macOS 14 Sonoma on Unsupported Macs Thread

[houser]

. when I start it, a window appears that tells me that I don't have the correct settings, then it goes to the build one, which fails because the model doesn't recognize it and back to home menu....

View attachment 2284947

I don't know what to do... I can reinstall everything but I'd like to leave it as a last resort.

Thank you again.

You should be able to simply delete the contents of the OCLP EFI folder (search for "Mount EFI Mac") and redownload and install a new OCLP EFI and repair your install manually. If you need to you could also build an OCLP EF( and install it to an USB and select it after alt boot and then repair your install manually from there. That might be prudent if you need to reboot and need a working OCLP.
Good luck.

 

[Saltacharcos]

You should be able to simply delete the OCLP EFI and redownload and install a new OCLP EFI and repair your install manually. If you need to you could also build an OCLP EFi and install it to an USB and select it after alt boot and then repair your install manually from there. That might be prudent if you need to reboot and need a working OCLP.
Good luck.

very thanks!

 

[DeBilbao]

macOS Sonoma 14.0 (23A344) is running smoothly in my 2107 iMac 4K 21.5" (iMac18,2), just booting from a USB pendrive created with OpenCore Legacy Patcher 0.6.9 to install it in a 100GB partition of a 1TB Samsung T5 external SSD drive.

No need to run any Root Patch, so system is 100% vanilla. The "magic" only happens in the EFI partition of the USB pendrive.

Here you can see my Wi-Fi running perfectly, connected to an access point setup in a OnePlus 8T Android mobile phone, running Android 13 and OxygenOS 13, using a 5G connection with Vodafone. Speeds are much better than the ADSL connection that I have at this iMac location.

AirDrop requires Wi-Fi, and it works without any issue sending photos from my iPhone 14 Pro.

Bluetooth also works flawlessly, and with the 2nd generation AirPods Pro I get to access the settings with adaptive sound, which is a great improvement that you can only enjoy if you have macOS Sonoma.

All my Bluetooth devices work perfectly, the 2nd generation AirPods Pro, another 1st generation AirPods and the fantastic for music Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3. Also the Magic Keyboard keyboard and the Magic Mouse 2 mouse, which at first left me a bit puzzled because I thought the right button didn't work, but this was due to settings in the system preferences.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher is the magician, implementing a patch for IO80211FamilyLegacy.kext without altering our Sonoma installation, because everything is managed from the EFI partition of the boot disk where there is a version of OpenCore with its adapted EFI folder, which works as an alternative boot manager.

Running the latest version of Hackintool on macOS Sonoma, I can see that the OpenCore Legacy Patcher installer has installed version 0.9.3, and we already have version 0.9.5.

Checking the OpenCore loaded kernel extensions we get four: AirportBrcmFixup being responsible for patching the IO80211FamilyLegacy.kext extension, and we also have LiLu, FeatureUnlock and RestrictEvents.

All hardware is perfectly recognized, and in particular both the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters are recognized and working in macOS Sonoma, as you can see in System Settings > Network

And this is the table with all the PCI devices for a 2017 iMac 4K

If you want to go deeper and see the AirPort adapter in the IORegistry Explorer, it reports exactly the same as it's reporting in macOS Ventura, even thought the IO80211FamilyLegacy.kext kernel extension doesn't exist in the /System/Library/Extensions folder, only the IO80211Family.kext appears there.

This is in macOS Ventura

And the same IORegistry Explorer output

If you want to try for yourself, download the Nightly Build of OpenCore Legacy Patcher at

Preliminary support for macOS Sonoma by khronokernel · Pull Request #1077 · dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher

This PR is primarily for tracking development of patch sets and changes implemented in code base. Please note that these builds are highly unstable and will require frequent re-installs throughout ...

github.com

Latest build is from last Thursday

Just run the app and select "Create macOS Installer". It will download macOS Sonoma for you or you can specify a previously downloader installer.

