By the way, it ain't stolen guys. Customer knew the previous owner, previous owner had set the password who-knows-when ago. Like I said, it's a legit purchase. I get it, when people say 'oh I just got it' and there's an iCloud lock or whatever then that's super sketch, but sometimes it's a genuine case.
This is kind my scenario I’m in and I can’t find anyone like you to save my life. My grandma bought my computer from a friend of hers daughter for me and years later I’m in the same situation. I dong want a new computer and that’s looking like my only option 😒
That is precisely what we TV technicians do (buy an already programmed SPI Flash) and we copy the info into a new one. When we receive a TV without eeprom problems, we also copy it and keep that information on our PC, we have to register Part Numbers of the mainboard, the T-Con board, also the brand and model of the screen; used in that particular device. Winbond is my preferred manufacturer when choosing these types of components. Thank you very much for sharing. All the best.
You don't actually need to rewrite a completely new BIOS onto the chip. All you need to do to get rid of the EFI-lock is to read the current chip using your adapter, then search the file for $svs in the file and replace that whole section with zeros (In HxD you use ''fill section, and fill it with FF), save the new file and write onto old chip. This will remove the EFI-lock but leave everything else (ME-region, SN, etc) as original :)
The simplest and clearest explanation I've seen, congratulations, just a couple of questions, 1.- Is this method possible to do on all Mac models?...2.- How is a bios identified on a Mac motherboard ?....Thanks
Good stuff! Im not a mac guy but ive recently had some people come at me with some 🔐 locked down macs not like this one in particular. I really enjoyed watching youre video. Very informative concise and clear. All around fun to watch. You just got a new follower.
Super well done. I don't feel worse now about giving up on my own Firmware-locked laptop (purchased from someone who doesn't remember the password): That's a lot of skilled work you did there.
do you happen to still have the unlocked .bin file around? I've managed to wreck mine which is a locked winbond 25q64fviq from an older A1466 model. Much obliged if you can help a fellow out
I have a dead macbook pro logic board (water damage) I installed a new logic board into the machine and it has this firmware lock, is it possible to swap the bios MXIC chip from my old board onto this new locked one?
Hi thank you for the video. This is my first try of doing a motherboard repair. Looked at videos of them for years but had my first attempt today. I tried to remove the chip from a donor board and followed all the instructions. Located the chip, applied flux and set the hot air gun to 450*C. I did it exactly as you did it in the video but I just couldn’t remove the chip and ended up destroying it. Parts of the black covering just came off instead of the chip itself. I tried to remove some neighbouring chips with the same result. I wonder what I did wrong…
Interesting... sounds like your hot air station wasn't putting down enough heat (as in, it took too long and damaged the PCB) What hot air station do you have? I've done this with a cheap station, so it shouldn't have been _that_ hard. Something was definitely wrong.
Excellent and very educative video. I recently came across to a Macbook Air A1466 that experienced black screen of death after failed update to Big Sur. Previously, laptop worked fine. Now it is possible to revive it without loading EFI chip with correct firmware.
Hi I purchased a 2018 MacBook Air A1932 and it also has a firmware passcode that the previous owner doesn’t remember. I’m trying to watch your video but I can’t seem to find a EFI chip for my model. If you could help me find the right one so I can purchase it, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!
Hello, please I really need help. I recently misplaced my MacBook Air and after a while I happened to find it somewhere in my house but before then I had already locked my Mac using Find My Mac, but now the password seems to be dead, even if I punch in the one I put there while activating the lock it still doesn’t work. Please help me… 😢
Hi amijo I have a question if you would please here is the question dose MacBook Air 2020 hads EFI chip please let me know and if can be reprogram thank you you
Hi Graham: Although I’d never tackle any but the most basic computer repair myself, I greatly enjoy your channel. Your technical knowledge and skill, and your easy-going ability to communicate with your audience, really stand out. To me, as a Mac user, this is one of your most interesting episodes. I shall take care never to mess with the firmware password on my Macbook Air! Best wishes for the channel and thanks _ from NZ.
I can't believe it. You have programmer in your service shop and you replaced the original BIOS chip. The right way it's to clean the security block. The ME region, serial number, and other settings remains as original. I will clean security block for free.
hello friend, I have a 2019 model A2141 16-inch mac pro and I want to remove the bios password, do you know if it can be done and how do I do it? I can't find any information?
Did you copy over the serial number using HexEditor ? Otherwise, the new BIOS chip will either have someone else's Serial, or a Blank Serial which doesn't exactly make it a professional repair.
Hello Adamant IT ...... I have a Macbook Air A2337 2020 with me AND it as Activation password on it so I cant go to option menu or reinstall OS on it. Question - is it Possible to replace the EFI CHIP and the Activation password be removed ?
btw i run a computer repair shop and have several legitimate customers who where told by apple to just by a new one. One of my clients runs a pawn shop and the other runs a storage unit business.
