[Guide] Dell XPS 13 9360 on MacOS Sierra 10.12.x - LTS (Long-Term Support) Guide

[jkbuha]

Another trouve I have is the sound speaker :
Low sound are good
Loud sound are saturated (my be it's not the correct word )

It seems to me that the sound volume is adds to itself .... I'm wrong ?
I use AppleALC.kext and my Sound device is :

<dict>
<key>PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1F,0x3)</key>
<dict>
<key>layout-id</key>
<integer>13</integer>
</dict>
</dict>

How to solve this ? any ideas ?
Thanks

I think the exact phrase you're looking for is 'audio is clipped' (Pourquoi le son sature-t-il?).
I have the same issue with one of my 9360s and I suspect the speaker has actually been physically distorted by it as it's now sounding wonky on Linux and windows.

Previously I used a patched AppleHDA kext, but I noticed this happened when I switched to AppleALC.

If anyone else is experiencing this please let me know and I'll try and dig deeper.

 

[oli.mathieu]

I think the exact phrase you're looking for is 'audio is clipped' (Pourquoi le son sature-t-il?).

Yes The sound is clipped .... but only the Loud parts ➧ thus the feeling the sound adds to itself and so it naturally clipped

I have the same issue with one of my 9360s and I suspect the speaker has actually been physically distorted by it as it's now sounding wonky on Linux and windows.

I haven't got any Windows installed to test .... good point
Thanks

EDIT
I installed Windows 10
The sound is as bas as MacOS !!
Speakers seems to be physically damaged.
I'll try to replace them with new ones
Thanks

 

[oli.mathieu]

Yes The sound is clipped .... but only the Loud parts ➧ thus the feeling the sound adds to itself and so it naturally clipped


I haven't got any Windows installed to test .... good point
Thanks

I have changed the device id from 13 to 56. it seems better but still not perfect.
may be speakers are damaged
what is your device-id for the AUDIO ?
Thanks

 

[jkbuha]

Good question - I'm not even sure which kexts set device or layout-id anymore to be honest...

This is from my SSDT

                "layout-id",
                Buffer (0x04)
                {
                     0x0B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00                         
                },

 

[twsps]

Hello @jkbuha, I would like to ask what is the variable name for GPU Voltage Offset? I have a different laptop that I would like to undervolt but not sure whether it is

GT Voltage Offset

or not.

Thanks,
twsps

 

[jkbuha]

Hello @jkbuha, I would like to ask what is the variable name for GPU Voltage Offset? I have a different laptop that I would like to undervolt but not sure whether it is

GT Voltage Offset

or not.

Thanks,
twsps

If it's a Dell BIOS (which it sounds like it is) then yes - it's the GT Voltage Offset.

You should be able to amend some/any of the following:

Processor, VarStoreInfo (VarOffset/VarName)
Memory, VarStoreInfo (VarOffset/VarName)
GT, VarStoreInfo (VarOffset/VarName)
Uncore, VarStoreInfo (VarOffset/VarName)

 

[twsps]

If it's a Dell BIOS (which it sounds like it is) then yes - it's the GT Voltage Offset.

You should be able to amend some/any of the following:

Processor, VarStoreInfo (VarOffset/VarName)
Memory, VarStoreInfo (VarOffset/VarName)
GT, VarStoreInfo (VarOffset/VarName)
Uncore, VarStoreInfo (VarOffset/VarName)

Thanks for the tip. I have also noticed that I found two variables for overclock variables "Overclocking Lock" and "Overclocking Feature". Currently I have enabled "Overclocking Feature" and undervolting is working, what about the "Overclocking Lock"? What does it do specifically?

Thanks,
twsps

 

[jkbuha]

Thanks for the tip. I have also noticed that I found two variables for overclock variables "Overclocking Lock" and "Overclocking Feature". Currently I have enabled "Overclocking Feature" and undervolting is working, what about the "Overclocking Lock"? What does it do specifically?

Thanks,
twsps

I had actually written all the necessary parameters up in the first post, which are still applicable and working.

For ease of reference:

UEFI IFR

TESTED & WORKING
=======
*Undervolt CPU
(0x653) -> 32 (-0.05V)
(0x655) -> 01

*Undervolt GPU
(0x85A) -> 32 (-0.05V)
(0x85C) -> 01

*Overclock, CFG lock disable, WDT & XTU enable
(0x4DE) -> 00
(0x64D) -> 01
(0x64E) -> 01

*DVMT patch
(0x785) -> 06
(0x786) -> 03

*Ring Max OC Ratio
(0x659) -> 0x24

FLASH/REGISTER PROTECTION DISABLE
========

BIOS Guard Support 0xF56 -> 00 (disabled)
OC Lock 0x58d -> 00 (disabled)
Unlock PCH P2SB, Variable: 0xE8E -> 01 (enabled)
Flash Protection Range Registers (FPRR), Variable: 0xE8F -> 00 (disabled)
PMC READ DISABLE, Variable: 0x884 -> 00 (disabled)

MEMORY OVERCLOCK ENABLE
==========

SPD Write Disable, Variable: 0xE8D -> 00 (FALSE)


NEEDS MORE RESEARCH
=========

Max GT frequency,
(0x6EF) -> 0x18 (1200MHz). Still locks to 1050Mhz

1-Core Ratio Limit Override
0x588 ->0x25 (x37). Still locks to 35
2-Core Ratio Limit Override
0x589 -> 0x24 (x36). Still locks to 35

 

[Coletz]

Hi guys, I upgraded from Mojave to Catalina and nearly everything seems to work. I am having only 2/3 issue:
- screen brightness is at 100% and I can't change it at all (not even visible in the system pref pane), while it was working (even with fn buttons) with mojave
- audio jack not working (not sure if was working on mojave, but I don't use it at all so I don't really care about this)
- audio from speaker is low, and was low with mojave too, but this one is weird: I have layout 11 (flag injected with clover at boot) and I tried using combojack "fix" from the-darkvoid repo and it fixed everything (both jack was working and volume was high and clear), but after a reboot it's broken again. Running combojack fix again does nothing.

Am I the only one encountering these issue? I don't care about audio issues to be honest, but 100% brightness is killing my battery

 

[Richylitschy]

Hi guys, I upgraded from Mojave to Catalina and nearly everything seems to work. I am having only 2/3 issue:
- screen brightness is at 100% and I can't change it at all (not even visible in the system pref pane), while it was working (even with fn buttons) with mojave
- audio jack not working (not sure if was working on mojave, but I don't use it at all so I don't really care about this)
- audio from speaker is low, and was low with mojave too, but this one is weird: I have layout 11 (flag injected with clover at boot) and I tried using combojack "fix" from the-darkvoid repo and it fixed everything (both jack was working and volume was high and clear), but after a reboot it's broken again. Running combojack fix again does nothing.

Am I the only one encountering these issue? I don't care about audio issues to be honest, but 100% brightness is killing my battery

I would check and update all kexts. Brightness issue could be because of outdated WhateverGreen.kext.
Audio could be fixed with new AppleALC kext, I use layout id 13 since Catalina, seems to work better.