This repository contains personal work and files, developed and maintained for a successful use with OpenCore EFI bootloader on this specific Intel NUC model. There are no ready, pre-packaged EFI solutions provided; instead, the needed configuration and ACPI files are published for those interested in studying the code, while creating their own bootloader configurations.
Table Of Contents
- Platform Generation
- Product Generation: Bean Canyon (2018)
- Processor Generation: Coffee Lake (2018)
- Geekbench
- Product Overview
- Compatible Models
- Current Setup
- Required BIOS Settings
- Active Configuration
- Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 Properties
- USB Port Mapping on NUC Chassis
- CPU Fan Reading Support
- Wireless Connectivity
- CPU Power Management
- Changes Brought About by macOS 12 and later
- Sandy Bridge = All Core ix-3xxx (HD Graphics 3000)
- Ivy Bridge = All Core ix-3xxx (HD Graphics 4000)
- Haswell = All Core ix-4xxx (HD Graphics 4600)
- Broadwell = All Core ix-5xxx (Iris Pro Graphics 6200)
- Skylake = All Core ix-6xxx (HD Graphics 5xx)
- Kaby Lake = All Core ix-7xxx (UHD/Iris Plus Graphics 6xx)
- Coffee Lake = All Core ix-8xxx (UHD/Iris Plus Graphics 6xx)
Specifications: N/A (original Intel websites here and here no longer exist)
Downloads: see ASUS website as original Intel website no longer exists
BIOS Update & Recovery Instructions: see Intel website
CPU: Intel Core i7-8559U @ 2.70 GHz up to 4.50 GHz / 4 Cores / 8 Threads
GPU: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 / 300 MHz up to 1.20 GHz
Specifications: see Intel website
V4 Scores: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/search?q=Core+i7-8559U
V5 Scores: https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/search?q=Core+i7-8559U
V6 Scores: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/search?q=Core+i7-8559U
Mac Model: iMac16,2
CPU: i7-5675R @ 3.10 GHz up to 3.60 GHz / 4 Cores / 8 Threads
GPU: Intel Iris Pro 6200
Everymac: https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords=iMac16,2
Board ID: FFE5EF870D7BA81A
BIOS Revision: IM162.88Z.0221.B00.1809171530
Mac Model: iMac18,1
CPU: i5-7360U @ 2.30 GHz up to 3.60 GHz / 2 Cores / 4 Threads
GPU: Iris Plus Graphics 640
Everymac: https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords=iMac18,1
Board ID: 4B682C642B45593E
BIOS Revision: IM181.88Z.F000.B00.1809171524
Mac Model: Macmini8,1
CPU: i7-8700B @ 3.20 GHz up to 4.60 GHz / 6 Cores / 12 Threads
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630
Everymac: https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords=Macmini8,1
Board ID: 7BA5B2DFE22DDD8C
BIOS Revision: MM81.88Z.F000.B00.1809171422
BIOS Revision: MM81.88Z.F000.B00.1907261958
BIOS Revision: MM81.88Z.F000.B00.2001052107
BIOS Revision: MM81.88Z.F000.B00.2005132145
BIOS Revision: MM81.88Z.F000.B00.2101062036
BIOS Revision: MM81.88Z.F000.B00.2105212325
BIOS Revision: MM81.88Z.F000.B00.2110032010
BIOS Revision: MM81.88Z.F000.B00.2111162120
Memory: 16GB in 2 x 8GB SO-DIMM (1.2V)
RAM: Kingston HyperX "Impact" DDR4 @ 2400MHz CL14 (Model HX424S14IB2/8)
WLAN: Intel Dual-Band Wireless-AC 9560 (Embedded Module) [8086:9df0]
BTLE: Intel Bluetooth 5.1 (Embedded Module) [8087:0aaa]
NVMe: Sabrent Rocket NVMe M.2 512GB (Model SB-ROCKET-512) [1987:5012]
Previous NVMe: Samsung EVO 970 NVMe M.2 1TB (Model MZ-V7E1T0BW) [144d:a808]
SATA: Samsung EVO 860 SATA 1TB SSD (Model MZ-76E1T0B/EU)
Thunderbolt: Intel JHL6340 Thunderbolt 3 Controller (Alpine Ridge 2C 2016) [8086:15db]
SD: Realtek Semiconductor RTS522A PCI Express Card Reader [10ec:522a]
Intel Product Compatibility Tool: see Intel website
For the essential but required BIOS settings, as well as previous firmware releases, see BIOS folder.
When the Timeout key is set and OpenCore Picker displays the available boot drives:
- Press Space Bar to access the hidden Auxiliary tools e.g. UEFI Shell, NVRAM Cleanup, Verify MSR Lock.
- Press Tab to move selection to the newly available Reboot and Shutdown icons (since OpenCore 0.6.8).
Alternatively, if ShowPicker is disabled or Timeout set to 0, keep pressing Escape or Zero or Option keys to access Picker just before OpenCore kicks-in and starts booting.