K so I changed the efi chip on a 2015 macbook air all went well after the new install macbook turned on I went and installed the new os and that worked got the home screen up then I went and turned the power off now it won't turn back on any ideas can you please help? One last thing the light is green on charging cable and the fan is running
Greeting from NY (the bronx) you are a bad ass! cool how everything was detailed. I have subscribed to your channel, good job... keep it coming. be good be safe!
Smashing recovery :-D So at some time you may do a byte by byte comparison between the two images to see what changes when the password is set. I used to do stuff like that with my old willem interface , millions of years ago lol.
I did that BIOS image comparison for ASRock G41M-VS3 board, because if i flash BIOS from site without using mactool (which is older version v1.17f and it's not available anymore on ASRock website) it kept complaining mac address is invalid and must press f1 which is bugging me off Comparing BIOS from ASRock website and the one I have used with mactool, I can see the location of mac address. Bye bye mac tool
Some people are selling MacBooks on eBay that have the efi password turn on i brought a mid2013 MacBook air off eBay when i tried to update the Mac os the MacBook air locked up when i told the seller they told me that the MacBook air came from a computer recycling company and they didn't know the password they gave me the phone number to recycling company and the recycling company person said they only sale to businesses not to individuals and they don't know any passwords to the computers and apple won't help because iam the original owner of MacBook so i replace the efi chip and one other thing eBay wouldn't gave back my because it was after 30days
A few others people pointed out some nice information but I want to make a comprehensive comment because it's not as easy as it sounds. - It is not recommended to replace the SPI ROM chip with a different model. Different SPI ROM chips may have different working voltage (1.8V or 3.3V), different operating frequency and latency, different command set and especially support for Quad SPI mode which may not be enabled by default. In particular, the 2015 MacBooks like this one use Quad SPI mode, so the chip must support it and have its QE bit set to one. Additionally, Intel platforms all have Intel Management Engine nowadays, and it can be picky about the SPI ROM. The firmware contains a list of supported chip in the VSCC table, you can check it with UEFITool NE or Intel FITC if ever you have to swap with a different chip. - Buying pre-programmed chip off of eBay is not a good idea. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, because the people that sell them don't necessarily know what they are doing and just flash random dumps found on badcaps.net or Vinafix. - Using a pre-programmed chip or a chip from another machine means you will have the wrong serial number. In the best case the serial number is blank and the board has to be serialized using Apple's Blank Board Serializer. Otherwise it has to be edited to match the original one, and the checksum for the Fsys store (which contains the ssn variable) has to be recalculated. - Using a chip from another machine means you get the ME region that has already been tied to the new machine's PCH. This will cause all sorts of random problems depending on the machine, incl. shutdown after 30 minutes, long POST delay, fan running at full speed, ME not working, freeze/kernel panic while booting macOS, apparently even webcam not working on some Mac boards. The ME region has to be cleaned, and there's a specific procedure for that, 90% of the videos or tutorials you'll find are wrong about it. Don't copy/paste with an hex editor, don't use MEInject. This will put a raw ME region without manufacturer settings, and Macs for example have specific settings for the ME region that will be lost (and it can also cause similar issues to "dirty" ME region). The correct way is to use Intel FITC, see tutorial on win-raid forums. Some pre-programmed chip also may not have the ME region cleaned properly. - Apple switched to APFS by default with High Sierra on machines with SSD (and HDD since Mojave), which required a BootROM update (part of the EFI) to support booting from this filesystem. Meaning that if you use an EFI with an old BootROM (either flashing a random dump or using a pre-programmed chip without the update), suddenly you won't be able to boot from a drive with High Sierra or newer on it, and you won't even see it in the boot menu. One solution is to reinstall macOS on the internal SSD to trigger the BootROM update. Overall it means that it's not a good idea to ditch the original firmware. The proper way to clean a password is to edit the original firmware. To be clear I don't support shady unlocking practices, it is well known that there's a whole market of stolen goods and people making money off of unlocking them. There are 2 methods for this: - Clear out the whole SVS store. There are other stuff in this store, no idea what they are for so personally I prefer not doing that. - Just invalidate the CBF2CC32 NVRAM variable in that SVS store which contains the encrypted password. You just have to change one bit in its name, so like replace the C with an A or whatever. Note that strings are UCS-2 encoded, so in the hex editor it'll show up as 0x43 0x00 0x42 0x00 0x46 0x00 etc. By the way, only the Macbook Air 2013/2014 (820-3435/820-3437) will have the fan spin/stop/spin/stop/spin after disconnecting all power. The 2015 model here (820-00165) won't do it. Also you can buy a WSON8 adapter board for your programmer, it should come with both the 8x6 and the 6x5 footprints for 2013 and 2015 machines respectively. You don't need to use hot air to solder it on the adapter, you can just run the solder iron with some solder on the edges.
This guy knows what is talking about!!! Listen him. Thanks!! Hey Piernov, do you already have the 820-1958-a schematics? it is already on some pay sites. Good luck to all!!
