I was waiting for 11.1 to supposedly fix the Internet Recovery issue. It is very slow to be released. Without a specific issue to point to Apple has been unwilling (for me) to move on the firmware issue. I'll try to see if I can get an appointment at the local store. Man, this has become a colossal waste of time!
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iMac 17,1 (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) EFI firmware update failures
- Thread starter zorinlynx
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Not looking good on 11.1. Just installed onto my iMac. Cmd-R at start-up still launches El Cap Internet Recovery. Cmd-Opt-R still giving an error (-2001f). Firmware still at 170.0.0.0.
On a chat with Apple right now. The poor soul who got me loaded for bear! Paint dries faster... They've shifted to the IR error code bypassing the real problem again. Transferred to Senior Advisor, now the runaround begins.? He truly believes me... 5 min with someone who can address it (is that too much to ask?).
Going to collect data for an engineer...what? - have I broken thru? OK, collected data and sent it to Apple under "firmware won't update". Let's see what they call back with? I'll keep you folks posted. I'll most likely get the take it to the Apple Store.
Going to collect data for an engineer...what? - have I broken thru? OK, collected data and sent it to Apple under "firmware won't update". Let's see what they call back with? I'll keep you folks posted. I'll most likely get the take it to the Apple Store.
OK. I've run a test which is pretty definitive.
I mentioned much earlier that my girlfriend's 17,1 iMac (currently running High Sierra) is running firmware 428.0.0.0.0 (it was previously updated to Mojave and rolled back).
I decided to try and boot that using internet recovery (CMD-OPT-R).
It worked! 100% confirmed that it boots into Big Sur via internet recovery.
So that test proves absolutely that it is 100% a firmware issue.
This means that Apple will need to find a way to get our 17,1 systems to 428.0.0.0.0 in order for internet recovery to function.
As to *why* her system updated its firmware and mine didn't...that's another matter.
I mentioned much earlier that my girlfriend's 17,1 iMac (currently running High Sierra) is running firmware 428.0.0.0.0 (it was previously updated to Mojave and rolled back).
I decided to try and boot that using internet recovery (CMD-OPT-R).
It worked! 100% confirmed that it boots into Big Sur via internet recovery.
So that test proves absolutely that it is 100% a firmware issue.
This means that Apple will need to find a way to get our 17,1 systems to 428.0.0.0.0 in order for internet recovery to function.
As to *why* her system updated its firmware and mine didn't...that's another matter.
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Something else I discovered today...I updated from 11.0.1 to 11.1 (on my machine with firmware 170.0.0.0.0) and on 11.0.1, booting with CMD-OPT-R produced an (eventual) error message following the spinning globe, etc.
After updating to 11.1, CMD-OPT-R now boots successfully to...Catalina!
I guess this is better than just erroring out, and better than El Capitan...but still...
Is anyone else getting Catalina now?
PS: When I boot with CMD-R only, I get El Capitan (probably because it cannot use the Big Sur partition, so it defaults to the original version of MacOS it shipped with). This is the same as SHIFT-OPT-CMD-R.
After updating to 11.1, CMD-OPT-R now boots successfully to...Catalina!
I guess this is better than just erroring out, and better than El Capitan...but still...
Is anyone else getting Catalina now?
PS: When I boot with CMD-R only, I get El Capitan (probably because it cannot use the Big Sur partition, so it defaults to the original version of MacOS it shipped with). This is the same as SHIFT-OPT-CMD-R.
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Just an update:
I posted a few weeks ago that I have this iMac still on Mojave and had the updated firmware (428) and was able to boot into recovery mode. After installing a security update to Mojave that was released earlier in the week, the new firmware number is now 429.60.3.0.0. I haven't tried rebooting to make sure recovery mode is still accessible. Maybe I will.
Edit: I'm still able to boot into Recovery Mode with this newest firmware.
I posted a few weeks ago that I have this iMac still on Mojave and had the updated firmware (428) and was able to boot into recovery mode. After installing a security update to Mojave that was released earlier in the week, the new firmware number is now 429.60.3.0.0. I haven't tried rebooting to make sure recovery mode is still accessible. Maybe I will.
Edit: I'm still able to boot into Recovery Mode with this newest firmware.
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Interesting! May I ask: does your system have original RAM or third party RAM? Does it have an SSD or HDD? Thanks!
My iMac has the 2 TB Fusion Drive that Apple offered at the time. It came with 8 GB of RAM and I added 8 more from a third-party retailer (I think Crucial, but I can't remember for sure).
Thanks! I'm wondering if there is a correlation RAM choices, HDD/SSD options and the ability to update firmware. There doesn't seem to be a set pattern, though.
Doesn’t seem to be, based on a few things. Apple Support told me they have the same machines at 170.0.0.0.0 and they wouldn’t use 3rd party memory. Also, why would diff memory only affect this machine?
Anyway, I’m still waiting to hear from them (Engineering) so I don’t know. The blade SSD seems more likely.
Anyway, I’m still waiting to hear from them (Engineering) so I don’t know. The blade SSD seems more likely.
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I agree. Funnily enough, my computer has a 1TB SSD (won't update) and my girlfriend's has a 3TB HDD (will update).
May or may not be related, but my iMac (stuck on 170 bootrom) is unable to sign in to iMessage and FaceTime. Anyone else also experiencing this?
I've been given the run around in the same way as others - 170.0.0.0.0, can't access Recovery Mode (goes to El Cap Internet Recovery instead) and Cmd-Opt-R errors out. Apple have now asked me to take the machine in for analysis, so I'm going to do that on Wednesday this week. It will need to be sent away though, which worries me slightly (I can't easily get to to an Apple Store from where I live in the UK, but can get it to an Apple Service Provider who I trust. They will send it for analysis, and have access to the Apple case history I understand).
Let's see what happens. For the record, mine is the 4GHz too, with a 512GB SSD.
Let's see what happens. For the record, mine is the 4GHz too, with a 512GB SSD.
Unlikely to be related I think, I'd look elsewhere for a solution. (Signing out of iCloud and back in maybe?).
For people who can't update EFI, do you have installed a 3rd party SSD drive (NVME or SATA) ?
I have a 27 - late 2015 1Tb FD. I have replaced the 1TB HDD by a 860EVO and I have kept the 24Gb Apple SSD blade.
I receive all EFI updates without any problem.
I have a 27 - late 2015 1Tb FD. I have replaced the 1TB HDD by a 860EVO and I have kept the 24Gb Apple SSD blade.
I receive all EFI updates without any problem.
No, I have the stock 1TB SSD. Did you receive the firmware updates prior to replacing your drive, or only after replacing it, or both?