OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher-T2/README.md at main · albert-mueller/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher-T2 · GitHub
Skip to content

README.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
259 lines (218 loc) · 20.5 KB

README.md

File metadata and controls

259 lines (218 loc) · 20.5 KB
Raw
OpenCore Patcher T2 Logo

OpenCore Legacy Patcher — T1 & T2 macOS Tahoe Edition

Developed & Maintained by albert-mueller (Albert Müller) with community contributions

Restoring full graphics acceleration, Broadcom Wi-Fi, audio routing, and T1/T2 security on macOS 26 Tahoe & macOS 15 Sequoia

Unofficial fork. OCLP-T2 is an independent community project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Dortania or the OpenCore Legacy Patcher team. Please don't report OCLP-T2 issues to Dortania.

This product includes software developed by Dortania and OpenCore Legacy Patcher contributors. See LICENSE.txt.

👑 Authorship & Contributions

This repository is the dedicated development fork led by albert-mueller (Albert Müller). While building upon work by Dortania, Acidanthera, this fork independently engineered the critical solutions that make macOS 26 Tahoe fully usable on legacy and T1/T2 hardware:

  1. T1 Security & Native Login: Engineered the Native Software Keystore login flow on macOS Tahoe for MacBookPro14,1, MacBookPro14,2, and MacBookPro14,3 (retaining Apple ID/iCloud, resolving Keychain panics).
  2. Broadcom Wi-Fi Restoration: Unblocked the IOSkywalkFamily kernel stack in the EFI builder and root patcher on macOS 15 & 26 Tahoe, restoring full Wi-Fi functionality on Broadcom chipsets (14E4:43BA).
  3. GPU Hardware Acceleration & GuC: Injected Intel GuC firmware loading (igfxfw=2) and display port keepalive (igfxonln=1) for Kaby Lake, eliminating Tahoe UI micro-stutters.
  4. AMD Polaris Power-Gating: Developed the radpg=15 and agdpmod=pikera patch combination for Radeon Pro 555/560 dGPUs, eliminating GPU switching lags.
  5. AMD Legacy GCN Fix: Resolved the missing AMDOpenCL import bug in root patch payloads.
  6. Tahoe Metal Libraries: Ported MetallibSupportPkg to macOS Tahoe (26.x) with multi-endpoint fallback.

A Python-based project revolving around Acidanthera's OpenCorePkg and Lilu for both running and unlocking features in macOS on supported and unsupported Macs. Security researchers can report vulnerabilities in the app via GitHub Security advisories.

⚠️ On T2 Macs only, this patcher disables SIP completely to be able to boot macOS properly What is SIP? SIP, in short for System Integrity Protection, protects against attackers from tampering with core system files. However, on T2 Macs, SIP also causes thermal throttling and other issues when booting via OpenCorePkg, so it needs to be disabled.

⚠️ Building EFIs on Hackintoshes is unsupported by this patcher! Building EFIs for Hackintoshes is unsupported by this patcher. I’ll explain clearly why: like Dortania’s OCLP, it generates EFIs for real Macs. They wouldn’t work on Hackintoshes. While OpenCore Legacy Patcher T2 uses OpenCore under the hood, real Macs boot differently macOS from a Hackintosh. Also, a GIGABYTE board with let’s say, i7-8700B may offer the exact same board with different configurations, so predicting what patches are needed is infeasible on something no one does know. Also, on the same board depending on the config you may need different boot arguments. And also, it doesn’t use OpenCore’s version of boot.efi, it uses the one that works on real Macs. Standard Hackintoshes rely on BOOTx64.efi. So calling that OpenCore Legacy Patcher T2 can build EFIs for Hackintoshes just because it uses OpenCore is propaganda - it's true that OpenCore works on Hackintoshes, but that's not true for the patcher itself - it either produces EFIs for Hackintoshes or real Macs, that's it. It can't produce for both. So the release note in 4.0.0.16050 says for itself: fixes a vulnerability where an attacker or bad Hackintosh user could trick a Hackintosh user into building OpenCore EFIs for real Macs by spoofing the SMBIOS as a Mac computer

⚠️ Das Erstellen von EFIs auf Hackintoshes wird von diesem Patcher nicht unterstützt! Das Erstellen von EFIs für Hackintoshes wird von diesem Patcher nicht unterstützt. Ich erkläre Ihnen den Grund: Wie Dortanias OCLP generiert er EFIs für echte Macs. Diese würden auf Hackintoshes nicht funktionieren. Obwohl der OpenCore Legacy Patcher T2 im Hintergrund OpenCore verwendet, booten echte Macs macOS anders als ein Hackintosh. Außerdem kann ein GIGABYTE-Board mit beispielsweise einem i7-8700B in verschiedenen Konfigurationen erhältlich sein. Daher ist es unmöglich vorherzusagen, welche Patches benötigt werden, wenn niemand die genaue Konfiguration kennt. Selbst auf demselben Board können je nach Konfiguration unterschiedliche Boot-Argumente erforderlich sein. Zudem verwendet er nicht die OpenCore-Version von boot.efi, sondern diejenige, die auf echten Macs funktioniert. Standard-Hackintoshes verwenden BOOTx64.efi. Die Behauptung, OpenCore Legacy Patcher T2 könne EFIs für Hackintoshes erstellen, nur weil er OpenCore verwendet, ist Propaganda. Zwar funktioniert OpenCore auf Hackintoshes, aber das stimmt nicht für den Patcher selbst. Er erstellt entweder EFIs für Hackintoshes oder für echte Macs, nicht für beides. Die Versionshinweise zu 4.0.0.16050 belegen dies: "fixes a vulnerability where an attacker or bad Hackintosh user could trick a Hackintosh user into building OpenCore EFIs for real Macs by spoofing the SMBIOS as a Mac computer" oder auf Deutsch übersetzt - „Behebt eine Sicherheitslücke, durch die ein Angreifer oder ein Hackintosh-Nutzer einen Hackintosh-Nutzer dazu verleiten konnte, OpenCore-EFIs für echte Macs zu erstellen, indem er das SMBIOS als Mac-Computer fälschte.“

