I have the firmware password enabled on my MacBook Pro. I had never used it until this morning, when trying to access from another partition I have to write it inevitably to be able to do anything; I can't even return to the primary boot partition anymore. The problem comes here. My password includes special characters, such a #. But I'm not able to write that or other characters, which the system allowed me to include when I configured the password.

I have a 2012 Macbook Pro, a donation. I did an Internet Recovery and installed Catalina. and it registered with an MDM, so I could not log in. I was able to contact the former owner and got it cleared from the MDM. Now, it has no accounts. And it also has a firmware password. I'm stuck. I took it to the Apple store who told me they no longer have the tools to reset the BIOS on this unit. Looks like my only option is to desolder the BIOS and flash in a new virgin BIOS. I don't have the tools for that. The drive is NOT protected with FileVault2, and I can mount it on another machine. Here are my options, as I see it, but I don't know how to do any of them: 1. Install MacOS on a new drive, and somehow convince the password protected machine to boot the new drive. Is this just a matter of matching the UUID, or is the volume tied to the machine BIOS in a more sophisticated way? 2. Add a user to the existing drive, or change the password of an existing user like root to allow me to log into that drive. Are either of these things possible? How? I did extract the username plist files and it seems to be possible to extract the ShadowHashData and try to get the password with hashcat, but I'd prefer a simpler path. If I can just add accounts to the existing Catalina install or drop in a newly installed disk from another Mac, that would put this idle Mac to work. Otherwise it's scrap.

I recently left an organization that had placed a bunch of restrictions on my Macbook Air M2, which is running Sonoma 14.3.1. I don't have an admin password, and all startup options (recovery mode, safe mode) are locked. Most settings are locked by Jamf, a restrictions software - I can't change startup disk or access profiles, or I also can't contact them to get it removed. Is there any way I can reinstall macOS to get rid of the restrictions?

I purchased a MacBook Air from someone 4 months ago and everything was working perfectly. There is no user name or password needed to log in and I've never had problems using it. Now I would like to reinstall OS X but I can't do it because it's asking for a firmware password when booting with Option ⌥ held down. It's 4 months now and I've lost the seller's phone number to ask for password. I've tried to reset NVRM but those keys are disabled. I can't boot from external HD when I turn on the system. What is the reset procedure?

I logged out of my Macbook (pro 2019, Catalina) then after mistyping my password, accidentally hit the “recover password” button (or something along those lines, can’t remember). I do remember my password, so that’s not the issue. My Macbook then rebooted and took me to a black screen with a grey lock and a password prompt (which I learned was the firmware password page). I don’t remember ever setting a firmware password. I tried my regular login password, which didn’t work. I also tried any other password I could think of. None worked. I tried booting into recovery mode with command+r, but I still get the same screen. I think the issue could be that my Macbook is trying to boot into recovery mode (because I accidentally clicked to recover my password), but recovery mode requires the firmware password. And now I can’t get it to boot normally, without recovery mode. I tried following [these steps](https://windowsreport.com/mac/macbook-stuck-recovery-mode/) , but I always get the lockscreen. Is there a way to go back to how it was before, with the normal login screen (with my known password)?

I can't get to an Apple store. Is there another way to do this. I have my receipt on line for proof of purchase.

I was trying to enable guest account in Mac. When clicking guest account in login screen, the Mac asked for a restart to enter Safari only mode. I have selected yes to restart and the Mac now asks for firmware password after restart. How I can skip this and go back to the old login screen again? *Additional details* In the Mac, these are enabled: - Firmware password - File vault OS : 10.15 Accidentally, I do not remember the firmware password :( and I want to go back to the old login screen. I suspect that the Mac is now trying to boot from some other startup disk for _Safari only Guest mode_? Is there any way to go back to the original startup disk, which will not ask for the firmware password?

I have a firmware password set using the Firmware Password Utility. When I hold D immediately after power-on to start Apple Hardware Test, nothing happens. My computer boots normally. How can I start Apple Hardware Test?

