Macbook Pro firmware lockout?

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Macbook Pro firmware lockout?

Yesterday, MS Word was behaving oddly so I rebooted the Macbook Pro I purchased in September. When it finished rebooting, I was not at the regular login screen but instead I was in firmware lockout. The display showed an icon of a lock (locked) and a field to enter a password. My regular login password didn't work. I called Apple and the support person took me through some diagnostics, but was then baffled. I took it to the Genius Bar and they unlocked it but could not explain why the sudden firmware lockout.

I use this laptop for work - I travel with it and take it places to give presentations. Having a laptop that could suddenly lock me out in Miami or Madrid is pretty terrifying to consider. The Apple Store people could not explain what happened. Can anyone else explain this so I can be sure it doesn't happen again? LIterally, all I did was restart the computer....

Posted on Feb 9, 2020 3:23 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 9, 2020 5:19 PM in response to nanfromencinitas

I don't know what causes it, but I suspect it could be just a power glitch causing a single bit to be enabled/disabled to make the system think the firmware lock has been enabled. One of my co-workers had this happen to a laptop he was working on a few years ago. We know for a fact it wasn't locked since he had booted to the diagnostics and other external media. And he definitely did not enable the lock.

The safest thing you can do is to set an EFI Firmware Password yourself, but just don't forget the password. And make sure to always have a copy of your original proof of purchase handy, because without valid proof of purchase Apple will not unlock the firmware lock. The firmware lock should not interfere with the regular daily use of the laptop. It will just make accessing external boot media such as Recovery Mode just an extra step more difficult. The only thing you cannot do while the EFI Firmware Password is set is perform an PRAM reset.

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Macbook Pro firmware lockout?

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