Hey not sure, did you do a episode on the programmers specifically? A "what to do" question. I have a "play" mobo (socket 775) that I am using to de-stress from work, want to play with the bios without losing the original chip/programming. I can buy the chips on ali for cheap but not finding a programmer that will do them (its an 8 pin starts with a 25 and the programmers Ive looked at (CH341A USB Programmer) have said they can read it but not program it).
Dear Adamant I bought iMac 2019 and I didn't format it directly but after one year when I wanted to sell I formatted and it appeared that its firmware looked and the seller is responding. Can you help me in opening it Please? I have a proof of legal purchase from Ebay.
Should be able to edit the original hex and use the original chip. Have you done a file compare between the original chip vs the ebay chips? Just toss both files into notepad++. I get a bit nervous with an unknown firmware.
Seeing how you go about fixing this made me laugh. Cause you said we are just along for the ride sometimes. Lol. No matter how you did it. You did it. Mission accomplished. Very disco in my opinion.
I had a suggestion for 13:20 . It is more of a question than a suggestion. How about applying masking tape on the bottom of the chip (Ground pin). Just to make your life a little easier so that it doesn't short out the other leads. I guess that might work. It would mean you don't need to verify every time whether it has shorted, If you are pulling it on and off the board multiple times
I have experimented with that type of SPI Flash chip (the small one that has 8 legs). I ended up destroying 3 from 5 chips that i salvaged from old broken, experiment donor laptops.. I dont know why they are dead, but i suspecting that my Arduino killed 2 chips because it was 3.3v chip and i program it using 5v Arduino and 1 chip died from miswiring to my Raspberry Pi... and my question is, can the soldering itself damaged the chip and render it unreadable? (maybe from heat or electrostatic?)
Anyone know what that resistor was that he knocked? I knocked it off doing the same and can’t seem to find it. I want to buy a replacement, or try to find one, so if anyone has information on it it would be a huge help
u can use a different bios chip??...thats a bad sequrity issue for such a expensive laptop!!...some usual laptops are using coded chips and u cant use a differnent one....u have to programm the bios chip from the mainboard! i did this couple times and wont work with other bios chips with the same size! only the original chip were able to use!! but for most usual Laptops there is a tiny contact on the mainboard for passwort erase!
I don't think it's feasible. There are exploits for the T2 chip, but I don't think they're straight forward to attack.
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@@Adamant_IT thank you for your reply, I have read you can bypass EFI and iCloud locked with the checkm8 vulnerability, but I haven’t found any videos how to do it, if you know how to even if it’s just a bypass will be awesome if you can upload a video explaining the process, btw there are service on eBay claiming they remove EFI from T2.
I bought a Mac M1 2020 and without knowing how it entered recoveyactivate mode, I asked Apple for support with proof that it belongs to me, I sent an invoice for my purchase, but they refused to help me, now I'm without a Mac and with Odze installments to pay, What do I do, help!
Hey. I also have this problem and it ain't stolen. But I can't find anyone to fix it for me without the receipt. I was wondering if I could send the motherboard to you? what kind of services do you provide?
Great vid! See I learned something very important! And I want to combine it with another method! Basically use the same device, but with different connectors, depending on the MacBook Model and year! Also, I will agree with this method, you will have to make sure that the serial number of the logic board for the repaired EFI device is entered into the chip or flashed! And then if that doesn’t work, press “E” for erase NVRM, Nand, Fans, PMU, or whatever else there is that Apple has, then restart the computer! Hopefully, the new EFI chip will be able to read and/or save the device serial number somewhere in the EFI boot modules, so that when the machine does it checks, it can start up normally as originally programmed from Apple! Hopefully, all security is disabled prior to you doing the mass Apple settings erase and reset! That’s what I had to do after replacing the chip with a whole new EFI programming! Like one of the guys said, we need a cable to plug into all of the MacBooks’ engineering and testing sockets! Way cheaper than what they are being sold for now! Time for some ingenuity! God Speed! 😎🔥💯💰🌎💻📱💣
hi sir i’m here for beg your help i have 3 computers that have efi password macbook pro 2015 model a1502 emc2835 macbook air2017 model a1466 emc3178 and macbook pro 2012 i don’t know which chip on motherboard i can remove and i don’t know which adapter i can use for reprogramming the chips i need your help sir thank you
Maybe this is a silly question here... But when you replace the BIOS chip, doesn't this also change the serial number of the mac? How would you go about ensuring the serial number isn't changed??
How much do you charge to do this fix? Bought secondhand and in this situation on a 1000$ computer. If there’s anyway for you to contact me let me know.
@Aaron Kor chill man with the advertisement, I don't have a locked phone. I was just curious if he could remove iphone lock the same method as used in the video
I have actually fixed a macbook air with locked UEFI by using a removable UEFI chip that you put on the little SAM-Port or the "JTAG" connector. It still requires you to reinstall the OS on the SSD though :3 and they are very very pricy
Thanks for another amazing video. Do you know if there is any way to remove encryption on an SSD. Was sold a 500GB, tried to reformat it however it keeps asking for an icloud password :/. Seller has since went mia unfortunately. Is there no way around this??