Wait for the process to finish

And then go for the Build and Install OpenCore option to install it in your drive (a pendrive in my case)

First stage is build

And second phase is copying it to your drive. Be careful choosing the right drive here! My Sandisk pendrive is located in disk10

It will finish and you'll be ready to boot your Mac.

You must press the Option key to get the Apple boot manager to select the boot drive and select the EFI Boot that will open the OpenCore bootloader.

And there you go, now installing macOS Sonoma is not banned anymore.

Programmed obsolescence for a 2017 iMac 4K removing just a 12 kilobytes file...

C'mon Apple! That's not fair!

Before installing it in my system drive, I'll wait for the final release of OpenCore Legacy Patcher due October 2nd.

Until then, I'm testing it in a 100GB partition of a 1TB Samsung T5 external SSD drive.

 

[deeveedee]

Thanks @deeveedee
Hang on a minute though. I am not living under a rock and I know what rooted is and who Mr Magoo is
More specifically I would appreciate any comment you may have on potential exploits targeted towards OCLP Macs and I assume those exploits would be distributed also in the usual ways. If you can comment on this without helping the hackers that is
It does not seem like a big enough crowd to be worth targetting off the bat, but I guess we shall see and possibly find out the hard way.

Didn't mean to imply any degree of ignorance or incompetence on your part - I only took your "What does the rooted part mean?" question to imply that you didn't know.

You're essentially asking me to perform a code review of OCLP which would be time consuming and would be required every time a new OCLP version is released, but that would only address a small part of what should be the concern. For me to feel secure with my online banking, there needs to be a mechanism that ensures the integrity of the OS in a way that makes sure someone's path to exploitation is blocked. And then (for me) there needs to be a 3rd-party verification. Sealed macOS has this, and when exploits are discovered, Apple releases RSRs. If Apple has security issues that they must address periodically with their sealed macOS... and if Apple has security issues with the magnitude of their workforce and integrity verification efforts ...

"I guess we shall see and possibly find out the hard way." is exactly what is not worth the risk for me. I will continue to play with macOS and OCLP, because I enjoy the challenge and I practically worship the Devs for the magic they performed. This is all still very fun for me.

It's my personal preference that for the things that I consider to require solid security (like online banking), I will buy a new, fully-supported Mac.

This is in no way a personal dig or decision made lightly.

==================================

EDIT: I fear that my concerns will be interpreted as personal attacks or that somehow, I don't trust this community or the Devs. That could not be further from the truth. I am only saying that with the changes required to make legacy Wi-Fi work in Sonoma, I have enough concerns that I won't do my online banking and other security-related transactions with OCLP-patched Sonoma. The scope of "security-related" continues to expand.

 

[deeveedee]

@DeBilbao Very interesting. Can you please repeat your test with a version of macOS that you download directly from Apple (not one that is built with OCLP)?

 

[MacinMan]

@deeveedee Just read your post above, I'm kind of in a similar mindset as you. I'm not paranoid over security, but it's more about things working as they should. I too love what the devs here have done, but I'm looking into this for now because Apple currently doesn't sell a larger Apple silicon iMac. After owning this 27" for the time I have, I've come to the decision I don't want another Mac unless Apple makes a new larger iMac because it's the perfect size and combination of an all in one device. So, if OpenCore poses a real security risk, I'll probably go to Linux. However, for now, I still have Monterey support, and so far Ventura works well. In terms of banking, I can do that from the iPhone, or a browser such as Firefox. I typically only access my bank's site from home on my secure network e.g. not doing banking on public networks. So I'm not as concerned of being breached as long as the connection to the site is encrypted, and I'm on my own network where I have full control. So will be interesting going forward.

 

[DeBilbao]

@DeBilbao Very interesting. Can you please repeat your test with a version of macOS that you download directly from Apple (not one that is built with OCLP)?

I've done it by selecting the official macoS Sonoma installer, previously downloaded from Apple servers.

In fact, OpenCore Legacy Patcher obtains the installer from the same source.