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️ Warning No support for macOS 27 Golden Gate and newer versions of macOS because macOS 27 Golden Gate and newer versions are arm64-only, so only for Apple Silicon Macs. So the answer is clear. macOS 26 Tahoe is the last supported macOS version by this project.

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️ Warnung macOS 27 Golden Gate und neuere macOS-Versionen sind nicht unterstützt, weil diese sind nur für Apple Silicon/arm64 Macs. Also die Antwort ist klar. macOS 26 Tahoe ist die letzte Version, die von dieser Projekt unterstützt wird.

⚠️ EXPERIMENTAL FORK — Adds macOS 15 Sequoia and macOS 26 Tahoe support for all unsupported Macs. T2 Macs as of now are unsupported by the official OpenCore Legacy Patcher from Dortania. Use it at your own risk. It's still in alpha stage, so I highly recommend to backup all your data and do it only on a spare T2 Mac to experiment. This is experimental alpha software.

T2 Mac Support

💡 Recommended Download: Always download pre-compiled releases directly from Releases for guaranteed stability, bundled payloads, and proper packaging.

🚧 Not ready for general use

Progress:

  • Installer boots
  • MacBookAir8,1 and MacBookAir8,2 can boot the installer
  • Internal hard drive mounts properly on T2 Macs
  • ability to reach the desktop
  • Post install - issues with second stage
  • GPU accelaration/WiFi - most T2 Macs will have GPU accelaration out of the box, and on certain T2 Macs, also WiFi

Our goal of this project is to add support for T2 Macs so unsupported T2 Macs can boot into Tahoe. This project does run also on non-T2 Macs and we're committing to improve macOS 26 Tahoe compatability even on non-T2 Macs.

🌟 Validated & Working Models on macOS 26 Tahoe (Standard / Safe Build)

Thanks to recent testing and optimizations, the following models are fully operational on macOS 26 Tahoe using the Standard Build Profile:

  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two TB3 Ports) — MacBookPro14,1:
    • Graphics: Full hardware acceleration via Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 (Kaby Lake GuC firmware igfxfw=2, zero stuttering).
    • Networking: Broadcom Wi-Fi (14E4:43BA / AirportBrcmNIC) working via Modern Wireless root patching and unblocked Skywalk driver.
    • Audio & Video: Fully functional, smooth UI rendering and media playback.
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) — MacBookPro14,3:
    • Graphics: Dual-GPU switching (Intel HD 630 + AMD Radeon Pro 555/560 with agdpmod=pikera & radpg=15 power-gating fix).
    • Security & Auth: T1 security chip supported with password login, Apple Account & iCloud connectivity.
    • Networking & Audio: Broadcom Wi-Fi & AppleHDA / AppleALC audio (alcid=13).
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four TB3 Ports) — MacBookPro14,2:
    • Intel Iris Plus 650 graphics acceleration, T1 chip support, Broadcom Wi-Fi and audio.

🧪 Work in Progress / Experimental Testing

  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2015) — MacBookPro11,4 / MacBookPro11,5 (Haswell/Broadwell):

    • Haswell graphics and Wi-Fi drivers are currently in active testing/development. Do not consider fully validated yet.

  • Unsupported T2 Macs, such as 2018 Mac mini

    • requires some testing and work to get reliably to the desktop

Noteworthy features of OpenCore Legacy Patcher:

  • Support for macOS Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia and eventually add support for Tahoe.
  • Native Over the Air (OTA) System Updates
  • Supports Penryn and newer Macs
  • Full support for WPA Wi-Fi and Personal Hotspot on BCM943224 and newer wireless chipsets
  • System Integrity Protection, FileVault 2, .im4m Secure Boot and Vaulting
  • Recovery OS, Safe Mode and Single-user Mode booting on non-native OSes
  • Unlocks features such as Sidecar and AirPlay to Mac even on native Macs
  • Enables enhanced SATA and NVMe power management on non-Apple storage devices
  • Zero firmware patching required (ie. APFS ROM patching)
  • Graphics acceleration for both Metal and non-Metal GPUs

Note: Only clean-installs and upgrades are supported. macOS Big Sur installs already patched with other patchers, such as Patched Sur or bigmac, cannot be used due to broken file integrity with APFS snapshots and SIP. Here's an exception: if you are already using patchers like OCLP-Mod or OCLP-Plus or the official OpenCore Legacy Patcher by Dortania, you can revert the root patches and upgrade to this patcher.

  • You can, however, reinstall macOS with this patcher and retain your original data

Note 2: Currently, OpenCore Legacy Patcher officially supports patching to run macOS Monterey through Tahoe installs. For older OSes, OpenCore may function; however, support is currently not provided from Albert Müller.

Getting Started

To start using the project, please see our in-depth guide:

Support

This project is offered on an AS-IS basis, we do not guarantee support for any issues that may arise. However, there is a community server with other passionate users and developers that can aid you:

Running from source

To run the project from source, see here: Build and run from source

Credits