@@Adamant_IT its a 2015 macbook air so I doubt T2, model number of SSD is "mz-jpv128s/0a2". When I put it in recovery mode, it asks for a password because drive is encrypted. Just my luck, at least i was able to repair the logic board. Thanks for the reply!
Hello sir I have macbook pro.2016 13" Model: A1708 EMC: 2978 If i try like you. How you did. Is gonna work? Plz tell me which chef shuld i buy Send me Right chef ebuy link...🙏🙏🙏
I for one would be kind of suspicious if a customer came in with a locked "second hand" notebook. Are you legally safe doing something like this, what if it is actually stolen?
Exactly what I was thinking. Couple of years ago I had a guy who couldn't put in a WiFi password on a Mac, he said it was his sisters'. There was a name on the top right "Vandenbergh". That was not his name though. I left it at that..
![[2017 and older ONLY] MacBook Air Firmware Pass / iCloud Lock Removal - LFC#275](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ar37ye4gdOs/mqdefault.jpg)
![[2017 and older ONLY] MacBook Air Firmware Pass / iCloud Lock Removal - LFC#275](/img/tr.png)
By the way, it ain't stolen guys. Customer knew the previous owner, previous owner had set the password who-knows-when ago. Like I said, it's a legit purchase.
I get it, when people say 'oh I just got it' and there's an iCloud lock or whatever then that's super sketch, but sometimes it's a genuine case.
Wen reading a schematic there some numbers given for every trace line ,i can't figure it out could u help me
You are awesome. Good job.
Unlock Air M1 2020 ?
what Model year of laptop is this?
This is kind my scenario I’m in and I can’t find anyone like you to save my life. My grandma bought my computer from a friend of hers daughter for me and years later I’m in the same situation. I dong want a new computer and that’s looking like my only option 😒
That is precisely what we TV technicians do (buy an already programmed SPI Flash) and we copy the info into a new one. When we receive a TV without eeprom problems, we also copy it and keep that information on our PC, we have to register Part Numbers of the mainboard, the T-Con board, also the brand and model of the screen; used in that particular device. Winbond is my preferred manufacturer when choosing these types of components. Thank you very much for sharing. All the best.
You don't actually need to rewrite a completely new BIOS onto the chip.
All you need to do to get rid of the EFI-lock is to read the current chip using your adapter, then search the file for $svs in the file and replace that whole section with zeros (In HxD you use ''fill section, and fill it with FF), save the new file and write onto old chip. This will remove the EFI-lock but leave everything else (ME-region, SN, etc) as original :)
Neat, I'll take a look at the dumps I took to check that out!
Correct.
Northridge Fix has several videos on how to do it.
@@Adamant_IT 3:50 and onwards: th-cam.com/video/3a_XdI-oUz0/w-d-xo.html
@@OskarBlomkvist www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174287355886 for a programmer that just plugs into the header on the logic board
@@coctailrob This tool is great, I've been using it for over a year and it saves me so much time instead of having to do any soldering.
The simplest and clearest explanation I've seen, congratulations, just a couple of questions, 1.- Is this method possible to do on all Mac models?...2.- How is a bios identified on a Mac motherboard ?....Thanks
Good stuff! Im not a mac guy but ive recently had some people come at me with some 🔐 locked down macs not like this one in particular. I really enjoyed watching youre video. Very informative concise and clear. All around fun to watch. You just got a new follower.
Super well done. I don't feel worse now about giving up on my own Firmware-locked laptop (purchased from someone who doesn't remember the password): That's a lot of skilled work you did there.
hi good see you in action, is it possible to have a copy of the dump? Thank you.
Would it be possible to just use a soldering iron? Rather than a “hot air station”?
do you happen to still have the unlocked .bin file around? I've managed to wreck mine which is a locked winbond 25q64fviq from an older A1466 model. Much obliged if you can help a fellow out
You can simply select the part of the rom starting with $SVS and replace it with FF. Worked on my Mac Mini Late-2012.
I have a dead macbook pro logic board (water damage) I installed a new logic board into the machine and it has this firmware lock, is it possible to swap the bios MXIC chip from my old board onto this new locked one?
How much does this service cost with u ? Where would I ship to and how do I get in contact ?
Hi thank you for the video. This is my first try of doing a motherboard repair. Looked at videos of them for years but had my first attempt today. I tried to remove the chip from a donor board and followed all the instructions. Located the chip, applied flux and set the hot air gun to 450*C. I did it exactly as you did it in the video but I just couldn’t remove the chip and ended up destroying it. Parts of the black covering just came off instead of the chip itself. I tried to remove some neighbouring chips with the same result. I wonder what I did wrong…
Interesting... sounds like your hot air station wasn't putting down enough heat (as in, it took too long and damaged the PCB) What hot air station do you have? I've done this with a cheap station, so it shouldn't have been _that_ hard. Something was definitely wrong.
