Did Yosemite Update Boot Firmware?

[Traverse]

I'm not really sure if this should go under Mavericks or Yosemite because I'm getting Yosemite-like behavior after reinstalling Mavericks.

I heard someone on this forum mention that Yosemite did a firmware update so they couldn't downgrade. Well, I wiped my drive and reinstalled Mavericks and I've noticed one thing.

In Yosemite, my rMBP would boot to a black screen and a white Apple logo. In Mavericks it used to boot directly to a bright screen with a gray Apple logo. Since reinstalling Mavericks when I cold boot my system It boots to a black screen (I can tell the screen came on) for a few seconds before it resumes Mavericks-like behavior.

Has anyone else noticed this after running Yosemite on their system at one time or another?

 

[drew627]

That's normal. The completely black screen without an Apple was there before Yosemite. It just depends on how fast your computer is I guess.

 

[Traverse]

That's normal. The completely black screen without an Apple was there before Yosemite. It just depends on how fast your computer is I guess.

It's odd because it never appeared or took so long on my system before the Yosemite install.

 

[NoBoMac]

Maybe FileVault.

Might have been activated during Yosemite install, hence, disk is still encrypted and going through Mavericks-style FileVault boot/decrypt.

 

[Weaselboy]

It's odd because it never appeared or took so long on my system before the Yosemite install.

Yes, for some machines Yosemite installs a firmware update. There was a post during the betas where someone posted a screenshot of the actual EFI files in the installer.

 

[Traverse]

Yes, for some machines Yosemite installs a firmware update. There was a post during the betas where someone posted a screenshot of the actual EFI files in the installer.

Thank you. I wonder if that may cause issue for machines that are downgraded to Mavericks.

 

[Weaselboy]

Thank you. I wonder if that may cause issue for machines that are downgraded to Mavericks.

Dunno... I have not read about anybody having any issues with this though.

 

[Traverse]

Dunno... I have not read about anybody having any issues with this though.

I'm also noticing very long shut down times. None of this was apparent on 10.9.5 before upgrading to Yosemite and downgrading.

----------

I am noticing a slight increase in performance after verifying and repairing disk permissions with Disk Utility.

I'm surprised that would be part of the issue since I did a fresh install of Mavericks and only dragged over my files; no restore from backup.

 

[grahamperrin]

1, 2, 3 (firmware, compare, compare)

Hi

1. System Information to tell what firmware is installed
2. compare what's installed with https://web.archive.org/web/20141010090340/http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1237 (the 2014-09-23, pre-Yosemite edition of an article)
3. compare what's installed with the current, post-Yosemite edition of the same article: EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Macs – Apple Support.

Reference

Amongst Macs that can be upgraded to support OS X Recovery, can any model *not* accept a firmware downgrade?

(That's not an exact match for the subject of this topic, but it includes a link to archive material and so on.)

 

[fenomen]

Traverse,
I've got exactly the same problem. I've got a new machine that came with Mavericks and everything was working like a charm, but then Yosemite was released, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't like it all, so I reverted back to Mavericks, but I still have the same Yosemite's black boot screen and startup manager. I also have a windows partition on my mac and am experiencing a long windows shutdown or restart and I didn't have any problem with this before. Whatever it did to our computers, I would like to know how we could revert these changes.

 

[grahamperrin]

Attention to Recovery OS

… back to Mavericks, but I still have the same Yosemite's black boot screen and startup manager. …

Does the version of Recovery OS match the version (10.9.5) of OS X?

 

[Traverse]

Does the version of Recovery OS match the version (10.9.5) of OS X?

I used a 10.9.5 USB. my soupy stem came with 10.9.3.

----------

Traverse,
I've got exactly the same problem. I've got a new machine that came with Mavericks and everything was working like a charm, but then Yosemite was released, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't like it all, so I reverted back to Mavericks, but I still have the same Yosemite's black boot screen and startup manager. I also have a windows partition on my mac and am experiencing a long windows shutdown or restart and I didn't have any problem with this before. Whatever it did to our computers, I would like to know how we could revert these changes.

Yes, I still have the Yosemite startup manager. When I try to boot from another USB it has Yosemite's design for selecting the disk. I think this was a permanent, possibly firmware, change. As long as it doesnt cuase issues I'll live (slightly annoyed) with it.

 

[tschunde]

Yes they changed the firmware.

I also up and downgraded and on my rMBP early 2013 the recovery menu now has yosemite UI. I hope they did no changes to my wireless but since the UP&DOWN my wireless upload speed is way too slow.

 

[fenomen]

Does the version of Recovery OS match the version (10.9.5) of OS X?

I used internet recovery and it installed 10.9.4 automatically.