 

[deeveedee]

@deeveedee Just read your post above, I'm kind of in a similar mindset as you. I'm not paranoid over security, but it's more about things working as they should. I too love what the devs here have done, but I'm looking into this for now because Apple currently doesn't sell a larger Apple silicon iMac. After owning this 27" for the time I have, I've come to the decision I don't want another Mac unless Apple makes a new larger iMac because it's the perfect size and combination of an all in one device. So, if OpenCore poses a real security risk, I'll probably go to Linux. However, for now, I still have Monterey support, and so far Ventura works well. In terms of banking, I can do that from the iPhone, or a browser such as Firefox. I typically only access my bank's site from home on my secure network e.g. not doing banking on public networks. So I'm not as concerned of being breached as long as the connection to the site is encrypted, and I'm on my own network where I have full control. So will be interesting going forward.

You still have Apple's Intel support that does not require your macOS to be rooted (and you can use wired Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi). I don't believe that OpenCore poses any security risk (distinguish between Open Core and OCLP). My concerns stem from the fact that OCLP must break the macOS seal to inject code into the data path where my online banking transactions happen. Others will argue that the data is protected at the Application Layer (SSL). For me personally, that's not enough.

 

[deeveedee]

I've done it with the official macoS Sonoma installer downloaded from Apple servers.

In fact, OpenCore Legacy Patcher obtains the installer from the same source.

This is all quite amazing. Are you claiming that without injecting the Legacy Broadcom Wi-Fi framework into macOS (where the Framework has been removed), you can address Wi-Fi functionality with the simple injection of the missing kexts? I didn't think that was possible.

EDIT: Maybe what you are saying is that you have a Wi-Fi device that is still natively supported by Sonoma's Broadcom Wi-Fi Framework. Not sure, I'd have to review in more detail.


EDIT: @DeBilbao After review of your solution, it looks to me as though you have a Wi-Fi device that is still natively supported by Sonoma (Sonoma still has the Broadcom Wi-Fi framework for your device). In that case, there is no Wi-Fi root-patch required for working Wi-Fi. Those of us with older Macs and older Wi-Fi devices do not have this same "luxury."

 

[MacinMan]

You still have Apple's Intel support that does not require your macOS to be rooted (and you can use wired Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi). I don't believe that OpenCore poses any security risk (distinguish between Open Core and OCLP). My concerns stem from the fact that OCLP must break the macOS seal to inject code into the data path where my online banking transactions happen. Others will argue that the data is protected at the Application Layer (SSL). For me personally, that's not enough.

I just was never a fan of Apple's security practices. What i mean by that is, I'm not a fan of them using the "one size fits all" approach. I'm not the average user though as most on this thread most likely aren't either. So, I understand why they do what they do to protect people who don't know, and can't protect themselves. I just like having options where I can turn things on and off on all levels and I think BSD / Linux, and even Mac OS X when it first started was better at offering those options.
That's what macOS really means to me at this point. Mac OS X was the gateway for me, from the classic Mac OS into the UNIX world using a familiar interface to help with the transition. I do like the device integration apple provides, but strictly looking at functionality as a desktop OS, macOS feels like any NIX OS to me at this point, with the apple specific stuff on top.

 

[MacinMan]

This is the Sonoma thread, but I have a Ventura question as it may apply to both. I booted up my Linux Mint VM in Fusion 13, I'm able to log in, and I hear the cinnamon login sound, but then it goes black. It's not crashed, there just isn't any display, it's a black window the size of desktop resolution I set. I'm able to choose shut down from the virtual machine menu, and it shuts down. I remember reading about Vware issues, is there a fix for this? I'm using the open core nightly from the 28th of Sept. This is on my late 2015 27" iMac.

 

[stcm]

self-reference. Since the official Sonoma has been released, I tested it again.
This time, instead of installing to a newly blank container using Ventura's OTA, I created a USB installer according to oclp 0.6.9n and then installed it.
The installation itself was successful without any problems, so nice, but it seems that the root patch is not supported now.

so close!

 

[Sven G]

On the enhanced security front, it will also be interesting to see if the devs will succeed in enabling SIP more and more (on Monterey, IIRC, it was possible to arrive to 0x800, thus with all of SIP enabled and only the sealed/signed system volume - SSV - disabled): a long-term goal, as they said, but probably possible within OCLP 1.x…

(IMHO, anyway, home banking is much easier to do from within an official iOS/Android app.)