PLS MAKE SURE U PROGRAMM THE CORRESPONDING SERIAL NUMBER INTO THE EFI OTHERWISE IT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE APPLE SERVICES LIKE ICLOUD IMESSAGE ETC
No need, the edited file was the original bin file from that machine, so the file already had the correct serial.
How would one find the serial number in that hex editor?
Excellent and very educative video. I recently came across to a Macbook Air A1466 that experienced black screen of death after failed update to Big Sur. Previously, laptop worked fine. Now it is possible to revive it without loading EFI chip with correct firmware.
Same my issue!
13:31 You could cover the middle part with thermal tape and it won't get soldered!
I was thinking i would never be able to unlock my MacBook not until @exceptional_tools on lG saved my ass thanks so much man.
Hi I purchased a 2018 MacBook Air A1932 and it also has a firmware passcode that the previous owner doesn’t remember. I’m trying to watch your video but I can’t seem to find a EFI chip for my model. If you could help me find the right one so I can purchase it, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!
Hello, please I really need help. I recently misplaced my MacBook Air and after a while I happened to find it somewhere in my house but before then I had already locked my Mac using Find My Mac, but now the password seems to be dead, even if I punch in the one I put there while activating the lock it still doesn’t work. Please help me… 😢
i did this - and wiped the svs area w 0's and written back to the chip. soldered back in twice. now the fan just spins then stops. any thoughts?
15:07 What soldering iron is that ? Model, brand etc. etc.
It's a Miniware TS100
Hi amijo I have a question if you would please here is the question dose MacBook Air 2020 hads EFI chip please let me know and if can be reprogram thank you you
u also have to Programm the serial number for each individual MacBook easiest is u get a PI SBC with SPI and u can programs them with the pi
Is there any limit to the Raspberry Pi talents 😀🌱
@@SproutyPottedPlant good question but its quite easy to flash spi eeproms with a pi
I have macbook air 2015 same problem, lock firmware, how much for fix it? I bought it from a girl and I have the purchase note. I need to fix this.
Hi Graham: Although I’d never tackle any but the most basic computer repair myself, I greatly enjoy your channel. Your technical knowledge and skill, and your easy-going ability to communicate with your audience, really stand out. To me, as a Mac user, this is one of your most interesting episodes. I shall take care never to mess with the firmware password on my Macbook Air! Best wishes for the channel and thanks _ from NZ.
Love the content. Can you do a tour of the workshop? (we don't care if it is a mess)
th-cam.com/video/RGfsrYC_2Mo/w-d-xo.html there is this short one
I was thinking i would never be able to unlock my MacBook not until @exceptional_tools on lG saved my ass thanks so much man..
great video, can you share the link from where you ordered?
I can't believe it. You have programmer in your service shop and you replaced the original BIOS chip.
The right way it's to clean the security block.
The ME region, serial number, and other settings remains as original. I will clean security block for free.
What’s the bios chip link for eBay. Is it the same for a 2018 Mac book pro
Where can i get schematic brd files for open board view app that you use???
why not using kapton taper to mask the ground ??
hello friend, I have a 2019 model A2141 16-inch mac pro and I want to remove the bios password, do you know if it can be done and how do I do it? I can't find any information?
I have the same problem, did you find anything?
Did you copy over the serial number using HexEditor ? Otherwise, the new BIOS chip will either have someone else's Serial, or a Blank Serial which doesn't exactly make it a professional repair.
Hello Adamant IT ...... I have a Macbook Air A2337 2020 with me AND it as Activation password on it so I cant go to option menu or reinstall OS on it. Question - is it Possible to replace the EFI CHIP and the Activation password be removed ?
Do you need flux? And can you use any type of heat gun. Can you put the items in your description
How much does this usually charge someone to get down bc mine is doing this and I need to go to apple tomorrow
To fix it.
hey i love the video can you do a video on the T203? to the activation lock on a mac book pro 2020 is the 2020 too new to do a bypass? thank you!
btw i run a computer repair shop and have several legitimate customers who where told by apple to just by a new one. One of my clients runs a pawn shop and the other runs a storage unit business.
K so I changed the efi chip on a 2015 macbook air all went well after the new install macbook turned on I went and installed the new os and that worked got the home screen up then I went and turned the power off now it won't turn back on any ideas can you please help? One last thing the light is green on charging cable and the fan is running
Greeting from NY (the bronx) you are a bad ass! cool how everything was detailed. I have subscribed to your channel, good job... keep it coming. be good be safe!
Smashing recovery :-D
So at some time you may do a byte by byte comparison between the two images to see what changes when the password is set.
I used to do stuff like that with my old willem interface , millions of years ago lol.