- No CPU ID faking required, power management is native; MSR
0xE2remains locked;⚠️ - External USB 3.0 ports work as expected; using generated
USBPorts.kext; - Internal USB 2.0 headers not used; they are disabled in BIOS;
- External USB-C port works for display purposes; special USB-C to miniDP cable used;
- Intel graphics acceleration works as
0x3EA50004with WhateverGreen; - Analogue audio output works as layout ID
0x03with AppleALC; - Digital audio output works with
FakePCIID.kextand the HDMI Audio extension; - Embedded Intel LAN interface works with IntelMausi;
- Embedded Intel WLAN module works with OpenIntelWireless;
- Embedded Intel BTLE module detected with IntelBluetoothFirmware;
- CPU fan readings work with
ec-deviceasIntel_EC_V8with VirtualSMC; - Integrated Realtek SD card reader now gets support with RealtekCardReader;
- Power Management is present and active as
X86PlatformPluginis attached toPR00in IORegistry; - Sleep/Wake both work without issues; see "Power" section in Hackintool;
- Both NVMe and SSD SATA interfaces work with no effort nor kext needed.
For the complete list of all detected PCI hardware components and their respective addresses via lspci -nn command (in Ubuntu, loaded via USB) see here. This list was created with all devices enabled in BIOS and is used as a device "map" so that PCI IDs can be detected before tweaking the hardware (and BIOS) to run macOS.
The AAPL,ig-platform-id property set to 0x3EA50004 is used for WhateverGreen to successfully enable acceleration on this graphics device [8086:3ea5]. This ID represents the following properties and connectors:
| Properties | Value(s) |
|---|---|
| Platform ID | 0x3EA50004 → 0400A53E → BAClPg== |
| Device ID | 0x3EA50000 i.e. no change |
| Mobile | Yes |
| Stolen Memory | 57 MB |
| Framebuffer Memory | 0 MB |
| Video Memory (VRAM) | 1536 MB |
| Total Stolen Memory | 58 MB |
| Total Cursor Memory | 1 MB |
| Maximum Stolen Memory | 172 MB |
| Maximum Overall Memory | 173 MB |
| Model Name | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 |
| Camellia | CamelliaV3 (3) |
| Port / Pipe Count | 3 / 3 |
| Default Port Index #0 | Bus ID 0x06 Pipe 8 Connector LVDS |
| Default Port Index #1 | Bus ID 0x05 Pipe 9 Connector DP |
| Default Port Index #2 | Bus ID 0x04 Pipe 10 Connector DP |
Read more at Intel® HD Graphics FAQs on the WhateverGreen repository.
| USB 2.0 Port Name | USB 3.0 Port Name | Hardware Location | Controller |
|---|---|---|---|
| HS01 | SS01 | Front RIGHT socket | Primary XHCI |
| HS02 | SS02 | Front LEFT socket | Primary XHCI |
| HS03 | SS03 | Rear BOTTOM socket | Primary XHCI |
| HS04 | SS04 | Rear TOP socket | Primary XHCI |
| HS10 | N/A | Internal BTLE port | Primary XHCI |
| HS01 | SS01 | Rear USB-C socket | Secondary XHCI |
The above active and working USB ports are listed in Hackintool while the two internal (USB 2.0) headers and Consumer IR are all disabled in BIOS and all unused or non-referenced USB ports are removed. In any other situation, ports such as HS05, HS06, HS07, HS08, HS09, USR1, USR2, SS05 and SS06 may be listed. All ports above are defined in USBPorts.kext according to their electrical connector.
Support for the NUC's embedded chipset ITE IT8987E-VG has been added in VirtualSMC (and more specifically SMCSuperIO.kext) since version 1.2.2 thanks to its developers. This is achieved by injecting the needed property <key>ec-device</key> and the correct identifier that corresponds to the NUC's model/generation own LPC Controller device (see here). For this NUC, the value is <string>Intel_EC_V8</string> thus enabling CPU fan readings in any monitoring tool.
The embedded 802.11ac wireless 9560 chipset [8086:9df0] has been working without issues with itlwm since Mojave. The controller can be enabled in BIOS, and for aesthetic reasons, can be renamed from Device (CNVW) to (WLAN) via OpenCore patching. As for the embedded BTLE module, Intel reports it being a Bluetooth 5.1 device, which works in most cases with IntelBluetoothFirmware since Mojave, too. Both drivers can be loaded through OpenCore.
With the injection of SSDT-PLUG.aml via OpenCore, we can verify that Power Management is present and active as X86PlatformPlugin is attached to the first CPU core PR00 per the Dortania Guide.
MacOS 12.x Monterey has brought an important change in OpenCore configuration for BTLE, namely the required removal of IntelBluetoothInjector.kext and its replacement by BlueToolFixup.kext found inside BrcmPatchRAM package. The main IntelBluetoothFirmware.kext remains active and must still be loaded, as done previously.
There is also a distinct version of AirportItlwm.kext compiled for Monterey only that has to be installed, replacing the Big Sur version of the kext without any OpenCore configuration changes, however.
