MacBook Air EFI update 1.0

[dzhiurgis]

Hey,
i've just found this update on software update. Strangely link to kb doesn't work, completely no information on apple site.

 

[Scottyk9]

I got the notice of the update too, but no details for the update are up on apple's support page (as you mentioned).

Think I might wait a bit, as my MBA is working flawlessly right now.


Also looks like Al bluetooth keyboard update is available.

 

[dzhiurgis]

Succesfully updated:

 

[Scottyk9]

And?

Did you have any problems with you MBA prior to the update (fans, core shutdown)? Any difference in the fans speed at "rest"?

 

[Sun Baked]

The iMac also updated to 1.3 along with their keyboard firmware...

Missed what apple is fixing with all these EFI updates.

 

[dzhiurgis]

No problems at all. However, it might be a placebo or smth, but it seems to work more silently.

The update stated something very usual: "increased stability bla bla"

 

[AoWolf]

"This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook Air computers."

Can't be a bad thing...I hope!

 

[ozthegweat]

Hope this fixes the "CPU core shutdown while watching video" issue.

 

[aristobrat]

Hmm, no reboot required. Weird.

 

[MRU]

Hmm, no reboot required. Weird.

Are you sure you actually installed it, or just the efi updater.

After you have completed the software download, you must manually start the EFI update which will be located in the utilities folder.

Otherwise all you have done is download the update, not actually install it.

 

[rom]

Hmm, no reboot required. Weird.

Install it first and then it will run and ask you to shutdown. No reboot indeed.

 

[rom]

Fans

Seems like there is something going on with the fans. It used to hover consistently on 6200rpm when you start doing some "work" but now, it is more dynamic.

Testing video.

 

[Clix Pix]

Safely and easily installed here -- no problems! I don't notice anything different, but then again I was not experiencing any problems with my MBA anyway.

 

[rom]

Update

Ran two youtube videos simultaneously on Safari 3.1 and fans running at 6200rpm but no core shutdown, no playback pauses. Looking good.

 

[iHerzeleid]

Cores still shutdown under heavy load but are much quicker to come back.

 

[Mhaddy]

Will install once I get home and to a power source

 

[rom]

Cores still shutdown under heavy load but are much quicker to come back.

Have not experienced core shutdown yet but so far, performance is way better.

 

[iHerzeleid]

Have not experienced core shutdown yet but so far, performance is way better.

it is. but WoW kills a core.

 

[rom]

it is. but WoW kills a core.

Heheh. WoW kills orcs as well.

Seriously, though - have you experienced other instances when the core shuts down? Not counting games, of course.

 

[bananas]

I had no issues before, but installed the update anyway. No noticeable changes here. My MBA is as good as it was.

 

[Eidorian]

Hope this fixes the "CPU core shutdown while watching video" issue.

It sounds like you're talking about Flash videos which are always a mess on OS X. Please don't call it an issue when Apple did document it at one point.

Seems like there is something going on with the fans. It used to hover consistently on 6200rpm when you start doing some "work" but now, it is more dynamic.

Testing video.

Ran two youtube videos simultaneously on Safari 3.1 and fans running at 6200rpm but no core shutdown, no playback pauses. Looking good.

I was hoping that Apple would tweak the thermal profiles. My MacBook seems to need a higher temperature before the fans spin up now as well.

 

[aussieinrome]

This seemed to be a rather harmless update that happened automatically on my MBA. Does anyone know what it actually does?

 

[ThanatosId]

Has anyone noticed that Memory is better used? Before the update, I always had over a gig inactive. Since, inactive is sitting consistently under 100Mbs.

 

[ozthegweat]

It sounds like you're talking about Flash videos which are always a mess on OS X. Please don't call it an issue when Apple did document it at one point..

No, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the issue of which many threads exist in this forum. A core shuts down when watching video (not flash) on an external display and kernel_task uses ~60% CPU, which results in very low framerates. The core comes back (and kernel_task goes down to normal levels) the second I close the video, so this can't have anything to do with temperature, as the temperature wouldn't go down that quickly.

There is a 20$ solution with lowering the voltage, but I prefer a free, Apple-approved fix.

 

[Eidorian]

No, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the issue of which many threads exist in this forum. A core shuts down when watching video (not flash) on an external display and kernel_task uses ~60% CPU, which results in very low framerates. The core comes back (and kernel_task goes down to normal levels) the second I close the video, so this can't have anything to do with temperature, as the temperature wouldn't go down that quickly.

There is a 20$ solution with lowering the voltage, but I prefer a free, Apple-approved fix.

I've noticed the external display threads as well. Apple did have knowledge base article on core throttling having some relation to the GPU usage as well.