I did that BIOS image comparison for ASRock G41M-VS3 board, because if i flash BIOS from site without using mactool (which is older version v1.17f and it's not available anymore on ASRock website) it kept complaining mac address is invalid and must press f1 which is bugging me off
Comparing BIOS from ASRock website and the one I have used with mactool, I can see the location of mac address. Bye bye mac tool
can you help me the name of the device used to inject voltage /current on the motherboard to find hot component
Some people are selling MacBooks on eBay that have the efi password turn on i brought a mid2013 MacBook air off eBay when i tried to update the Mac os the MacBook air locked up when i told the seller they told me that the MacBook air came from a computer recycling company and they didn't know the password they gave me the phone number to recycling company and the recycling company person said they only sale to businesses not to individuals and they don't know any passwords to the computers and apple won't help because iam the original owner of MacBook so i replace the efi chip and one other thing eBay wouldn't gave back my because it was after 30days
A few others people pointed out some nice information but I want to make a comprehensive comment because it's not as easy as it sounds.
- It is not recommended to replace the SPI ROM chip with a different model. Different SPI ROM chips may have different working voltage (1.8V or 3.3V), different operating frequency and latency, different command set and especially support for Quad SPI mode which may not be enabled by default. In particular, the 2015 MacBooks like this one use Quad SPI mode, so the chip must support it and have its QE bit set to one. Additionally, Intel platforms all have Intel Management Engine nowadays, and it can be picky about the SPI ROM. The firmware contains a list of supported chip in the VSCC table, you can check it with UEFITool NE or Intel FITC if ever you have to swap with a different chip.
- Buying pre-programmed chip off of eBay is not a good idea. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, because the people that sell them don't necessarily know what they are doing and just flash random dumps found on badcaps.net or Vinafix.
- Using a pre-programmed chip or a chip from another machine means you will have the wrong serial number. In the best case the serial number is blank and the board has to be serialized using Apple's Blank Board Serializer. Otherwise it has to be edited to match the original one, and the checksum for the Fsys store (which contains the ssn variable) has to be recalculated.
- Using a chip from another machine means you get the ME region that has already been tied to the new machine's PCH. This will cause all sorts of random problems depending on the machine, incl. shutdown after 30 minutes, long POST delay, fan running at full speed, ME not working, freeze/kernel panic while booting macOS, apparently even webcam not working on some Mac boards. The ME region has to be cleaned, and there's a specific procedure for that, 90% of the videos or tutorials you'll find are wrong about it. Don't copy/paste with an hex editor, don't use MEInject. This will put a raw ME region without manufacturer settings, and Macs for example have specific settings for the ME region that will be lost (and it can also cause similar issues to "dirty" ME region). The correct way is to use Intel FITC, see tutorial on win-raid forums. Some pre-programmed chip also may not have the ME region cleaned properly.
- Apple switched to APFS by default with High Sierra on machines with SSD (and HDD since Mojave), which required a BootROM update (part of the EFI) to support booting from this filesystem. Meaning that if you use an EFI with an old BootROM (either flashing a random dump or using a pre-programmed chip without the update), suddenly you won't be able to boot from a drive with High Sierra or newer on it, and you won't even see it in the boot menu. One solution is to reinstall macOS on the internal SSD to trigger the BootROM update.
Overall it means that it's not a good idea to ditch the original firmware. The proper way to clean a password is to edit the original firmware.
To be clear I don't support shady unlocking practices, it is well known that there's a whole market of stolen goods and people making money off of unlocking them.
There are 2 methods for this:
- Clear out the whole SVS store. There are other stuff in this store, no idea what they are for so personally I prefer not doing that.
- Just invalidate the CBF2CC32 NVRAM variable in that SVS store which contains the encrypted password. You just have to change one bit in its name, so like replace the C with an A or whatever. Note that strings are UCS-2 encoded, so in the hex editor it'll show up as 0x43 0x00 0x42 0x00 0x46 0x00 etc.
By the way, only the Macbook Air 2013/2014 (820-3435/820-3437) will have the fan spin/stop/spin/stop/spin after disconnecting all power. The 2015 model here (820-00165) won't do it.
Also you can buy a WSON8 adapter board for your programmer, it should come with both the 8x6 and the 6x5 footprints for 2013 and 2015 machines respectively. You don't need to use hot air to solder it on the adapter, you can just run the solder iron with some solder on the edges.
This guy knows what is talking about!!! Listen him. Thanks!! Hey Piernov, do you already have the 820-1958-a schematics? it is already on some pay sites. Good luck to all!!
Pretty sure the first thing anyone with a few brain cells would check would be the operating voltage of the chip 😆
Is it possible to use an older firmware chip on a newer MacBook Pro about 2020, all the chips I see in eBay the newest is 2016
I have a 2019, did you find anything? Cheers
Erase my efi for error can you sell bin file for MacBook Air model 1466 please or if you help me where find that file please. thaks for the videos
Could anyone be kind enough to tell the model of the microchip he is using? Thanks
Hey not sure, did you do a episode on the programmers specifically? A "what to do" question. I have a "play" mobo (socket 775) that I am using to de-stress from work, want to play with the bios without losing the original chip/programming. I can buy the chips on ali for cheap but not finding a programmer that will do them (its an 8 pin starts with a 25 and the programmers Ive looked at (CH341A USB Programmer) have said they can read it but not program it).
