[Guide] Dell XPS 9560 Monterey OpenCore

[InsaneCultist]

# Added to boot-args
`-cdfon -igfxmpc -igfxhdmidivs brcmfx-country=#a`

## Explaination
```
# Whatevergreen flags
-cdfon (and enable-hdmi20 property) to enable HDMI 2.0 patches
-igfxmpc boot argument (enable-max-pixel-clock-override and max-pixel-clock-frequency properties) to increase max pixel clock (as an alternative to patching CoreDisplay.framework).
-igfxhdmidivs boot argument (and enable-hdmi-dividers-fix property) to fix the infinite loop on establishing Intel HDMI connections with a higher pixel clock rate on SKL, KBL and CFL platforms.
```

# Enables 867Mbps speeds
`brcmfx-country=#a`

We should be able to incorporate these into Device Properties in a future release. Thanks for your research!

@InsaneCultist after the update my keyboard shortcuts are only working with the right CMD Key.
Any idea what the problem could be?

If updating from an older version, check your Option to Command remap in Keyboard settings. Alternatively, you could roll back VoodooPS2Controller and its subsidiaries and see if this fixes the issue. I almost exclusively use my left CMD key and have not seen an issue with this release, but it wouldn't be the first time an odd bug affects just a few users.

 

[LeLunZ]

If updating from an older version, check your Option to Command remap in Keyboard settings. Alternatively, you could roll back VoodooPS2Controller and its subsidiaries and see if this fixes the issue. I almost exclusively use my left CMD key and have not seen an issue with this release, but it wouldn't be the first time an odd bug affects just a few users.

It’s really weird. I have checked which keys are getting pressed with a keybinding api.

CMD Shift is working. But then pressing a number doesn’t work. CMD + SHIFt + a Letter is working.
Just the numbers won’t be recognized…

 

[KYBOSH]

I recently installed 12.0 to a 9550 and I have a question about getting combojack working on it.
[Would really appreciate if @InsaneCultist and/or @blazinsmokey could chime in]

Im reading that you guys are successfully using combojack but on the 9550 its not working/behaving as intended. When we plug headphones into the headphone jack I hear a loud pop from the main speakers. The headphones work fine mind you. But when I disconnect them, there is another loud pop and the main speakers fail to reinitialize thus there is no sound. I also havent seen the ComboJack Notification pop up when something is plugged or unplugged into the jack. According to activity monitor ComboJack is indeed running.

Which version are you guys using here? It wasnt included in the attachment in the original post.

Thank you in advance!

 

[InsaneCultist]

I recently installed 12.0 to a 9550 and I have a question about getting combojack working on it.
[Would really appreciate if @InsaneCultist and/or @blazinsmokey could chime in]

Im reading that you guys are successfully using combojack but on the 9550 its not working/behaving as intended. When we plug headphones into the headphone jack I hear a loud pop from the main speakers. The headphones work fine mind you. But when I disconnect them, there is another loud pop and the main speakers fail to reinitialize thus there is no sound. I also havent seen the ComboJack Notification pop up when something is plugged or unplugged into the jack. According to activity monitor ComboJack is indeed running.

Which version are you guys using here? It wasnt included in the attachment in the original post.

Thank you in advance!

Hi there - there is an updated version in the old thread that was re-written to run in userspace for Big Sur. I will bundle it with future releases - sorry for the oversight. I have a Precision 5510 which is a business-class 9550, but it is still running macOS Mojave. I've used the same combo jack installer on it with no issue, but can't vouch for differences in newer OSes.

 

[umbjm]

I know there's a lot of tweaking and learning to do and I'm willing to do it, but I'd appreciate some advice on choosing my entry point.

I have a 9560 with 4K and 16GB RAM that's been working well for me for >2 years running Catalina using Clover. I also have a TB116 that I really only use for powering the 9560 and DisplayPort out to a 4K external monitor. I never changed my Wi-Fi card, but have both a Wi-fi dongle and a TP-Link USB-Ethernet adapter--both work great in Catalina.

After skimming this and the Big Sur threads, I have some questions:

1) Should I upgrade through Big Sur to Monterey, or go straight for Monterey?
2) Whichever I choose for #1, I have an SSD in a USB-C enclosure with my whole Catalina system cloned and bootable. Should I try things on the external or internal SSD first?
3) When I was in Windows, I accidentally updated the BIOS to 1.24.0 (no effect on Catalina that I can see). Do I need to (or can I even) roll it back?