Yes, I still have the Yosemite startup manager. When I try to boot from another USB it has Yosemite's design for selecting the disk. I think this was a permanent, possibly firmware, change. As long as it doesnt cuase issues I'll live (slightly annoyed) with it.

As for me, I am annoyed because it affected the performance of my new machine. Before, it was super responsive. Now, it's slightly less responsive, but there is a difference for sure. I also have a windows partition, as I already mentioned. Windows shutdown/ restart used to be super fast, now it's stuck at blank black screen at the end of shutdown/ restart before it really shuts down or restarts. And I think my machine generates a bit more heat than before.

 

[tschunde]

wireless adapter firmware flashed to broken version from yosemite?

I also have the feeling that my wireless adapter is messed up since the up and downgrade, too. anyone knows how to get the old wireless firmware back? yosemite messed up my up and download speed and going back to mavericks didn't cure it.

 

[grahamperrin]

Related

Small warning for those wanting to 'try' Yosemite

… startup screen when it chimes and the drive selection screen black instead of the white/grey. …

 

[Traverse]

Small warning for those wanting to 'try' Yosemite

Thank you, I will chime in on that thread.

 

[snsking]

Did you ever find a fix for this? I am having the same issue and I want to revert it back

 

[grahamperrin]

Above

Did you ever find a fix for this? …

Please see my first post above. Did you find the required firmware and if so, did you try to install it?

 

[snsking]

Please see my first post above. Did you find the required firmware and if so, did you try to install it?

Trying to open it on the Desktop gives the error that it is not compatible with my system (since I have a higher version that the one im tyring to install)

I extracted the contents of the package, and ran it through terminal but it would give me an error as well.

 

[grahamperrin]

… im trying to revert the system firmware back to the one I had

Which would be "Macbook Pro Retina EFI Update V1.3"

Trying to open it on the Desktop gives the error that it is not compatible with my system (since I have a higher version that the one im tyring to install)

I extracted the contents of the package, and ran it through terminal but it would give me an error as well.

OK, so I guess that you have a MacBookPro11,1 and MacBookProRetinaEFIUpd1.3.dmg from https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1704

For that model, MBP111.0138.B03 (EFI 1.3) was listed by Apple both before and after the release of Yosemite.

Is MacBookPro11,1 truly the model identifier for your Mac and if so, what's the higher version of firmware that you have on that model?

 

[MacsRgr8]

Thank you. I wonder if that may cause issue for machines that are downgraded to Mavericks.

I noticed that my iMac 2013 got the black boot screen with white Apple-logo after installing Yosemite.

But, I have downgraded my Mac Pro 2008 from Yosemite to Mavericks (due to gaming stuff, noticeably FF wheel...) and that Mac has always had the grey boot screen with darker grey Apple logo.

 

[snsking]

OK, so I guess that you have a MacBookPro11,1 and MacBookProRetinaEFIUpd1.3.dmg from https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1704

For that model, MBP111.0138.B03 (EFI 1.3) was listed by Apple both before and after the release of Yosemite.

Is MacBookPro11,1 truly the model identifier for your Mac and if so, what's the higher version of firmware that you have on that model?

Yeah its the one you linked. I am attaching an image of the one I currently have installed

Note: to the user above me, my mac boot up screen is now black for about 2 seconds and then proceeds to grey background with the Apple logo. The boot selection manager screen is also black. Were as before it was a dark grey as well.

 

[grahamperrin]

Yeah its the one you linked. I am attaching an image of the one I currently have installed …

Thanks. For search purposes:

Boot ROM Version: MBP111.0138.B14
SMC Version (system): 2.16f68​

snsking, please:

1. read the precautions below
2. backup
3. connect the power adapter to the notebook
4. log in as an administrator
5. attach (mount) the disk image that you downloaded from Apple
6. with a utility such as Pacifist or Payload Extractor, extract the .scap file from Apple's update package to a convenient path, for example ~/Desktop/MBPRetinaEFIUpdate-1.3/
7. proceed only if you are certain that the drive at disk0 is in good working order; that the .scap file is of good integrity; and that the .scap file is applicable to the model identifier of the Mac
8. launch Terminal
9. prepare to enter your administrator password at the command line
10. run the two single-line commands below.

First command:

sudo /usr/sbin/bless -mount / -firmware ~/Desktop/MBPRetinaEFIUpdate-1.3/MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap --recovery --setBoot --nextonly --verbose

Second command:

clear ; diskutil mount /dev/disk0s1 ; ls -l /Volumes/EFI/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE/ ; diskutil unmount /dev/disk0s1

If the output from that second command does not include the expected file – in your case, MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap – then do not restart. Instead, remount disk0s1 and remove the .scap files from the EFI volume.