Will this work with Macbook Pro 15 inch 2018?
Can you give links to the solder tool etc
Dear Adamant I bought iMac 2019 and I didn't format it directly but after one year when I wanted to sell I formatted and it appeared that its firmware looked and the seller is responding. Can you help me in opening it Please? I have a proof of legal purchase from Ebay.
"Cheap as Chips" 👍😎
P.S. Outstanding A.I. work you 🇬🇧 guys are doing.
Always a good day if one of your video's comes out ! keep up the good work !
Hi guys, quick question, if I reset the password, 1) will it wipe out the data on the device? 2) Will it reset the apple cloud password?
Many thanks
How much would you want for an old macbook? doesnt even have to be fully together could be missing pieces i wanna make a project outta one lol
Which adapter you used for reprogrammer the chip?
Would the Quick 857DW+ air station be able to get a job like this done? Asking before I purchase thanks !
Yup, I use the 857dw+ as my daily
@@Adamant_IT Thanks for replying man means alot !
programmer ezp2019 plus is work for chip micron 25Q064A?
Should be able to edit the original hex and use the original chip. Have you done a file compare between the original chip vs the ebay chips? Just toss both files into notepad++. I get a bit nervous with an unknown firmware.
Seeing how you go about fixing this made me laugh. Cause you said we are just along for the ride sometimes. Lol. No matter how you did it. You did it. Mission accomplished. Very disco in my opinion.
macbook air a1466 firmware validating failed pls help
From where I can purchase one of these chips ?
He said eBay (2 x £5), or bulk from AliExpress.
which is cheaper checkm8 efi remove or this method?
What camera do you use, can you give brand and model please?
Bro plz let me know how I can enter to BIOS screen on MacBook Air M1
How much generally it cost to replace the BIOS chip?
Looking for the best to help you with your unlock look no further @exceptiona_tool gat you covered his so fast thank you man
Anyone can help me to give me information about the price of that chip
I had a suggestion for 13:20 . It is more of a question than a suggestion. How about applying masking tape on the bottom of the chip (Ground pin). Just to make your life a little easier so that it doesn't short out the other leads. I guess that might work. It would mean you don't need to verify every time whether it has shorted, If you are pulling it on and off the board multiple times
I have experimented with that type of SPI Flash chip (the small one that has 8 legs). I ended up destroying 3 from 5 chips that i salvaged from old broken, experiment donor laptops.. I dont know why they are dead, but i suspecting that my Arduino killed 2 chips because it was 3.3v chip and i program it using 5v Arduino and 1 chip died from miswiring to my Raspberry Pi... and my question is, can the soldering itself damaged the chip and render it unreadable? (maybe from heat or electrostatic?)
In my experience, these chips are pretty tough in terms of soldering, but over-volting would definitely be my bet there.
@@Adamant_IT thank you for replying my comment. Next time i'll make sure i double check the wiring and voltage in datasheet
Anyone know what that resistor was that he knocked? I knocked it off doing the same and can’t seem to find it. I want to buy a replacement, or try to find one, so if anyone has information on it it would be a huge help
I did the same mistake yesterday. The resistor value is 15 ohms 1/20 watt
@@danielpigeon1885 thank you! I was worried that this Mac would be fried but now I can (hopefully) get it working again.
u can use a different bios chip??...thats a bad sequrity issue for such a expensive laptop!!...some usual laptops are using coded chips and u cant use a differnent one....u have to programm the bios chip from the mainboard! i did this couple times and wont work with other bios chips with the same size! only the original chip were able to use!!
but for most usual Laptops there is a tiny contact on the mainboard for passwort erase!
That's a fancy looking mouse pad! Looks great 🤩
Can you unlock Macbooks with T2 EFI Locked?
I don't think it's feasible. There are exploits for the T2 chip, but I don't think they're straight forward to attack.
@@Adamant_IT thank you for your reply, I have read you can bypass EFI and iCloud locked with the checkm8 vulnerability, but I haven’t found any videos how to do it, if you know how to even if it’s just a bypass will be awesome if you can upload a video explaining the process, btw there are service on eBay claiming they remove EFI from T2.
@ Guurusweb_official147 on Instagram can help you get it fixed
I bought a Mac M1 2020 and without knowing how it entered recoveyactivate mode, I asked Apple for support with proof that it belongs to me, I sent an invoice for my purchase, but they refused to help me, now I'm without a Mac and with Odze installments to pay, What do I do, help!
My question is :What if I don't put an another chip back?
Does still turn my macbook on?
Looking for a pro hacker, I recommend you to *famous_hacker001* on insta, they're the best hacking service. Give them a try.
+1 (213) 632-5008🇱🇷
I definitely assure you *PASCAL_HACKED* is the only professional hacker ever
@@jennymichael6242 Did he give you your fake profile picture ?
