Putting an Apple Silicon mac into DFU (Device Firmware Update)

Owned by Ed Bobak
Last updated: Oct 18, 2023

Getting a macintosh into DFU mode can be tricky. There is a cool tool at https://github.com/AsahiLinux/macvdmtool that lets you do that right from terminal.

 

  1. Head to the Apple Support Page to look up your model and make sure you are plugging the USB-C into the right ports.https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/apple-configurator-mac/apdd5f3c75ad/mac

  2. Grab the app here:

  3. Unzip the download.

  4. Run the following commands in terminal where you unzipped the download:

    1. chmod +x macvdmtool

    2. ./macvdmtool dfu

  5. This will reboot the computer into DFU mode.

  6. Open Apple Configurator 2 to preform the following steps on this mac.

    1. Revive (user data says)

    2. Restore (all data is erased)

 

Terminal Restore:

Have a few macs to load,

  1. Grab a IPSW file.

  2. Open Apple Configurator 2.

  3. Install the automation tools from the menu bar.

  4. Head back to terminal and follow the example below to reload this mac with the IPSW file. (wipes out all data…fyi)

cfgutil --verbose --progress restore --ipsw ~/VMs/UniversalMac_14.0_23A5301h_Restore.ipsw