If the output from that second command is good then restart the operating system, be patient before and during installation of the firmware (the screen may be blank for a while before the firmware progress bar appears), do not touch the Mac until after OS X restarts with the installed firmware.

Precautions

Google found MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap mentioned in Откат прошивки EFI на Mac - Проект AppStudio (2014-11-15). I don't read Russian, but a translation of the page suggests that rollback/downgrade of firmware is a most dangerous operation on a Mac.

With a different model (MacBookPro5,2) and the .scap file that's appropriate for that model, the ten-step approach above successfully (re)installed firmware. However I have not tested installation of lesser firmware.

Apple's Mac OS X manual page for bless(8) may be outdated; there's no description of the -firmware option in --mount mode, and so on.

 

[snsking]

Thanks. For search purposes:

Boot ROM Version: MBP111.0138.B14
SMC Version (system): 2.16f68​

snsking, please:

1. read the precautions below
2. backup
3. connect the power adapter to the notebook
4. log in as an administrator
5. attach (mount) the disk image that you downloaded from Apple
6. with a utility such as Pacifist or Payload Extractor, extract the .scap file from Apple's update package to a convenient path, for example ~/Desktop/MBPRetinaEFIUpdate-1.3/
7. proceed only if you are certain that the drive at disk0 is in good working order; that the .scap file is of good integrity; and that the .scap file is applicable to the model identifier of the Mac
8. launch Terminal
9. prepare to enter your administrator password at the command line
10. run the two single-line commands below.

First command:

sudo /usr/sbin/bless -mount / -firmware ~/Desktop/MBPRetinaEFIUpdate-1.3/MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap --recovery --setBoot --nextonly --verbose

Second command:

clear ; diskutil mount /dev/disk0s1 ; ls -l /Volumes/EFI/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE/ ; diskutil unmount /dev/disk0s1

If the output from that second command does not include the expected file – in your case, MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap – then do not restart. Instead, remount disk0s1 and remove the .scap files from the EFI volume.

If the output from that second command is good then restart the operating system, be patient before and during installation of the firmware (the screen may be blank for a while before the firmware progress bar appears), do not touch the Mac until after OS X restarts with the installed firmware.

Precautions

Google found MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap mentioned in Откат прошивки EFI на Mac - Проект AppStudio (2014-11-15). I don't read Russian, but a translation of the page suggests that rollback/downgrade of firmware is a most dangerous operation on a Mac.

With a different model (MacBookPro5,2) and the .scap file that's appropriate for that model, the ten-step approach above successfully (re)installed firmware. However I have not tested installation of lesser firmware.

Apple's Mac OS X manual page for bless(8) may be outdated; there's no description of the -firmware option in --mount mode, and so on.

I will try this tonight

----------

Thanks. For search purposes:

Boot ROM Version: MBP111.0138.B14
SMC Version (system): 2.16f68​

snsking, please:

1. read the precautions below
2. backup
3. connect the power adapter to the notebook
4. log in as an administrator
5. attach (mount) the disk image that you downloaded from Apple
6. with a utility such as Pacifist or Payload Extractor, extract the .scap file from Apple's update package to a convenient path, for example ~/Desktop/MBPRetinaEFIUpdate-1.3/
7. proceed only if you are certain that the drive at disk0 is in good working order; that the .scap file is of good integrity; and that the .scap file is applicable to the model identifier of the Mac
8. launch Terminal
9. prepare to enter your administrator password at the command line
10. run the two single-line commands below.

First command:

sudo /usr/sbin/bless -mount / -firmware ~/Desktop/MBPRetinaEFIUpdate-1.3/MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap --recovery --setBoot --nextonly --verbose

Second command:

clear ; diskutil mount /dev/disk0s1 ; ls -l /Volumes/EFI/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE/ ; diskutil unmount /dev/disk0s1

If the output from that second command does not include the expected file – in your case, MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap – then do not restart. Instead, remount disk0s1 and remove the .scap files from the EFI volume.

If the output from that second command is good then restart the operating system, be patient before and during installation of the firmware (the screen may be blank for a while before the firmware progress bar appears), do not touch the Mac until after OS X restarts with the installed firmware.

Precautions

Google found MBP111_0138_B03_LOCKED.scap mentioned in Откат прошивки EFI на Mac - Проект AppStudio (2014-11-15). I don't read Russian, but a translation of the page suggests that rollback/downgrade of firmware is a most dangerous operation on a Mac.

With a different model (MacBookPro5,2) and the .scap file that's appropriate for that model, the ten-step approach above successfully (re)installed firmware. However I have not tested installation of lesser firmware.

Apple's Mac OS X manual page for bless(8) may be outdated; there's no description of the -firmware option in --mount mode, and so on.

Can I reach you via email? You have PMs disabled