Hi friend! How could I know which would work to my Mac?
Contact *KRIPHACK* on Instagram for more assistance
Hey. I also have this problem and it ain't stolen. But I can't find anyone to fix it for me without the receipt.
I was wondering if I could send the motherboard to you? what kind of services do you provide?
His services ... are secret.
Hey, Great Video. What is the model of your hot air gun?
Agreed. Big fan of the simplicity in your videos.
I very much enjoyed this and many of the videos that you do. Excellent way to solve an issue. Thanks for sharing.
Great vid! See I learned something very important! And I want to combine it with another method! Basically use the same device, but with different connectors, depending on the MacBook Model and year! Also, I will agree with this method, you will have to make sure that the serial number of the logic board for the repaired EFI device is entered into the chip or flashed! And then if that doesn’t work, press “E” for erase NVRM, Nand, Fans, PMU, or whatever else there is that Apple has, then restart the computer! Hopefully, the new EFI chip will be able to read and/or save the device serial number somewhere in the EFI boot modules, so that when the machine does it checks, it can start up normally as originally programmed from Apple! Hopefully, all security is disabled prior to you doing the mass Apple settings erase and reset! That’s what I had to do after replacing the chip with a whole new EFI programming! Like one of the guys said, we need a cable to plug into all of the MacBooks’ engineering and testing sockets! Way cheaper than what they are being sold for now! Time for some ingenuity! God Speed! 😎🔥💯💰🌎💻📱💣
hi sir i’m here for beg your help i have 3 computers that have efi password macbook pro 2015 model a1502 emc2835 macbook air2017 model a1466 emc3178 and macbook pro 2012 i don’t know which chip on motherboard i can remove and i don’t know which adapter i can use for reprogramming the chips i need your help sir thank you
Plz would u give me a link to buy the chip
@Fernando Rodriguez so he fix it just software without hardware?! And did he took money?! don't forget to answer me plz as i suffers from that issue 😕
Hi man I have same problem with my girlfriend mac book air how can I get you to fix it
Maybe this is a silly question here... But when you replace the BIOS chip, doesn't this also change the serial number of the mac? How would you go about ensuring the serial number isn't changed??
The BIOS contains that and if you change the chip what will happen next ?
*All my thanks goes to this GREAT DUDE CALLED lunartech022 on INSTAGRAM he is the best*
Does anyone have links to EFI chips?
How much do you charge to do this fix? Bought secondhand and in this situation on a 1000$ computer. If there’s anyway for you to contact me let me know.
Not sure why you didn't share the ebay link for the replacements. Kind of common sense
Can you also remove iphone / ipad activation lock this way?
@Aaron Kor chill man with the advertisement, I don't have a locked phone. I was just curious if he could remove iphone lock the same method as used in the video
Customer just bought it... blank drive... can you say stolen...
Hi I'm Johan I have the same problem wat can I do
I have actually fixed a macbook air with locked UEFI by using a removable UEFI chip that you put on the little SAM-Port or the "JTAG" connector. It still requires you to reinstall the OS on the SSD though :3 and they are very very pricy
Couldn't you just clear the cmos with the jumper or by taking out the battery
You can't do that with an apple mac, they work a bit differently.
Thanks for another amazing video. Do you know if there is any way to remove encryption on an SSD. Was sold a 500GB, tried to reformat it however it keeps asking for an icloud password :/. Seller has since went mia unfortunately. Is there no way around this??
You can just format the SSD. Unless it's a T2-equipped laptop, not sure if those are a different situation.
@@Adamant_IT its a 2015 macbook air so I doubt T2, model number of SSD is "mz-jpv128s/0a2". When I put it in recovery mode, it asks for a password because drive is encrypted. Just my luck, at least i was able to repair the logic board. Thanks for the reply!
Try to boot from a usb installer drive an format the internal SSD
link to the Ebay seller chip pre programed?
Mine was successful unlock by *#LAWTOLLS* on Instagram ,he is legit and genius
Oh my God. Who are you ? You are a genius. So amazing video . Thanks a lot . You saved me a lot of money . 💎
Please can you work on my MacBook Air 13 password for got thank you
How much to fix mine
Hello sir
I have macbook pro.2016 13"
Model: A1708
EMC: 2978
If i try like you.
How you did. Is gonna work?
Plz tell me which chef shuld i buy
Send me Right chef ebuy link...🙏🙏🙏
A big thank you to *BRAIN_HACKS0* on instagram he successfully unlocked my disabled MacBook. contact him if you need any help
I for one would be kind of suspicious if a customer came in with a locked "second hand" notebook. Are you legally safe doing something like this, what if it is actually stolen?
Exactly what I was thinking. Couple of years ago I had a guy who couldn't put in a WiFi password on a Mac, he said it was his sisters'. There was a name on the top right "Vandenbergh". That was not his name though. I left it at that..
Nice work mate!
Hi Adam what a great vid thank you 😊
Hi Patts