" >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
     fi
 
     if ! test_nix; then
         echo "Creating mountpoint for /nix..." >&2
-        sudo mkdir /nix
+        /System/Library/Filesystems/apfs.fs/Contents/Resources/apfs.util -B || true
+        if ! test_nix; then
+            sudo mkdir -p /nix 2>/dev/null || true
+        fi
+        if ! test_nix; then
+            echo "error: failed to bootstrap /nix, a reboot might be required" >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
     fi
 
     disk=$(root_disk | disk_identifier)
@@ -97,10 +107,11 @@ main() {
         printf "\$a\nLABEL=%s /nix apfs rw,nobrowse\n.\nwq\n" "$label" | EDITOR=ed sudo vifs
     fi
 
+    echo "" >&2
     echo "The following options can be enabled to disable spotlight indexing" >&2
     echo "of the volume, which might be desirable." >&2
     echo "" >&2
-    echo "   $ mdutil -i off /nix" >&2
+    echo "   $ sudo mdutil -i off /nix" >&2
     echo "" >&2
 }
 
diff --git a/scripts/install-nix-from-closure.sh b/scripts/install-nix-from-closure.sh
index 7d32bf92e..2f291ed4c 100644
--- a/scripts/install-nix-from-closure.sh
+++ b/scripts/install-nix-from-closure.sh
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
                     echo " --create-volume: Create an APFS volume for the store and create the /nix"
                     echo "                  mountpoint for it using synthetic.conf."
                     echo "                  (required on macOS >=10.15)"
-                    echo "                  See https://nixos.org/nix/manual/#sect-darwin-apfs-volume"
+                    echo "                  See https://nixos.org/nix/manual/#sect-apfs-volume-installation"
                     echo ""
                 ) >&2
             fi
@@ -102,10 +102,11 @@ if [ "$(uname -s)" = "Darwin" ]; then
         (
             echo ""
             echo "Installing on macOS >=10.15 requires relocating the store to an apfs volume."
-            echo "Use --create-volume or run the preparation steps manually."
-            echo "See https://nixos.org/nix/manual/#sect-darwin-apfs-volume."
+            echo "Use sh <(curl https://nixos.org/nix/install) --create-volume or run the preparation steps manually."
+            echo "See https://nixos.org/nix/manual/#sect-apfs-volume-installation"
             echo ""
         ) >&2
+        exit 1
     fi
 fi