Image: Dall-E
Before Apple revitalized security on Intel Macs with the T2 Security Chip and FileVault, the business provided a various method to prevent particular sort of physical attacks. Intel Mac owners can set a firmware password, which avoids a volume besides the one set to launch the Mac from being utilized on reboot or from a cold start.
Apple got rid of the issue totally with Apple silicon by including low-level security policies and other system drives that avoid an M-series Mac from launching with an approximate volume. (This likewise made it challenging to have a bootable backup in case of a drive failure, however SSDs– the only built-in choice for M-series Macs– are even more dependable than disk drives.)
If you have or are preparing to purchase an Intel Mac and wish to know how to get rid of the firmware password, it’s a simple procedure:
- Power up your Mac or reboot it, and after that right away hold down Command-R up until you see the development bar under the Apple icon.
- In macOS Recovery, the unique boot mode, pickEnergies > > Startup Security Utility(or, for older Macs,Energies > > Firmware Password Utility.
- Click Turn Off Firmware Password.
- When triggered, go into the firmware password. If you acquire the Mac or strategy to buy it, the seller should supply it. There’s no chance by yourself to bypass or reset it (an exception is listed below).
- Stopped the energy.
- Select >Reboot
Apple can reset the firmware password face to face at an Apple Store or a shop that’s an authorized company. The business has actually constantly needed evidence of purchase by the initial owner and then evidence of identity for the individual with that invoice (digital or paper). As far as I can inform, if you’re a secondary or later purchaser, Apple or third-party workers will not open the firmware.
This Mac 911 post remains in reaction to a concern sent by Macworld reader Anthony.
Ask Mac 911
We’ve assembled a list of the concerns we get asked most often, together with responses and links to columns: read our extremely FAQ to see if your concern is covered. If not, we’re constantly searching for brand-new issues to fix! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com, consisting of screen records as proper and whether you desire your complete name utilized. Not every concern will be responded to; we do not respond to e-mails, and we can not offer direct troubleshooting suggestions.
Author: Glenn Fleishman, Contributor
Glenn Fleishman’s newest books consist of Take Control of iOS and iPadOS Privacy and Security, Take Control of Calendar and Reminders, and Take Control of Securing Your Mac. In his extra time, he discusses printing and type history. He’s a senior factor to Macworld, where he composes Mac 911.