Scale 1680x1050 on rMB without an app

[thadoggfather]

The first post instrctions work on Mojave 10.14.2 and Macbook 2017 (i7/16gb/512gb)

I’ve updated original post header

 

[darthboy]

I think the battery life dropped after scaling to 1680x1050. Which is kinda expected since the hardware is working harder.

There is always a powerbank in my bag, so the reduced lifespan can be overcome.

 

[adonis3k]

Battery drops faster on my Macbook 2017 1.4 than it did on my older 2016 model. Back to boggo res for now!

 

[EugW]

I was wondering what the big deal was since this machine displays 1680x1050 just fine on external monitors. No lag.

Then I realized you were talking about the internal screen. Doh!

 

[darthboy]

Anyone knows whether it's possible to scale to 1920x1080 on a Macbook Air 2018?

 

[iosuser]

Worked like a charm on my 2017 rMB on 10.14.4. Love the extra desktop space!

 

[Photios]

Anyone knows whether it's possible to scale to 1920x1080 on a Macbook Air 2018?

It also works like a charm on 13" MacBook Pros. I have confirmed this on a 2017 and 2018 models.

 

[sbstnldwg]

Hi guys,
is there already a way to use the modified "DisplayProductID-XXXX" file in macOS Catalina [10.15 Beta (19A582a)]?
How can I move the file to "/System/Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides/DisplayVendorID-610/"?
Disabling SIP did not help me. The partition is now write-protected.
Is there a way to do this at the moment?

THX

 

[jblist90]

In order to copy and paste the DisplayProductID file on macOS Catalina:

1) reboot holding cmd+r to be in recovery mode, open terminal and type "csrutil disable"

2) reboot back into macOS Catalina, open terminal and type "sudo mount -wu /; killall Finder"

3) copy and paste the modified DisplayProductID file

4) reboot

(i'd recommended going back into recovery mode and do "csrutil enable" to re-enable SIP)

 

[sbstnldwg]

Thank you jblist90.
This works perfectly.

 

[thadoggfather]

In order to copy and paste the DisplayProductID file on macOS Catalina:

1) reboot holding cmd+r to be in recovery mode, open terminal and type "csrutil disable"

2) reboot back into macOS Catalina, open terminal and type "sudo mount -wu /; killall Finder"

3) copy and paste the modified DisplayProductID file

4) reboot

(i'd recommended going back into recovery mode and do "csrutil enable" to re-enable SIP)

Thanks for this! Havent done this for a while, but worked perfect for my 2020 Air on 10.15.5.

Got 1920x1200 now woo

...I was wondering why I couldn't replace the DisplayProductID file in that folder.


--

any daring users of Big Sur try this method to see if it still works?

 

[sbstnldwg]

In order to copy and paste the DisplayProductID file on macOS Catalina:

1) reboot holding cmd+r to be in recovery mode, open terminal and type "csrutil disable"

2) reboot back into macOS Catalina, open terminal and type "sudo mount -wu /; killall Finder"

3) copy and paste the modified DisplayProductID file

4) reboot

(i'd recommended going back into recovery mode and do "csrutil enable" to re-enable SIP)

Unfortunately it does not work this way under macOS Big Sur anymore.
I could not replace the DisplayProductID file in the folder.

 

[thadoggfather]

Unfortunately it does not work this way under macOS Big Sur anymore.
I could not replace the DisplayProductID file in the folder.

Bummer

but the file is still there and all?

Must be some other workaround...

thanks for trying though

--

and I forget but if one already has this modification and does an update, does it revert to stock resolutions or carries over i.e. must be re-applied with every update?

 

[sbstnldwg]

Bummer

but the file is still there and all?

Must be some other workaround...

thanks for trying though

--

and I forget but if one already has this modification and does an update, does it revert to stock resolutions or carries over i.e. must be re-applied with every update?

The file to be overwritten is still there. But now again in the unchanged version.
But currently I can't replace the DisplayProductID file.

To your other question: During normal system updates the changed file was not replaced by the original version. At least I did not have to overwrite the file again and again.

 

[thadoggfather]

Anyone found a way for it to work with Big Sur yet?

 

[5piN]

Anyone found a way for it to work with Big Sur yet?

Haven't tried yet but the below is meant to work, I'm still waiting on the drive to decrypt!

*Obviously make sure you have backup in case things go wrong!

1. Disable FileVault
2. Reboot into recovery mode and run:csrutil authenticated-root disable
3. Reboot back into MacOS
4. Find your root mount's device - run mount and chop off the last s, e.g. if your root is /dev/disk1s2s3, you'll mount /dev/disk1s2
5. Create a new directory, for example ~/mount
6. Run sudo mount -o nobrowse -t apfs DISK_PATH MOUNT_PATH, using the values from above
7. Modify the files under the mounted directory
8. Run sudo bless --folder MOUNT_PATH/System/Library/CoreServices --bootefi --create-snapshot
9. Reboot your system, and the changes will take place

 

[5piN]

Anyone found a way for it to work with Big Sur yet?

