Apple now allows direct encrypted HFS+ to APFS conversion for macOS 28
An Apple Support document updated on July 22 adds a new in-place Disk Utility route, so some encrypted HFS+ volumes no longer need a decrypt-first detour before macOS 28.
Apple has not changed the broader policy: encrypted Mac OS Extended volumes, better known as encrypted HFS+, still lose support in macOS 28. The official Apple Support page updated on July 22 continues to say that only unencrypted Mac OS Extended volumes will remain compatible, so affected external drives still need action before that upgrade cycle.
What Apple did change is the migration path. The revised support note now includes a dedicated section called Convert the volume to encrypted APFS. In Disk Utility, the new route is simply to select the volume and choose Edit > Convert to APFS, which means some encrypted HFS+ volumes can move to encrypted APFS without first being manually decrypted.
That is a meaningful simplification for readers who kept older encrypted external disks around because HFS+ once fit spinning drives better than APFS. The old Apple guidance focused on either decrypting the volume or erasing and reformatting it. The new document still tells users to back up first, but it removes the decrypt-then-convert detour for at least one common case.
The change is not universal. Apple still says the solution does not apply to encrypted Time Machine backup disks, and it still warns that any encrypted Mac OS Extended volume showing both Mac OS Extended and Encrypted in Disk Utility will not be compatible with macOS 28 unless it is migrated first. Unencrypted HFS+ remains supported after the macOS 28 transition.
The practical advice is straightforward: if you still rely on older encrypted external drives, check their format now instead of waiting for a system upgrade warning. Apple has made the exit path cleaner, but it has not reversed the deprecation.