 

[DeBilbao]

This is all quite amazing. Are you claiming that without injecting the Legacy Broadcom Wi-Fi framework into macOS (where the Framework has been removed), you can address Wi-Fi functionality with the simple injection of the missing kexts? I didn't think that was possible.

EDIT: Maybe what you are saying is that you have a Wi-Fi device that is still natively supported by Sonoma's Broadcom Wi-Fi Framework. Not sure, I'd have to review in more detail.

I’m saying exactly that.

My 2017 4K iMac isn’t supported by Apple and if I try to install macOS Sonoma I get a warning avoiding installation.

The PCIe AirPort adapter is manufactured by Broadcom and the driver used to run it in macOS Ventura is the IO80211FamilyLegacy.kext kernel extension, not present in macOS Sonoma.

Booting from a USB installation drive created with the official macOS Sonoma installer downloaded from Apple servers and with a specially crafted EFI folder in the EFI partition, I’m able not only to install macOS Sonoma, but also getting the same Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality than in macOS Ventura.

No root patching required, as the macOS installation isn’t modified at all, so security wise, I trust this as much as regular OpenCore.

The only magic happens at boot time, by injecting the OpenCore kernel extensions, mainly the AirportBrcmFixup, along with FeatureUnlock, RestrictEvents and Lilu.

I’ll check later the config.plist used by OpenCore, to see the parameters used, but it’s pretty straightforward.

I’m not stating that it’s valid for all unsupported Macs, but at least for the 2017 4K iMac, it works

 

[deeveedee]

I’m saying exactly that.

My 2017 4K iMac isn’t supported by Apple and if I try to install macOS Sonoma I get a warning avoiding installation.

The PCIe AirPort adapter is manufactured by Broadcom and the driver used to run it in macOS Ventura is the IO80211FamilyLegacy.kext kernel extension.

Booting from a USB installation drive created with the official macOS Sonoma installer downloaded from Apple servers and with a specially crafted EFI folder in the EFI partition, I’m able not only to install macOS Sonoma, but also getting the same Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality than in macOS Ventura.

No root patching required, as the macOS installation isn’t modified at all.

The only magic happens at boot time, by injecting the OpenCore kernel extensions, mainly the AirportBrcmFixup, along with FeatureUnlock, RestrictEvents and Lilu.

I’ll check later the config.plist used by OpenCore, to see the parameters used, but it’s pretty straightforward.

I’m not stating that it’s valid for all unsupported Macs, but at least for the 2017 4K iMac, it works

You realize that the only way this is possible is that Sonoma already includes the Broadcom Wi-Fi framework for your device. For those of us with older Macs (and older Wi-Fi), Sonoma does not include the required Broadcom Wi-Fi framework. Congratulations on your solution that works very well for what is still a fairly new Mac.

 

[Sven G]

This is the Sonoma thread, but I have a Ventura question as it may apply to both. I booted up my Linux Mint VM in Fusion 13, I'm able to log in, and I hear the cinnamon login sound, but then it goes black. It's not crashed, there just isn't any display, it's a black window the size of desktop resolution I set. I'm able to choose shut down from the virtual machine menu, and it shuts down. I remember reading about Vware issues, is there a fix for this? I'm using the open core nightly from the 28th of Sept. This is on my late 2015 27" iMac.

Maybe the VMware Fusion Tech Preview 2023 (i.e., 13.5 beta) could work better…?

VMware Fusion Tech Preview 2023

Powering Up Your Macs with Apple Silicon We are thrilled to announce the release of VMware Fusion Tech Preview 2023, marking a significant leap forward for our virtualization software on macOS. With this release, we are dramatically improving our experience with Windows 11 on Fusion on Macs with...

blogs.vmware.com

 

[DeBilbao]

You realize that the only way this is possible is that Sonoma already includes the Broadcom Wi-Fi framework for your device. For those of us with older Macs (and older Wi-Fi), Sonoma does not include the required Broadcom Wi-Fi framework. Congratulations on your solution that works very well for what is still a fairly new Mac.

