The Apple article below details different startup modes. When you set a firmware password, users who don’t have the password can’t start up from any disk other than the designated startup disk. Long story short, if your Mac lands in the wrong hands and you do NOT have the following items enabled below, all your data is at risk!.Ī person could access your data via Target disk mode or macOS Recovery, even if they do not know your user password! They can’t boot into target disk mode or recovery to access your files. This mode protects against someone who wants to get your data. The firmware password was designed to protect your Mac. What does setting a firmware password on a Mac do? How can I protect my Data on an Intel and M1 Mac?ġ.What does this mean for education, small & large companies, home users, computer recyclers, and criminals?.How long was this new way possible? Does anyone at AppleCare know about this?.Removing the firmware password on a T2 Mac with Apple Configurator 2.How to remove the firmware password with Apple Support.What can you do if you forget the firmware password?.How to Enable & Disable Firmware Password in macOS.How to you set the firmware password in recovery.What are the differences in firmware passwords from the following years – 2006-2010, 2011-2017 & 2018-2020?.What does setting a firmware password on a Mac do?.I will also go over my recommendations on how you can protect your data at the end of this article. Apple Silicon M1 Mac Devices do not have a firmware password. NOTE: This information is only for 2006-2020 Intel Mac computers.

After that, I will show you a new way how to remove the firmware password (and erase your data) on a T2 Mac from 2018-2020. In this article, I will go over the history of the firmware password on Intel Mac computers. How to remove the firmware password on 2011-2020 Macs + New way for 2018-2020 T2 Macs! You can now remove the firmware password (+ erase all data) on a T2 Mac without Apple Support if you forgot it.

Imac firmware password