/tldr - Moved original Apple SSD to new logic board. No firmware password before, now suddenly there is - even on original board (after clean install). Sharing experience and insight from others - not looking to bypass firmware password!! I run a small repair shop. Customer brought in a 2013 MBP for a board swap. Customer supplied replacement board. Also, original machine and board were from a business (former employer). Repeat customer, no question about legitimacy of original machine - I know 100% laptop was received legitimately from company. First - she bought a new board because machine was acting up. Turns out battery was exploding (all cells puffed up) but she wanted to replace board anyway since she "wanted to get rid of work stuff anyway". In case she was going to leave old board with me afterwards, I decided to test things out before doing the board replacement. User was under a managed, mobile account, no admin rights. OK, no problem. I booted into Recovery mode, unlocked drive and mounted via Disk Utilities (users password worked to unlock drive), then ran -resetpassword from Terminal and reset the password for one of the admin accounts already on the machine. No issues after reboot. Logged in with the admin account I just changed password on, created new Test admin account. Everything was great. So now I have a drive with a full admin account I control. I can work on the managed user account once I switch to new board. To repeat - I already got into Recovery mode on the original board/machine with NO PASSWORD. Now I install the replacement board, fire it up with the original drive. I get in no problem. New Test account I created works. So does the old managed user account. Ran some tests and used it for awhile, including online activity to make sure replacement board checks out. Realizing there were a bunch of enterprise policies in place I did want to deal with (for instance new local admin Test account not registered with sudo privileges) I decided a complete reinstall was in order. Customer confirmed no need to save anything. Reboot into recovery mode - BAM! Password required. OK - maybe replacement board had a lock on it unbeknownst to customer. OK, well at least I can get an OS on the original drive, then deal with firmware password by contacting sell of replacement board. I take the drive out, put it in my shop MBP an install Mojave on it. Take that drive out, pop it in customer machine (remember, it now has replacement board in it) - folder with blinking ?. Can't find boot volume. Hmmm. I know there is a firmware lock, so can't set boot volume. OK - well, I can always put original board back in and either set boot volume or Internet Recovery since original board had not firmware lock. Guess what? I put original board back in, original drive (but with clean OS on it) - BAM!! Firmware lock. Again - original board, original drive, just new OS installation. Still blinking ? folder at boot. **Here is my actual question: Is there a way to write a policy/script where there is no firmware lock UNLESS there is a hardware change?** I now have two logic boards with firmware locks. Original board didn't have one on it, now it suddenly does. Don't know where they came from. Something triggered a password. Additional info: When I took the original drive and put it in my shop MBP, I went into terminal and ran sudo firmwarepasswd -check. This showed there was a firmware password in place. However, I know my MBP never had a f/w password. So Terminal says there is one, but I know for a fact mine does not. OK - maybe there is a policy that will write one once I shut down? I shut my machine down via Shift-Option-Command+ Power so it wouldn't write. Checked my MBP once more - still no f/w pw. Rebooted normally went to terminal used sudo firmwarepasswd -setpasswd set a temp f/w password. Rebooted my shop MBP into recovery mode, tested my new password - works. Booted normally, Terminal, removed password, rebooted recovery - no password. Normal boot, Terminal sudo firmwarepasswd -check and it shows no password. Check - everything works as it should.

I have an 2012 imac with the most current Update software being High Sierra. I've seemed to have locked the firmware and I can't get passed it I don't have a receipt so no in store help. I've put "resetpassword" in terminal, I've took out the ram, I've made a bookable removable disk, I've put the original DVD that came with it and at this point I have a great looking paper weigjt. Please Help!!!