Last weekend I did the same test with macOS Sonoma Beta and OpenCore Legacy Patcher 0.6.9, and Wi-Fi was disabled.

This weekend I’ve tested again with macOS Sonoma final version and it works.

Maybe the final version of Sonoma has something that helps, but definately it isn’t the Legacy kernel extension required by the Broadcom adapter, as it isn’t present.

I give all the credit to the developers of OCLP

 

[houser]

I fear that my concerns will be interpreted as personal attacks or that somehow,

No need to worry about that. Your intentions seem obvious and honest and it would be a stretch to read anything like that into it. It is always interesting to read different POV:s on stuff like this and I am pretty sure we'll read more about it in the future. I am retired with no corporate comp sec demands and don't do banking on this Mac so I will figure out a path somehow. Sonoma has some nice stuff but it would be ok to go back to Ventura too if needed.

 

[deeveedee]

(IMHO, anyway, home banking is much easier to do from within an official iOS/Android app.)

I was using "online banking" to convey the type of security that I am describing and requiring (for my use). Hopefully readers are extrapolating to things like investment/stock transactions and other operations where their digital identity and data privacy needs to be protected. Even something like FaceBook (which allows single-sign-on to other secure applications) needs data integrity.

 

[deeveedee]

Last weekend I did the same test with macOS Sonoma Beta and OpenCore Legacy Patcher 0.6.9, and Wi-Fi was disabled.

This weekend I’ve tested again with macOS Sonoma final version and it works.

Maybe the final version of Sonoma has something that helps, but definately it isn’t the Legacy kernel extension required by the Broadcom adapter, as it isn’t present.

I give all the credit to the developers of OCLP

Let me know when you can do it with a BCM94352HMB

 

[DeBilbao]

Let me know when you can do it with a BCM94352HMB

I wasn’t stating that it’s valid for all unsupported Macs, but at least for the 2017 4K iMac, it works.

If I were you, I’ll give it a try with latests versions of Sonoma Installer and OCLP Nightly build.

 

[deeveedee]

If I were you, I’ll give it a try with latests versions of Sonoma Installer and OCLP Nightly build.

Ok - maybe I'll give that a try.

 

[MacinMan]

Maybe the VMware Fusion Tech Preview 2023 (i.e., 13.5 beta) could work better…?

VMware Fusion Tech Preview 2023

Powering Up Your Macs with Apple Silicon We are thrilled to announce the release of VMware Fusion Tech Preview 2023, marking a significant leap forward for our virtualization software on macOS. With this release, we are dramatically improving our experience with Windows 11 on Fusion on Macs with...

blogs.vmware.com

I think you either misread, or took the question out of context. I am running the latest version of Fusion 13 on Ventura 13.6 with the latest nightly of OCLP. Fusion 13 already supports Ventura. This is an OCLP issue and I was trying to find out if there was a fix.

 

[saudor]

EDIT: @DeBilbao After review of your solution, it looks to me as though you have a Wi-Fi device that is still natively supported by Sonoma (Sonoma still has the Broadcom Wi-Fi framework for your device). In that case, there is no Wi-Fi root-patch required for working Wi-Fi. Those of us with older Macs and older Wi-Fi devices do not have this same "luxury."

It looks like it's modern legacy (BCM43602) according to their hackintool screenshot which is the same wifi card I'm using for my hackintosh unless the 3602 is natively supported in sonoma.

 

[deeveedee]

It looks like it's modern legacy (BCM43602) according to their hackintool screenshot which is the same wifi card I'm using for my hackintosh unless the 3602 is natively supported in sonoma.

Distinguish between "natively supported in Sonoma" and "Sonoma's Broadcom Wi-Fi framework still natively supports the card." If Sonoma's Wi-Fi framework still supports the device without root-patching, then the only requirement would be the injection of missing kexts via OC (which could be accomplished without OCLP and with OC alone).