Hello. I have a MacBook Air 11”, 2017 model, which I purchased personally. Recently, the device started asking for a firmware password (EFI lock) at startup — it shows a black screen with a lock icon and password field.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
MacBook Air 11″, macOS 12.7
Sorry to tell you this but firmware locks don’t accidentally turn on by themselves. Once set the firmware password cannot be reset or bypassed, period. That means if you forget the firmware password the machine is useless. Only Apple can reset the firmware password and only with valid proof of ownership, i.e the original sales receipt showing the model and serial number. If you bought this MacBook used from an individual your only hope is to contact them and hope they know the firmware password.
Otherwise try to get your money back and if that’s not possible then consider recycling.
Sorry to tell you this but firmware locks don’t accidentally turn on by themselves. Once set the firmware password cannot be reset or bypassed, period. That means if you forget the firmware password the machine is useless. Only Apple can reset the firmware password and only with valid proof of ownership, i.e the original sales receipt showing the model and serial number. If you bought this MacBook used from an individual your only hope is to contact them and hope they know the firmware password.
Otherwise try to get your money back and if that’s not possible then consider recycling.
First you say it's a long story, now you say you don't remember setting it...
Why don't you tell us what actually happened...
If there is a firmware passcode set, the only way to remove it if you don't know what it is is to take the machine and the original proof of purchase from Apple or an authorized retailer to Apple.
To set the firmware passcode on an Intel Mac you have to boot into recovery mode.
Set a firmware password on your Mac - Apple Support
The procedure is somewhat complicated so you can see that accidental does not apply. So were you fiddling around in recovery mode, not knowing what you were doing?
Actually it's a long story why it happened, but I have the receipt and the box and the macbook is linked to my id. So there is hope that it will work?
and when is this password set? I don't remember setting it at all
Why is my MacBook Air asking for a firmware password (EFI lock) at startup?