Is it possible to completely block the use of Boot Camp such that the current Mac OS installation is the only OS available to use? This is for T2 security chip enabled Macs specifically. I found this page: About Secure Boot I think the option to "Disallow booting from external media" takes care of scenarios where one could boot from a Linux live USB drive. But the "Full Security" option seems to indicate that Windows installed via the Boot Camp Assistant would still be considered secure or signed...? I want to know, if there is an option to block that avenue of installation as well; so effectively disabling Boot Camp. If one were to set a firmware password, would a user be prompted for it every time when trying to boot into Windows? Like how this question may indicate: Booting into Windows partition prompts for firmware password . I am wondering if setting the firmware password is enough? For my specific scenario, the key is to prevent booting into another OS. I am OK if someone tried to install Windows via Boot Camp Assistant, but then became thwarted by the firmware password when trying to boot into Windows for the first time.

I noticed that when you set a firmware password on your Mac and you enter it incorrectly, the timeout before you can enter a new password keeps increasing with every wrong attempt. I was wondering: How does a Mac determine the timeout for a wrong firmware password? Would it allow unlimited tries?

While trying to get into recovery mode, I used this: sudo nvram recovery-boot-mode=unused ... hoping it'd take me directly to recovery mode. Instead, it prompts me for the firmware password. Which I don't know. And I can't clear NVRAM without the firmware password. So, I'm stuck in a reboot loop. Yes, I'm an idiot. How do I get myself out of this mess?

I would like to set a firmware password on my MacBook Pro, but I only run Linux on it. I know I could download a macOS installer and use that to set the firmware password without installing macOS, but it would be a lot easier simply to set the password from Linux. Is it possible to set the Mac firmware password from Linux? If so, how?

My dad bought a used 21.5 iMac (2017) a few weeks back (previous owner bought it new but decided to sell after a week, so its basically new.) Given that it came with a 1TB fusion drive, we decided to switch it for the Samsung EVO he was using in his previous Macbook (He doesn’t need storage, only speed.) All went according to plan in terms of opening and swapping the drives, but upon rebooting (attempting to ctrl+r to boot menu) it popped the apple logo and then swapped to a black screen with a lock and password field. After a little reading on the subject it seems someone must have enabled the EFI Firmware password protection which doesn’t allow booting on other drives e.g. external or otherwise. I’ve contacted the previous owner, but she's drawing a blank, claiming never setting up anything of the sort. I’m unsure if this can be enabled during first boot installation, but she didn’t strike me as the type who would know how to do so afterwards (let alone think about it.) My guess is that the shop might’ve had it returned from a prior owner, not reset it correctly and resold it as new (or perhaps discounted, hard to tell from the receipt.) **TL;DR** Knowing firmware is locked with an unobtainable password ... 1. Would I be able to remove the new SSD and insert the original HDD and have the password prompt go away? Or is the system locked until correct password is entered, no matter the drive (it booted prior to switching drives). 2. Warranty void on opening and swapping diskdrive? Searching around it seems everyone has a different story. Some say the rest of the system is still under warranty, others do not. This isn’t Apples issue of cause, but I would likely levy it against the reseller. 3. Even if the old HDD would work again, I’m assuming that not having the FW password would be a roadblock if reinstalling OSX in the future?

