[Guide] High Sierra on HP Spectre x360 8th Gen Coffee Lake

[jaymonkey]

it seems like the Bluetooth is not so stable. And I am trying the AppleAlc but it is not working maybe I am missing something. Thanks for your help

@ctxdl,

Are you using BCM94352Z ? ..... if so i also found that card to be very unstable in HP X360 ... see my notes here for more info, after a lot of experimentation i ditched the BCM94352Z and replaced it with a BCM43602 based one (DW1830) which is a far superior WiFi & BT card.

And I am trying the AppleAlc but it is not working maybe I am missing something

Try using AppleALC 1.2.7 as detailed in my post to @chrismo16 above. Also note that in post #136 @ShortFromErnie incorrectly states that AppleALC 1.3.0 is just for MacOS 10.14.X .... as per the Change Log/Release notes AppleALC ver 1.3.0 is Enabled for 10.14.X by default ... which means it will load on all versions of MacOS up-to 10.14.X without having to use a boot flag ... having said that right now there are a lot of reported issues with AppleALC 1.3.0 so best to use 1.2.7 for a stable system and use 1.2.8 or 1.3.0 for testing.

Cheers
Jay

 

[ctxdl]

@ctxdl,

Are you using BCM94352Z ? ..... if so i also found that card to be very unstable in HP X360 ... see my notes here for more info, after a lot of experimentation i ditched the BCM94352Z and replaced it with a BCM43602 based one (DW1830) which is a far superior WiFi & BT card.



Try using AppleALC 1.2.7 as detailed in my post to @chrismo16 above.

Cheers
Jay

Hey, @jaymonkey thank you for your answer, it is working now it was really strange the Bluetooth stopped and the audio works now at the same time so I really do not know what happened but thank you. with the BCM43602? did it work out of the box or you needed to modify something?

 

[jaymonkey]

with the BCM43602? did it work out of the box or you needed to modify something?

The BCM20450 Bluetooth chipset used in the DW1830 card is natively supported in MacOS so no need for any clover BT patches, if you read the post i linked above you can understand better how i got the DW1830 working (taping enable/disable pins which is very easy to do)

Note: You may not need to tape pins 54 & 56 as you have a newer laptop, depends on DW1830 firmware and laptop BIOS.

For MacOS support remove all Clover WiFI & BT patches ... use the Lilu plugin AirportBrcmFixup.kext instead.

With DW1830 you'll get much better BT stability due to LE 4.1 support so handoff and continuity work very well.

Cheers
Jay

 

[ShortFormErnie]

@ShortFormErnie Hey how long is your battery lasting?. Did you have problems with the Bluetooth as well?

After doing optimizations listed in RehabMan's thread on the subject, I generally get four solid hours, maybe four and a half if I'm lucky—which is pretty good because I have a pretty sizable Dropbox directory that gets synced on this machine. (For sake of comparison, I have a MBP Retina from 2015 with a similar installation of stuff on it that gets just two and a half hours.)

Bluetooth, honestly, has not been a problem with mine (I'm using BCM94352Z, as per thread), though I think very early on the Bluetooth would have a tendency to disconnect more, an issue I think went away with a High Sierra update. Internal audio leaves something to be desired, but I'm currently typing on a bluetooth keyboard and playing music on bluetooth speakers without a problem.

I will point out though that I run into occasional issues that are solved by briefly closing the laptop and reopening: One, that the processor sometimes runs well above clock speed (staying above 3ghz, per Intel Power Gadget) with the only process taxing it being kernel_task, and two, the internal speakers sometimes get very scratchy. Sometimes clearing the kextcache fixes it, sometimes it's just a matter of letting the laptop sleep a few seconds.

Side note: This machine handles disaster pretty well. Due to a busted table at a coffee shop I frequent, a cup of cold brew spilled on it a couple of weeks ago, which is ironic given my avatar. I had to pull off and reset a couple keys, but the machine is working 100 percent.

 

[ShortFormErnie]

Sorry i have been inactive this days, ill go throught the thread and add new things that have been helping everyone here, if it is possible someone that has done the steps can write in a detailed form so i can add it to the thread

This guide is written with x360 in mind with no modifications necessary, I think you're probably safe just linking to it.

 

[ShortFormErnie]

If it helps anyone, the settings I use for processor optimization in config.plist, taking advantage of the support for Hardware P-States (HWP) on Skylake and above chip sets:

    <key>CPU</key>
    <dict>
        <key>HWPEnable</key>
        <true/>
        <key>HWPValue</key>
        <string>0x60282804</string>
        <key>UseARTFrequency</key>
        <true/>
    </dict>

I found this thread helpful when researching the topic, and it's also mentioned as an option in RehabMan's guide on laptop optimization. I have it at 60, which is a level that favors battery life; you may find that you prefer something closer to 00, which maximizes processor and power load. Note that your machine needs an SMBIOS setting that supports HWP. If you follow the guide, it should.

Since some folks are having issues with optimization, I'll attach my current CLOVER.zip in case it helps anyone.

 

[ctxdl]

I have been seeing that my processor is running too high at 3.7 or more does it happen to you as well? did it fixed it when you applied the HWP?

 

[ShortFormErnie]

I have been seeing that my processor is running too high at 3.7 or more does it happen to you as well? did it fixed it when you applied the HWP?

I found it helped power management significantly, yes. (I also, to be safe, did a stress test with Prime95 and found that it maintained clock speed even with the more conservative settings.) But I would also go through RehabMan's guide on this matter, and scour through the thread I linked, just to be on the safe side.

There is a talk later in that thread of using x86PlatformPlugin for the HWP technique, which I also tried, though that solution is very complex and requires a deep dive.

 

[ShortFormErnie]

For sake of comparison, here's a screenshot.

 

[RehabMan]

Hi @RehabMan, I have two questions, can you take a look at my files? First is the config.plist config_HD615_620_630_640_650.plist spoof better than the non spoof for my laptop? also, it seems like the Bluetooth is not so stable. And I am trying the AppleAlc but it is not working maybe I am missing something. Thanks for your help

Your ioreg shows no BT controller on the USB bus.
USB configuration not correct.
See USB guides in FAQ:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/faq-read-first-laptop-frequent-questions.164990/