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BIOS Settings

BIOS Modding

Modding the machine's BIOS is optional and will unlock hidden advanced settings. These settings allow for better optimizations under macOS.

Danger

The BIOS patch will PERMANENTLY break TPM. Patch the only BIOS if you (will) never use TPM under Windows or Linux.

The CH341a SPI Programmer and SOIC8 Clip are needed to dump and flash the BIOS chip. An inexpensive one from Amazon/eBay is sufficient.

The BIOS chip is located just above the CPU, hidden under the shielding sticker.

BIOS Chip Location

X1C6 BIOS Chip Location

Credits

Thank you to paranoidbashthot and \x for creating the patches.

@notthebee similarly modded his BIOS in Removing Wi-Fi Whitelist ... & Unlocking Advanced BIOS Settings

  1. Use xx_80_patches-v*.txt, feel free to comment out the WWAN patches if unnecessary.

  2. Remember to dump the vanilla twice and use diff to make sure things were dumped properly, store this backup somewhere safe.

  3. Confirmed working BIOS-v1.45, I cannot be sure about other BIOS versions. Though they will most likely work as well.

  4. The modded BIOS does not need to be signed by thinkpad-eufi-sign. Remember to replace 4C 4E 56 42 42 53 45 43 FB with 4C 4E 56 42 42 53 45 43 FF on the patched BIOS.

  5. Your BIOS chip may not be made by Winbond, but by Macronix instead. In that case, add the argument -c MX25L12835F/MX25L12845E/MX25L12865E to flashrom. See Issue #116

Success

Successfully modding your BIOS will reveal the Advanced tab.

BIOS Advance Menu

It is safe to update the BIOS. However, the patches will have to be reapplied and reflashed.

Modded BIOS Settings

  • DVMT Pre-Allocated to 64M. This enables 4K HDMI output.
  • Disable CFG Lock. This gives Kernel (XNU) and AppleIntelPowerManagement the ability to write to the MSR 0xE2 register.

Vanilla BIOS Settings

The following settings are not all necessary, but are recommended for general compatibility and stability.

  • Disable TPM
  • Disable Secure Boot
  • Disable Fingerprint Reader
  • 'UEFI Only' Boot
  • Disable CSM Support
  • Disable Wke on LAN

Thunderbolt 3

Thunderbolt 3 hot-plug support under macOS noticeably increases the idle power consumption.

  • Disable Thunderbolt BIOS Assist Mode
  • Security Level to No Security
  • Disable Support in Pre Boot Environment

If you don't use Thunderbolt 3 or prioritize power consumption, you can still cold-plug Thunderbolt 3.

  • Enabled Thunderbolt BIOS Assist Mode
  • Enable Thunderbolt Device