First off, I am using macOS Mojave 10.14.6. In this answer , it shows how one could manually set a firmware password in previous versions of OS X without any user input, excluding sudo, which is acceptable for my needs. (The answer itself uses user input, but one could simply use the setregproptool command by itself. Here is my modified version of that code that I have updated for Mojave and tweaked to be used for my purposes. #!/bin/sh # Mounts the Recovery disk (to access the Security Utility application) sudo diskutil mount Recovery & wait # In the recovery disk, there are various folders based on the current version of macOS. I need the latest version. # So, I read the list of folders into an array ordered such that the most-recently modified is first and use regex to get the folder separately from the other folder information. IFS=$'\n' read -rd '' -a ADDR -o # Finally, we unmount the Recovery disk diskutil unmount force Recovery & wait However, the execution of the setregproptool fails because, when loading BaseSystem.dmg and getting the path /Volumes/macOS Base System, this volume is loaded as a read-only file system. So, my question would be answered by one of the following: a way to load BaseSystem.dmg as a readable and executable volume or an alternative way to change the macOS firmware password in a way that allows standard input. (e.g. somehow using firmwarepasswd that doesn't require user input apart from sudo.) **Update:** It seems that the problem with executing setregproptool is separate from the read-only disk since copying the "Startup Secuirty Utility.app" to my disk and attempting to execute the file still results in it failing. By the way, the error it throws is as follows: sudo: unable to execute ./setregproptool: Operation not permitted Another thing I tried just to get everything out of the way was to disable SIP. Also, just in case anyone suggests this, Terminal already has Full Disk Access. **Update 2:** After further questioning, It was found that I am unable to execute any binary on the macOS Base System volume, which may further contribute to the idea that the volume is being attached as a read-only volume. Additionally, to add some more information, I do currently have a firmware password set. Output of mount | grep Base: /dev/disk2s1 on /Volumes/macOS Base System (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, read-only, noowners, quarantine, nobrowse, mounted by [redacted])

Something I never saw happened to my MacBook Air 2014. I was pressing some keys when it restarted itself to the Firmware password screen. I never set up a firmware password and two minutes before I could start to start-up manager without problem. Now it seems I'll have to get it to a repair center to have the password removed by Apple. Can a keyboard shortcut set up a firmware password by itself?

This probably sounds pretty sketchy, so I’ll preface my question with a brief run down of how I got here... Pretty sure I was hacked... It’s a mid-2012 running High Sierra on a SSD harrdrive. Bought it used last year from a vintage Mac dealer, who gave it to me loaded with programs I needed (should have had him wipe it clean). But anyway, when I was hacked .. the firmware lock initiated, admin password changed. I have the password to the firmware but (like a moron), I didn’t write it carefully enough and there are about 4 characters that could go either way ... “Is that a 2? Or a z?”🤔 After about 4 hours of mindlessly popping in different variables, I finally cracked it, but don’t know exactly what I entered. I got access to the login and reset the user password. After getting hacked, all I’ve wanted to do is wipe the drive clean... I took it to a guy I know and he didn’t have time to fix but had a hard drive ready to go. Unfortunately, got home and booted up to another firmware lock — with no login access. I brought it back, and he used some device on the firmware — wasn’t able to reset the firmware password - couldn’t boot in recovery mode - but was able to make it so I could login as a user (with plans to fix bios chip next week). Since I do a lot of work on the computer, need it to work now, and need it to be secure. So, I made some adjustments to override other users (thinking the user name I was given (“Admin”) was the administrator user. Not realizing ... I am just a “standard user”, I restricted permissions of “standard users” and reset login access.. 😔🔫 Now, not only can I not boot in restore mode, single user mode,..etc.. . I can’t unlock padlocks or authorize downloads, change user settings, change file permissions.. It prompts me with a Blank login (user name and password). I write in what I use to login and it doesn’t work. Can’t change network settings, boot disk utility drives... Can’t recovery boot... Can’t update my anti-virus and firewall... So finally, here’s my question: 😬 Is there a way to.... use terminal to mount a bootable installer partition of an external, and and restore with OS running — instead of ion start up? Or, use terminal while in standard user mode to upgrade permissions in the root folder, Or, use terminal to reveal admin name and password? Reset the password? Switch to single user mode without restarting? Anything? any ideas you have are much appreciated! And thanks !!

My Macbook pro got disabled. I tried to go into the recovery mode using cmd+R and internet recovery mode using cmd+opt+R. Both ask for my firmware password, and when I enter the password,although correct, it takes me back to disabled screen. Find my Iphone app says my Macbook is locked.In addition I tried to reinstall OS through bootable installer but that too takes me back to the disabled screen.

As the title, is there a way to restore a Mac when you forgot the recovery password, I tried with command + R during reboot, but it doesn’t help.