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wiktoro

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 25, 2024
2
0
Hi everyone,

I'm currently working on restoring FireWire IP networking (`fw0`) between two iMacs, and I’ve hit a wall on the macOS Sequoia (14.0) side. I'm hoping someone here can help clarify whether what I'm attempting is still possible — and if so, how.

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### 🖥 My setup:

- **iMac 27" Mid-2010** running **macOS Sequoia (15.3.1)** installed via **OpenCore Legacy Patcher 2.2.0**
- **iMac 27" Mid-2010** running **macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)**
- Both machines have native FireWire 800 ports, connected via a FireWire 800 cable

---

### 🎯 Goal:

I'd like to establish a direct IP-based network link between these two Macs over FireWire, using the `fw0` interface — as was possible in older macOS versions.
This would allow me to use SMB, rsync, or SSH over FireWire for high-speed transfers without relying on Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

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### ✅ What works:

- Both machines detect the FireWire connection.
- On **High Sierra**, the `fw0` interface appears automatically, and I can assign an IP like `192.168.201.1`.
- On **Sequoia**, **System Profiler shows the FireWire Bus**, and even lists **IPv4 and IPv6 sub-units**, which means lower-level support still exists.
- Confirmed that SIP is partially disabled via OCLP (custom configuration, kext signing is disabled).

---

### ❌ Problem:

On the **Sequoia** side:
- The `fw0` interface does **not appear** in `ifconfig` or `networksetup -listallhardwareports`.
- There’s **no way to add FireWire in System Settings > Network**, as it used to be possible in older macOS versions.

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### 💡 My questions:

1. Is there **any known way** to restore the `fw0` interface on Sequoia, possibly through patching or rebuilding older FireWire kexts?
2. Has anyone succeeded in manually building `IOFireWireIP.kext` from the Apple open-source distribution (`IOFireWireFamily`)?
3. Does `IOFireWireIP.kext` depend on other kernel extensions (e.g. `IONetworkingFamily`) that may need to be downgraded as well?

---

I’d really appreciate any guidance. I’m fine with getting my hands dirty — I can compile, patch, and rebuild components if needed. I just need to know if I’m on a wild goose chase or if someone else has made this work under OCLP + Sequoia.

Thanks in advance!
— Wiktor
 
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