SaturnsLament wrote:
Did “xartutil —erase-all” brick my 2019 T2 MacBook Pro?
I had this issue where my Touch ID kept disappearing. The preference pane would disappear too. It would repeat with an SMC reset, but would say that I wasn’t authenticating each time I’d try to change the preference pane.
I read a suggestion that you go into terminal in recovery mode and type “xartutil —erase-all” then reset SMC. The funny thing is the very next comment said, “Yea, don’t do that with an M1 Mac. You’ll brick it.” That appears to be what happened, though mine is a T2 Mac.
Any thoughts?
Also, is there a way to access the HD to erase it from another Mac, such as like it was in target disk mode? It’s a refurb so I can return it. But don’t want to return a Mac that has my personal data on it.
That terminal command is not recommend—definitely will brick a 2018 T2... others I would not risk a try.
xartutil --erase-all
that command line was in play pre-2018 release. I would avoid it at all cost. Full Stop.
For a T2 Mac— SMC and NVRAM reset is the most effective no need for Terminal, there is no advantage.
if the resets do not sort it out, it typically points to a hardware issue with the T2 controller.
Apple's T2 security processor is based around a secure enclave which stores biometric data about a user.
Even though SMC controls the touchbar,/TouchID there is some USB is in play,
so this would be NVRAM notice:
USB Device: Apple T2 Bus
USB Device: Touch Bar Backlight
USB Device: Touch Bar Display
USB Device: Apple T2 Controller
"If you have problems with Touch ID"
If Touch ID isn't working on your Mac - Apple Support
if you bricked your 2019—
Revive or restore an Intel-based Mac using Apple Configurator - Apple Support
