Curious case of iServices not working with Intel AX200 on certain motherboards

[atanvarno]

BTW, this is how it looks like. Just spins forever.

 

[Edhawk]

Can't open the config.plist, error when using ProperTree, see screenshot below.



There are a few things I would change.

1. Add ResetNvramEntry.efi to the Drivers folder and config.plist.
2. Not sure you need the SSDT-GPRW.aml table. What made you add this to your setup?
3. Sort out the Intel i225-V configuration, as you have a Kext, SSDT and possibly a DeviceProperties entry for this Ethernet controller in your config.plist. I doubt very much you need all of these elements.

Shaneee over at AMD OSX just uses the AppleIGB.kext for his X570 MB, which also contains the i225-V Ethernet controller.

I don't use the i225-V controller on my X570 MB, as I have added a Realtek 2.5GB PCIe ethernet card to my setup.

 

[Edhawk]

The main things missing from the iMessage > Settings tab are these:

Enable Messages in iCloud, should be seen just below your Apple ID.

Sync Now button should be visible below the Sign Out button on the right hand side,

Near the bottom of the tab, Start new conversations from: should show your mobile No. or an email address.

Messages > Settings > Settings tab in my Ventura Asus B550 system

Further to your Intel i225-V Ethernet controller, have you tried using AppleIGC.kext and the 'e1000=0' boot argument.

GitHub - SongXiaoXi/AppleIGC: Intel 2.5G Ethernet(i225/i226) driver for macOS

Intel 2.5G Ethernet(i225/i226) driver for macOS. Contribute to SongXiaoXi/AppleIGC development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[atanvarno]

Can't open the config.plist, error when using ProperTree, see screenshot below.

Maybe a consequence of the manual removal of the SMBIOS, I just rewrote over them in TextMate.

There are a few things I would change.

1. Add ResetNvramEntry.efi to the Drivers folder and config.plist.
2. Not sure you need the SSDT-GPRW.aml table. What made you add this to your setup?
3. Sort out the Intel i225-V configuration, as you have a Kext, SSDT and possibly a DeviceProperties entry for this Ethernet controller in your config.plist. I doubt very much you need all of these elements.

Shaneee over at AMD OSX just uses the AppleIGB.kext for his X570 MB, which also contains the i225-V Ethernet controller.

I don't use the i225-V controller on my X570 MB, as I have added a Realtek 2.5GB PCIe ethernet card to my setup.

reset-nvram entry is visible in the OC picker, not sure why you think I need anything more.

SSDT-GPRW is my creation since Monterey, fixes the sleep on this particular build. It works great in Monterey and Ventura, in Sonoma sleep is broken due to Airportitlwm.kext 2.3.0.alpha.

AppleIGC does not work for me, I tried it. No idea why, it just doesn't. SSDT + this .kext + e1000 bootarg are working quite well and Ethernet works flawlessly.

 

[atanvarno]

The main things missing from the iMessage > Settings tab are these:

I know how it should look like , I have that same display on my Gigabyte builds where iMessage is working fine.
This entire window on Asus builds is disabled, nothing is clickable and loader just spins endlessly.

 

[atanvarno]

reset-nvram entry is visible in the OC picker, not sure why you think I need anything more.

This part of the setup adds some useful tools in the picker

 

[Edhawk]

Yeah, I saw those two Tools were present. They do the same job as the ResetNvramEntry.efi driver, just as two separate Tools.

If you fix the extra padding (extra space) issue in the config.plist I would like to see what you are using for your B550-I system.

I don't use the OC Auxillary Tools app. I use ProperTree when reviewing and editing plist's. Not sure that would make any difference when compiling a config.plist.

I have booted up my Asus ROG Strix X570-F Gaming/Ryzen 9 3900X/RX 6700 XT system running macOS Sonoma 14.2. As this system contains and uses an Intel AX200 WiFi/BT card on a PCIe adapter. I have been looking to see if any issues have arisen with any Apple services due to the Intel WiFi card. But can't see anything untoward with any of the Apple Service, they all work as expected.

I have two B550 systems running Windows 11 and macOS Ventura 13.6.1/3:

1. ASUS TUF Gaming B550M Plus WiFi II/ Ryzen 7 5700G/ RX Vega 56 and
2. ASUS TUF Gaming B550 Plus WiFi II/ Ryzen 5 5600G/ RX 5700 XT.

So they are similar to your B550 system, just not ITX and neither is using an Intel WiFi/BT card.
They both use Broadcom BCM43602CS cards on PCIe adapters.

I assume you use the built-in M.2 WiFi/BT connector on your B550-I board for the AX200 card.

I am thinking of moving the Intel AX200 card to the B550M system, to see if that makes any difference. It currently runs Ventura, you seem to be having issues in Monterey and other macOS releases, so maybe a clean installation of Monterey on that system with the AX200 might shed some light on the issue.

 

[Edhawk]

This is what the OC EFI folder for my Asus B550M system contains, when configured for use with an Intel WiFi/BT card. I have posted this just as a comparison to your EFI.



It is still on OC 0.9.4 for some reason!

Still should be good for the installation of macOS Monterey tomorrow, on a spare Crucial P3 Plus 1TB NVMe drive.

Not sure if I will install the Intel card in the M.2 connector currently containing the original MediaTek WiFi/BT card, or carry on using the PCIe adapter. M.2 connector would be closest match to yours so maybe that should be the one.

 

[atanvarno]

Here's the entire EFI I am using for the Sonoma test build.

Monterey Asus build using pretty much the same components is my kid's computer so I can't get to it anytime, he uses it for school. It's the same BIOS version, same motherboard so it makes sense it behaves the same.

I also have Gigabyte B550I v1.0 with AX200 which is running Monterey, with no issues with iServices. I need to update that to Ventura over the weekend, so will see how it goes although I doubt it would have any issues.

My main build is using the same Gigabyte B550I but with WiFi card replaced with BCM94360NG and is currently on Ventura. This is my main work machine, thus not much room to experiment.

I am using the same iCloud account on all of them. All the builds use built-in M.2 WiFi card.

 

[atanvarno]

I don't use the OC Auxillary Tools app. I use ProperTree when reviewing and editing plist's. Not sure that would make any difference when compiling a config.plist.

I never tried ProperTree.

OCAT serves me really good for over a year, it automatically updates config.plist structure when I get newer OC, can update kexts automatically. Really nice tool that simplifies keeping up with the OC releases.

I did find one particular issue while working on this - it can't figure out which of the 3 Airportitlwm.kext to use, so it wrongly downloaded and updated 2.2.0 version which was not suitable for Monterey and lead to crash on initial boot.