I can confirm that the method I posted works to edit the file but it does not offer you the custom resolution in the Display panel properties. Not sure where to go next?!

 

[5piN]

I finally found a fix create the file in Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides

Also found a tool that automates the whole process

GitHub - mlch911/one-key-hidpi: Enable macOS HiDPI and have a native setting.

Enable macOS HiDPI and have a native setting. Contribute to mlch911/one-key-hidpi development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[thadoggfather]

I finally found a fix create the file in Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides

Also found a tool that automates the whole process

GitHub - mlch911/one-key-hidpi: Enable macOS HiDPI and have a native setting.

Enable macOS HiDPI and have a native setting. Contribute to mlch911/one-key-hidpi development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Did you get it working on Big Sur?

 

[5piN]

Yea working great using the tool in the link!

 

[thadoggfather]

Yea working great using the tool in the link!

What are the install instructions? I see to run the script but on a 2020 Air, for 1920x120 what do I want to do?

Thanks

Also does it disable SEP? Or require booting in recovery mode?

Thats nuts its all done in a script

I think I figured it out though

1,6,3 - 1920x1200

Not working for me?

--

Also tried 2560x1440, even though should be 2560x1600 preset for the 13" Air

do you have to do those steps goh
Mentioned too?

 

[5piN]

What are the install instructions? I see to run the script but on a 2020 Air, for 1920x120 what do I want to do?

Thanks

Also does it disable SEP? Or require booting in recovery mode?

Thats nuts its all done in a script

I think I figured it out though

1,6,3 - 1920x1200

Not working for me?

--

Also tried 2560x1440, even though should be 2560x1600 preset for the 13" Air

do you have to do those steps goh
Mentioned too?

No there was preset for Macbook so was simple. I used the Enable HIDPI (with EDID) option.

but maybe manual edit it Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides

 

[thadoggfather]

No there was preset for Macbook so was simple. I used the Enable HIDPI (with EDID) option.

but maybe manual edit it Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides

Why did you go with EDID aspect ?

Also didnt have to do anything else, just MacBook setting ?

 

[5piN]

Why did you go with EDID aspect ?

Also didnt have to do anything else, just MacBook setting ?

I had previously disabled authicated boot

1. Disable FileVault
2. Reboot into recovery mode and run:csrutil authenticated-root disable
3. Reboot back into MacOS

EDID was the only option that worked for me.

 

[thadoggfather]

I had previously disabled authicated boot

1. Disable FileVault
2. Reboot into recovery mode and run:csrutil authenticated-root disable
3. Reboot back into MacOS

EDID was the only option that worked for me.

Yeah I have no idea how you got it working with EDID option or not in a clean install of Big Sur haha.

Unless you just did a direct upgrade from an already modified file from Catalina, etc. and it carried over?

when I do

csrutil disable
and then
csrutil authenticated-root disable

in recovery mode terminal

then normally booting into Big Sur and launching terminal:

sudo mount -o nobrowse -t apfs DISK_PATH MOUNT_PATH

and replace MOUNT_PATH with:

/System/Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/OVerrides/DisplayVendorID-610

ensuring I have the right DISK_PATH (the disk1s blah blah thats greyed out in my normal boot of Catalina)

(using that folder we are trying to be able to modify to get to those DisplayProduct-ID files to change values for in the array, manually or with that GitHub script, creating a new folder to be able to have write permissions to like ~/mount as was the placeholder example won't do us any good since we need to get to that path)

I get failed with 75 reliably.

that Github script returns that the file is read only and I'm SOL

seems Big Sur has new integrity checks beyond disabling SIP, maybe something changed in beta 4 / PB1 (same build) that doesn't allow one to tinker with that, that allowed you to on prior builds and will now carry over your changes, as well?

Bummer, means even if I move onto Big Sur final one day as my daily driver, I'll have to keep Catalina around for 1920x1200 toggle-able option .

Some more reference material I looked up:

Big Sur’s Signed System Volume: added security protection

From SIP to a protected read-only System volume, macOS 11 takes system protection a big step further with cryptographic verification.

eclecticlight.co

Can I mount the root (system) filesystem as writable in Big Sur?

After updating to big sur, I can no longer mount the root as writable (even with SIP disabled): sudo mount -uw / mount_apfs: volume could not be mounted: Permission denied mount: / failed with 66 ...

apple.stackexchange.com

If anyone figures out some magic, please let me know! I'd be willing to give it a shot