Thanks!

 

[InsaneCultist]

1) Should I upgrade through Big Sur to Monterey, or go straight for Monterey?
2) Whichever I choose for #1, I have an SSD in a USB-C enclosure with my whole Catalina system cloned and bootable. Should I try things on the external or internal SSD first?
3) When I was in Windows, I accidentally updated the BIOS to 1.24.0 (no effect on Catalina that I can see). Do I need to (or can I even) roll it back?

Thanks!

The biggest switch here is going to be migrating from Clover to OpenCore. I would strongly recommend keeping your Catalina system and swapping the bootloader to OpenCore very carefully. Though I have not tried it, this EFI should still boot Catalina, but I would read carefully and learn about OpenCore rather than just doing a simple copy/paste.

To answer your questions, these are my opinions as someone with a similar machine:

1.) Ensure you swap bootloaders first before changing your system. Once you're comfortable with OpenCore, do a bit of research on your hardware. I'm not personally familiar with USB WiFi cards, but you may want to dig into the issues or troubles with USB WiFi cards before choosing a system. With these considerations, you may have answer to your question. Personally, I skipped Big Sur and went straight from Catalina to Monterey.
2.) A bootable backup is always an excellent safety net. If it were me, I'd make changes on the internal SSD and keep the external as a recovery option if needed.
3.) Newer BIOS only has the effect of disabling undervolting (not required) and a reset of the UEFI variables. You'll find OpenCore has several differences over Clover. You'll want to check your MSR lock, etc. or enable the appropriate quirks. But you give you an easy answer, you should not need to roll back BIOS. I simply keep mine on a lower revision to allow for undervolting. I'm not sure if a rollback is possible - I haven't had to attempt it.

 

[umbjm]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. That helps a lot and likely will save a lot of my time.

Ensure you swap bootloaders first before changing your system.

One question on this: should I start with the EFI from your OP, Mar 16, 2022 XPS 9560 v1.2 - OC 0.7.9?

 

[KYBOSH]

Thank you for that @InsaneCultist.
I tried to search for the old Combojack thread you mention but I didnt come up with anything fruitful.
Its its no longer available I hope to see it in your future bundle and test it with my 9550 on Monterey.

Thanks again

 

[umbjm]

Ensure you swap bootloaders first before changing your system.

That was pretty easy, thanks.

I did two things that might be important for my problem below: I was more cautious and installed OC on my backup SSD. It worked for Catalina and I was able to update it to Monterey and boot it several times.

I also figured "If not now, when?" and updated to OC 0.8.0. Was that a mistake?

I have copied that functional EFI to my internal SSD and am booting Catalina from it with no obvious issues. I am, however, stuck at this point in your guide. I'd like to solve it before committing to Monterey on my internal SSD:

Inside EFI/OC/Tools/ you'll find drivers modGrubShell and VerifyMsrE2. If you followed the BIOS settings you should have enabled legacy option roms already. I've added these to OpenCore and these tools should be bootable from OpenCore's boot picker.

1. At the OpenCore picker, choose modGrubShell
2. If you only enter "setup_var 0x4ed" it will return it's current value which would be 0x01. 0=false/disable, 1=true/enable
3. I recommend always check the current setting before changing and verify what you're checking. It helps with alleviating user error.
4. If it returned expected variable and setting, press the up arrow which will populate the last command and then add the remaining. You should be entering "setup_var 0x04ed 0x01" to disable CFG Lock.

It doesn't return the expected variable and there's no instructions for what to do when it doesn't include the expected variable, so I'm not sure what to do. I keep ending up at the same few pages when I search. While I've learned a lot, I don't see an obvious solution. Any suggestions?

 

[Feartech]

That was pretty easy, thanks.

I did two things that might be important for my problem below: I was more cautious and installed OC on my backup SSD. It worked for Catalina and I was able to update it to Monterey and boot it several times.

I also figured "If not now, when?" and updated to OC 0.8.0. Was that a mistake?

I have copied that functional EFI to my internal SSD and am booting Catalina from it with no obvious issues. I am, however, stuck at this point in your guide. I'd like to solve it before committing to Monterey on my internal SSD:

It doesn't return the expected variable and there's no instructions for what to do when it doesn't include the expected variable, so I'm not sure what to do. I keep ending up at the same few pages when I search. While I've learned a lot, I don't see an obvious solution. Any suggestions?
View attachment 546959View attachment 546960

maybe type it in correctly?