• Mac Firmware Password Reset Utility App Download
• Mac Firmware Password Reset Utility App Windows 10
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• Mac Firmware Password Reset Utility Apps
• Mac Firmware Password Reset

To protect the data on your Mac, you can set a user account password (login password) to prevent unauthorized users from logging in to your user account. You can also encrypt your startup disk using FileVault, so that only users who can log in to your Mac can read the data on that disk.

For even more protection, you can set a firmware password. A firmware password prevents users who don't have the password from starting up from any disk other than the designated startup disk. As a result, it prevents using some startup key combinations.

The following steps apply to OS X Mountain Lion or later.

How to turn on a firmware password

Then start disk.app and change to the USB, then reinstall OS X. After you reinstall, open Terminal and write a shell command to use the Unix setregproptool (it's inside the firmware password utility.app contents located in the installer image and also on the recovery partition) and remove the password by calling the remove password command.

1. Start up from macOS Recovery: Press and hold Command (⌘)-R immediately after turning on your Mac, and release the keys when you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.
2. When the utilities window appears, click Utilities in the menu bar, then choose Firmware Password Utility or Startup Security Utility. This utility is available only on Mac models that support use of a firmware password.
3. Click Turn On Firmware Password.
4. Enter a firmware password in the fields provided, then click Set Password. Remember this password.
5. Quit the utility, then choose Apple () menu > Restart.

Your Mac asks for the firmware password only when attempting to start up from a storage device other than the one selected in Startup Disk preferences, or when starting up from macOS Recovery. Enter the firmware password when you see the lock icon and password field:

How to turn off a firmware password

1. Start up from macOS Recovery: Press and hold Command (⌘)-R immediately after turning on your Mac, and release the keys when you see the lock icon and password field.
2. Enter the firmware password.
3. When the Utilities window appears, click Utilities in the menu bar, then choose Firmware Password Utility or Startup Security Utility.
   
4. Click Turn Off Firmware Password.
5. Enter the firmware password again when prompted.
6. Quit the utility, then choose Apple () menu > Restart.

Mac Firmware Password Reset Utility App Download

How to set a passcode for one-time use

You can also use the Lost Mode feature of Find My Mac to remotely lock your Mac with a passcode for one-time use. Your Mac receives the lock instruction from iCloud, restarts, and asks for the system lock PIN code you created. When you enter that passcode, the Mac starts up from your designated startup disk and disables the passcode.

Lost Mode works even while using a firmware password. Unlike the passcode set by Lost Mode, a firmware password remains on until you turn it off with Firmware Password Utility or Startup Security Utility.

If you forgot your firmware password

If you can't remember your firmware password or passcode, schedule an in-person service appointment with an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. Bring your Mac to the appointment, and bring your original receipt or invoice as proof of purchase.

macOS provides multiple methods to protect the data on a Mac: a user account password, encryption via FileVault, and optional low-level security measure that prevents starting up from storage devices other than the selected startup disk. That's known as the firmware password or EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) lock, which will also block the user's ability to use all startup key combinations, except the NVRAM or PRAM reset combinations. This command (Option + Command + P + R), however, will initiate the machine from macOS Recovery instead.

The Lost Mode feature of Find My Mac will remotely lock the Mac with a firmware password for one-time use. The user's Mac receives the lock instruction from iCloud, restarts, and asks for the system lock PIN code that they set up. After entering the passcode the Mac starts up from the designated startup disk and disables the passcode.

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A firmware password is not the same as the administrator password or login password. It's a separate password that appears immediately after boot and must be entered into the system lock screen, which appears as a lock symbol on either a black or a gray background.

Firmware Passcode Security

Low-level passwords are quite secure, which also means there is potentially a headache if the password is forgotten. If you or any of your users can't remember the firmware password or passcode, know that Apple doesn’t allow for any workarounds, but instead recommends scheduling a service appointment with an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. The process requires the original receipt or invoice as proof of purchase.

Earlier versions of macOS required manual installation of the firmware but, starting in 2015, Apple began bundling EFI updates with the macOS updates in order to deliver security patches to all users. But as security firm Duo Labs discovered in late 2017, some Macs aren't getting the right firmware, which makes them vulnerable to hackers. They recommend checking the firmware version and updating if needed.

Firmware Passcode Location

On Intel-based Macs shipped before 2011, the firmware password was stored in the PRAM and read by the system EFI firmware before other PRAM variables. That lead to a serious security issue, allowing the firmware to be revealed in a native macOS app and weakening the enhanced security Apple had hoped to introduce with the addition of the firmware password.

In 2011, however, Apple added an important change to the system: the firmware password was moved to a separate programmable controller from Atmel. This component contains lockable flash memory to store the password and requires special programming with identifier numbers for both the Mac's motherboard and the Atmel chip to access and reset it.

Since the controller is an independent component, the only way to bypass it is to manually remove it from the motherboard, but this requires highly precise reflow soldering tools and techniques.

Bypassing the Mac Firmware Password on MacBooks With Upgradeable RAM

This hardware hack works on both Intel- and Motorola-based MacBooks and requires users to remove the RAM and reinstall it. You can check our guide on how to remove the RAM on MacBooks for further reading.

1. Shut down your computer and remove the battery.
2. Locate your RAM, remove one of the RAM modules and put it aside.
3. Put the battery in, and boot your computer while holding the Command + Option + P + R keys to reset the parameter RAM.
4. Wait for the chime to sound three times.
5. Release the keys and shut down the computer.
6. Remove the battery again, and reinsert the RAM module.
7. Put the battery back in.
8. Boot up your Mac, and you should not see the firmware lock again.

Disable the Password With Firmware Password Utility

1. Restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys to enter Recovery Mode.
2. When the Utilities screen appears, go the Utilities menu bar, and select “Firmware Password Utility”.
3. Choose to turn the Firmware Password off.

Mac Firmware Password Reset Utility App Windows 10

If none of the above methods worked, there are still two more options to try: either have Apple do it for you, so long as you have the original receipt or invoice, or alternatively use any of the EFI lock bypass hardware kits available for sale on various sites. In using one of these EFI lock hardware bypass methods you’ll almost certainly void your warranty, so it is down to you whether you want to risk the procedure.

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