Technical question - Macbook Air BIOS change

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • Adenitz
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2021
    • 122
    • Congo
    #1

    Technical question - Macbook Air BIOS change

    Hello guys,

    I see here on the form a lot of questions about Macbooks and there are a few very knowledgeable people here too. I would like to know the following.
    I have MBA A1466 year 2015 with 820-00165 board. I suspect the BIOS/SPI ROM is corrupted. I have another, but from year 2017, the same board, but i7 CPU.
    Is it possible to read BIOS from A1466 2017 and write to the chip from A1466 2015? Will this work?

    I have read on many threads about PC laptops, that ME (Intel Management Engine) must be cleaned or pC will not work or work unpredictably.
    Does this also apply to Macbooks?

    Can I use a BIOS file from the internet that corresponds to the production year as my laptop?

    This part is not really clear to me and I would appreciate if someone has time to explain when these operations are possible and recommended.

    Thank you!
    Tags: None
    • RethoricalCheese
      Badcaps Legend
      • Mar 2013
      • 1518
      • Estonia
      #2
      Re: Technical question - Macbook Air BIOS change

      Even on macs, ME would need to be cleaned.

      You could use the 2017 dump but you would need to clean ME and replace VSS region with the one from 2015 (to keep the original SN).

        Comment

        • Adenitz
          Senior Member
          • Jan 2021
          • 122
          • Congo
          #3
          Re: Technical question - Macbook Air BIOS change

          Would I need to do this if I find the board with identical specs (i5 CPU and RAM)?

            Comment

            • RethoricalCheese
              Badcaps Legend
              • Mar 2013
              • 1518
              • Estonia
              #4
              Re: Technical question - Macbook Air BIOS change

              Yes because that other board has different SN and different (let's say dirty) ME.

                Comment

                • 5chematic
                  Senior Member
                  • Jun 2019
                  • 77
                  • USA
                  #5
                  Re: Technical question - Macbook Air BIOS change

                  Originally posted by Adenitz
                  Hello guys,

                  I see here on the form a lot of questions about Macbooks and there are a few very knowledgeable people here too. I would like to know the following.
                  I have MBA A1466 year 2015 with 820-00165 board. I suspect the BIOS/SPI ROM is corrupted. I have another, but from year 2017, the same board, but i7 CPU.
                  Is it possible to read BIOS from A1466 2017 and write to the chip from A1466 2015? Will this work?

                  I have read on many threads about PC laptops, that ME (Intel Management Engine) must be cleaned or pC will not work or work unpredictably.
                  Does this also apply to Macbooks?

                  Can I use a BIOS file from the internet that corresponds to the production year as my laptop?

                  This part is not really clear to me and I would appreciate if someone has time to explain when these operations are possible and recommended.

                  Thank you!
                  Do you still have the bios that you suspect is corrupted? ..post it here I will take a look.

                    Comment

                    • Adenitz
                      Senior Member
                      • Jan 2021
                      • 122
                      • Congo
                      #6
                      Re: Technical question - Macbook Air BIOS change

                      Thank you 5 chematic, I really appreciate it. I already pass the board to another guy that is more experienced with the BIOS programming.

                      He has a few BIOS dumps for each Macbook board, so it is probably fixed by now (if the problem was with BIOS in teh first place)

                      I must admit, this whole thing about BIOS dump, clean ME region etc is not quite clear to me, so I didn't get involve too much.

                        Comment

                        Previous template Next

                        Related Topics

                        Collapse
                        • yura8
                          Need BIOS/EFI dump for MacBook Air A1466 2015 EMC 2925 (8gb)
                          by yura8
                          Hi there! I have not so usual situation...

                          I have 2015 MacBook Air A1466 EMC 2925 with 8Gb of RAM. It seams that I've killed it by bad SSD adapter. It starts, cooler works... But no chime, screen is black. SMC reset seams works, NVRAM reset doesnt works...

                          My repair guy has checked all possible. It's all ok with power. The last idea - I could kill EFI firmware... So, I need a firmware of EFI to check it. I have a programmer. But I don't have a similar laptop now to download it and compare

                          P.S. If you have else any ideas about repair, or you had a similar...
                          12-20-2024, 02:31 PM
                        • macabook
                          🛠️ MSI GP75 Leopard MS-17E71 – No Display, Deep BIOS/EC Troubleshooting
                          by macabook
                          Hello everyone,

                          I’m currently working on a dead MSI GP75 Leopard (MS-17E71) motherboard (i7 CPU, NVIDIA GPU) with a no display/no backlight issue initially. After extensive investigation, I’m at a critical stage involving EC firmware, BIOS/ME region interaction, and possible deep corruption. I'm seeking advanced insight from anyone with experience in EC/BIOS sync issues or PCH-level behavior. Here’s a full breakdown:
                          🧩 Initial Issue
                          • Board powers on (fans spin, keyboard lights up and can be adjusted, caps lock led lights), but no display or backlight
                          • External display (HDMI) shows
                          ...
                          07-24-2025, 02:17 PM
                        • sidthesloth
                          NEED HELP WITH MACBOOK AIR BIOS A1466 820-00165A
                          by sidthesloth
                          I HAVE A MACBOOK AIR A1466 820-00165-A THAT IS BIOS LOCKED I WAS ABLE TO DUMP THYE ORIGNAL TO UNLOCK IT AND ION THS PRFOCESS MY CAT GOT ON MY KEYBOARD AND WAS ABLKE TO ERASE THE CHIP ASND THE FILES I HAD SO IM STUMPED. I HAVE A COUPLE BIOS THAT IVE DOWNLOADED AND CHANGED THE SSN BUT WE
                          HEN I FLASH THEM TO CHIP AND TRY TO BOOT THE MACBOOK NO FAN DISPSPLAY. BUT IT STILL CHARGES AND IF I PUT MY USB VOLT METER SHOW 5V AT USB WHENJ I POWER IT ON. IM STUMPED..
                          11-21-2023, 02:51 AM
                        • sidthesloth
                          NEED HELP WITH MACBOOK AIR BIOS A1466 820-00165A
                          by sidthesloth
                          I HAVE A MACBOOK AIR A1466 820-00165-A THAT IS BIOS LOCKED I WAS ABLE TO DUMP THYE ORIGNAL TO UNLOCK IT AND ION THS PRFOCESS MY CAT GOT ON MY KEYBOARD AND WAS ABLKE TO ERASE THE CHIP ASND THE FILES I HAD SO IM STUMPED. I HAVE A COUPLE BIOS THAT IVE DOWNLOADED AND CHANGED THE SSN BUT WE
                          HEN I FLASH THEM TO CHIP AND TRY TO BOOT THE MACBOOK NO FAN DISPSPLAY. BUT IT STILL CHARGES AND IF I PUT MY USB VOLT METER SHOW 5V AT USB WHENJ I POWER IT ON. IM STUMPED..
                          11-21-2023, 02:51 AM
                        • Vesko356
                          [Guide] How to find the right HP bios version to flash
                          by Vesko356
                          First of all thanks to all of our members who have posted previously all methods posted here.
                          Please leave a comment if you find something new,or have anything else to add.
                          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          Find by serial number,model number or series

                          If you know the laptop serial or model number go to HP support https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops .
                          Enter the serial number or model number and click submit.On the next screen you will have to enter the OS
                          Operating system and OS version.If...
                          08-11-2023, 03:27 AM
                        • Loading...
                        • No more items.
                        Working...