Firmware password and external booting

[winna]

Hey

I enabled a firmware password on my 2011 iMac but I could still boot from a CCC clone from my wife's 2011 MBP, Isn't a firmware password supposed to prevent booting from an external drive??

 

[CoastalOR]

Clarification please; Are you saying that you do not have to enter your firmware password when booting your iMac from an external drive?

Set a firmware password on your Mac - Apple Support

When you set a firmware password, users who don't have the password can't start up from any disk other than the designated startup disk.

support.apple.com

 

[winna]

Clarification please; Are you saying that you do not have to enter your firmware password when booting your iMac from an external drive?

Set a firmware password on your Mac - Apple Support

When you set a firmware password, users who don't have the password can't start up from any disk other than the designated startup disk.

support.apple.com

Correct!

 

[Quackers]

Which disk is selected as your startup disk?

 

[winna]

Which disk is selected as your startup disk?

What do you mean?

 

[Quackers]

On your 2011 iMac have you changed the startup disk in System Preferences > Startup Disk?

 

[winna]

On your 2011 iMac have you changed the startup disk in System Preferences > Startup Disk?

of course, I booted from a CCC clone as a described

 

[chabig]

Isn't a firmware password supposed to prevent booting from an external drive??

No. It prevents the Mac from starting up from any disk other than the one selected in System Preferences > Startup Disk. CoastalOR linked to the Apple support document that explains it in post #2.

Since you’ve selected your external disk for booting, it’s working as expected.

 

[Quackers]

Then the way I read it, if you have selected the external drive in Startup Disk then that drive is now the "boot drive".
That drive does not have a firmware password on it so you don't get the warning.
If you had left the internal drive as the startup disk and selected the external drive from the boot options by holding down the Alt key when booting, you would have got the "enter firmware password" pop-up.

 

[chabig]

That drive does not have a firmware password on it so you don't get the warning.

Everything you said was correct but this. The firmware password applies to the Mac, not the drives.

 

[CoastalOR]

As a check follow the instructions in the linked document I had in my Post 2 to disable the firmware password.
Do you have to enter the firmware password to start up in Recovery?
When you start the Security Utility in Recovery does it offer to DISABLE the firmware password?

 

[winna]

As a check follow the instructions in the linked document I had in my Post 2 to disable the firmware password.
Do you have to enter the firmware password to start up in Recovery?
When you start the Security Utility in Recovery does it offer to DISABLE the firmware password?

Got it Thanks. Didn't try booting using "alt", only from startup disk prefs

 

[Apple_Robert]

I like the idea of a FP but, if something happened software wise, or for some reason a person couldn't correctly enter the password, that is a no go situation, outside of heading to Apple with proof of purchase and a left Kidney.

 

[chabig]

Do you have to enter the firmware password to start up in Recovery?

Yes you do.

 

[CoastalOR]

Yes you do.

Thanks, I did not make my Post 11 clear and should have added my question to an OP's reply.

I wanted to see if the OP saw the behavior of needing to enter the firmware password when entering Recovery to confirm it was required as documented in the Apple support page I linked to in Post 2.