This information is provided for educational purposes and for legitimate use on Macs that you own or have explicit permission to modify. Bypassing firmware passwords on stolen or unauthorized Macs is illegal. Proceed at your own risk.

When the lock icon and password field appear, .

If you still remember your firmware password but want to disable it, you can do so through the Startup Security Utility.

If none of the above methods work or you're not comfortable with DIY solutions, you can contact Apple Support for assistance.

and immediately press and hold Command (⌘) + R until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.

| Myth | Reality | |------|---------| | Booting into single-user mode works | EFI lock prevents any boot picker or single-user mode access. | | Removing CMOS battery works | Macs don’t have a standard CMOS battery for firmware settings. | | Reinstalling macOS removes password | The password survives disk wipes, OS reinstalls, and even SSD replacements. | | Shorting certain motherboard pins | On very old models (2011 and earlier), a specific keyboard shortcut or jumper existed, but those were patched out. |