We've managed to install GNU/Linux, Windows and a lot of other hacks on this beautiful laptop... so why not OS X?
Not all of the functionality is working. This will be updated frequently as fixes are identified. At the moment this guide is focused on Mac OS 10.15.7 Catalina as it has the best support for our hardware, in particular the Intel wifi chip.
For OS X purposes, what matters most in the specs for the Pixelbook is not so much about the i5-7Y57 or i7-7Y75 processor. The biggest difference for our purposes is the internal SSD. The 128GB and 256GB models have an EMMC SSD, and it is currently not working within OS X. The i7 with 512GB has an NVMe SSD, which is fully supported. So unless you have the 512GB hard drive, installing OS X to the internal drive is currently not possible. It does work on an external SSD, however. Other notable specs:
- Intel wifi chip: 7265
- keyboard - PS/2
- touchpad: HID-over-I²C
- Suspend: ACPI S3 sleep
- Audio: Audio Codec: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio. The speakers, mic and headphone jack are all connected to various codecs exposed via I²C. yusefnapora explains in detail how complicated audio was in Ubuntu... But who knows, maybe we can figure it out.
Here's what's working at the moment:
Feature | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|
WiFi | Working | Working |
Bluetooth | Working | Working |
Suspend | Working | Working |
Touchpad | Not Working | Working (tweaked to feel nice) |
Graphics Accel. | Not Working | WIP. Has Intel HD615 and should be fully supported. |
Sound | Not Working | Works via bluetooth for now. |
Keyboard backlight | Not Working | |
Touchscreen | Not working | Mac OS has no touchscreen implementation. |
Mac OS 11 Big Sur | Not working | For intel wifi, currently itlwm and Big Sur are not working yet. |
Before you start, you'll need to have the following things to complete the process:
- A [SuzyQable CCD Debugging cable][suzyqable], ~$15 USD + shipping
- A USB-A to USB-C adapter
- 1 USB flash drives with USB-C connectors or adapters, preferably ~10GB or larger
- A willingness to accept that this is a potentially destructive process that may render your expensive Pixelbook inoperable or otherwise busted. See the disclaimer below.
The process described in this document could cause irreversible damage to your expensive laptop, and you should prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for that outcome before you begin. I accept absolutely no responsibility for the consequences of anyone choosing to follow or ignore any of the instructions in this document, and make no guarantees about the quality or effectiveness of the software in this repo.
Here are the steps to go from stock Pixelbook to a Mac OS 10.15.7 Catalina install:
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Flash UEFI firmware. Read and follow yusefnapora's excellent guide on how to flash the UEFI firmware using MrChromebox's scripts. To do this, you will need to disable write protect with either the SuzyQable cable or by removing the battery.
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Download and set up your Mac OS X Catalina USB drive.
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Set up OpenCore on the EFI partition of the drive. Read the OpenCore Install Guide. There are also plenty of video tutorials on how to do this.
- Some helpful tips: OC-Gen X is really helpful, use it.
- Make sure you have these Kexts: VoodooPS2Controller, itlwm, IntelBluetoothFirmware and IntelBluetoothInjector.
- GenSMBIOS-master will help you generate a serial number etc.
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Edit your config.plist with the following customizations:
- SetupVirtualMap = No , rather than YES, as per OpenCore guide
- Under DeviceProperties:
- AAPL,ig-platform-id Data 01001E59
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Test your config.plist for errors: https://opencore.slowgeek.com/