Firmware Password - Clone drive?

[Steven Chu]

So my sister had gotten a macbook pro 2012 from school (her school has a program where she pays for a discounted macbook and upon graduation she gets to keep it). After graduation she stopped using it because it was too slow. I had an idea to upgrade to an SSD so the laptop runs faster, however when I try booting into recovery mode it asks me for a firmware password. There's currently no one in the IT department at her school (because of COVID-19). I know that since there is a firmware password, all other external drives/recovery mode are not bootable and it may only be booted with the existing drive... however if i cloned the HDD into an SSD would I be able to boot the SSD on the macbook pro.

Thanks!

 

[chscag]

however if i cloned the HDD into an SSD would I be able to boot the SSD on the macbook pro.

If you mean booting the SSD from a USB connection, I'm not sure that will work without the password. Swapping the hard drive for an SSD after cloning won't work.

 

[Steven Chu]

If you mean booting the SSD from a USB connection, I'm not sure that will work without the password. Swapping the hard drive for an SSD after cloning won't work.

So even if the new SSD is a clone of the HDD it wont work?

 

[Fishrrman]

Your only option is to enter the firmware password.
Or... use it as it is.

Get someone at the school to reset/remove the password.
Not possible?
Then again... use it as it is.
No further "upgrades" are possible.

Apple will remove a firmware password, but ONLY if one provides the original sales receipt.
No receipt? Sorry, can't do that.
Reason: often, people who present computers with firmware passwords that they don't know how to remove have stolen computers...