Overview
The purpose of this guide is to provide a step-by-step guide to installing Mojave, High Sierra, or Sierra (10.12.6) on the Lenovo Legion Y520/Y720 laptop series.
Note: This series of laptops doesn't appear to have a WiFi whitelist, so you don't need any BIOS modifications.
What you need
- Lenovo Legion Y520 (or Y720).
- Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, or El Capitan downloaded from the Mac App Store.
- 8GB USB stick.
- Broadcom BCM94352Z for native WiFi.
BIOS settings
To start, set BIOS to defaults.
Then insure:
- UEFI boot is enabled.
- Secure boot is disabled.
- Fast boot is disabled.
- SATA mode is set to AHCI.
Preparing USB and initial Installation
This guide for creating USB and installing using Clover UEFI works well for this laptop:
[Guide] Booting the OS X installer on LAPTOPS with Clover
Special notes:
- Definitely copy RealtekRTL8111.kext to Clover/kexts/Other as having network support during post-install is helpful. The rest of this guide depends on it. An alternate is to copy Lilu.kext and AirportBrcmFixup.kext to Clover/kexts/Other. This will enable WiFi, provided you have the BCM94352Z WiFi card already installed.
Note: Lilu.kext and AirportBrcmFixup.kext are available here:
https://github.com/acidanthera/Lilu/releases,
https://github.com/acidanthera/AirportBrcmFixup/releases.
- Use the 'createinstallmedia' approach. It works well, and there is little chance for pilot error. This method also gives you a recovery partition.
- Use the config_install.plist from the Y520 repo here:
https://github.com/the-braveknight/Lenovo-Y520-macOS.
Post Installation
Install Clover UEFI as described in the guide linked by the previous section (post #2). After installing Clover, and configuring it correctly (config.plist, kexts, etc) you should be able to boot from the HDD/SSD.
But there are still many issues and devices that won't work correctly. For that, we need to patch DSDT, provide a proper config.plist, and install the kexts that are required.
Since you have RealtekRTL8111.kext already injected by Clover, you should have internet access simply by using an Ethernet cable to your router. Plug it in and make sure you have internet access before continuing. Or if you're using Lilu.kext and AirportBrcmFixup.kext, you can connect to your WiFi router before continuing.
Installation of the tools and patching is easy provided the scripts and tools at the Lenovo Y520 repository:
https://github.com/the-braveknight/Lenovo-Y520-macOS.
To start, the developer tools must be installed. Run Terminal, and type:
You will be prompted to install the developer tools. Since you have internet working, you can choose to have it download and install them automatically. Do that before continuing.
After the developer tools are installed, we need to get a couple of projects from my github.
In Terminal:
Code:
mkdir ~/Projects
cd ~/Projects
git clone https://github.com/the-braveknight/Lenovo-Y520-macOS legion.git
Now it is time to install some more tools and all the kexts that are required...
Code:
cd ~/Projects/legion.git
./Y520.sh --download-requirements
./Y520.sh --install-downloads
Or if you have Y720:
Code:
cd ~/Projects/legion.git
./Y720.sh --download-requirements
./Y720.sh --install-downloads
The '--download-requirements' command will automatically gather the latest version of all tools (patchmatic, iasl, MaciASL) and all the kexts (VirtualSMC.kext, SMCBatteryManager.kext, etc) from their release points. The '--install-downloads' will automatically install them to the proper locations.
Note: The current repo can be considered somewhat experimental. It uses the new SMC kext (VirtualSMC.kext) instead of FakeSMC.kext. If you have any problem with VirutalSMC.kext, replace it with RehabMan's FakeSMC.kext available here:
https://bitbucket.org/RehabMan/os-x-fakesmc-kozlek/downloads/.
Also make sure to remove SMCBatteryManager.kext too and install RehabMan's ACPIBatteryManager.kext available here:
https://bitbucket.org/RehabMan/os-x-acpi-battery-driver/downloads/.
Note: My Y520 has a Synaptics trackpad. But some of these Y520 laptops are coming with an ELAN trackpad instead. I'm not going to link the ELAN trackpad kext due to the author's disregard for the open source license, but you can find it on the internet. Also keep in mind that the ELAN kext has not been updated in more than a year, so do not expect it to work properly.
The Y520's DSDT USB ports have correct _UPC/_PLD objects so USBInjectAll.kext is not needed. However, the Y720's DSDT port configuration aren't correct, so the current repo corrects those ports by injecting the the right _UPC configuration for each port.
Note: The Y720 appears to have I2C trackpad and USB keyboard. For those machines, I suggest looking at VoodooI2C project here:
https://github.com/alexandred/VoodooI2C.
If you wish, you can reboot to verify a few more items are working (many only partially).
To finish the setup, we need a correctly patched ACPI.
In Terminal:
Or for the Y720:
The 'make' causes the patched files to be compiled (with iasl), the results placed in ./build.
Finally, 'make install_y520' or 'make install_y720', mounts the EFI partition, and copies the built files where they can be loaded by Clover (to EFI/Clover/ACPI/patched).
Note: No actual patching of DSDT/SSDT is happening here. We are simply building an add-on SSDT (SSDT-Y520.aml or SSDT-Y720.aml) which provides the necessary changes. This is because these machines require only minimal patching so a full patched DSDT is not needed.
Power Management
Everything required for CPU/IGPU power management is already installed with the steps above.
There is no longer any need to use the ssdtPRgen.sh script.
Be aware that hibernation (suspend to disk or S4 sleep) is not well supported on hackintosh.
You should disable it:
Code:
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0
sudo rm /var/vm/sleepimage
sudo mkdir /var/vm/sleepimage
Always check your hibernatemode after updates and disable it. System updates tend to re-enable it, although the trick above (making sleepimage a directory) tends to help.
Final config.plist
Up to now, you've been using the same config.plist we were using for installation. After all the ACPI files are in place (previous two steps), you're ready to use the final config.plist from the y520 repo.
In Terminal:
Code:
cd ~/Projects/legion.git
./Y520.sh --install-config
Or if you have Y720:
Code:
cd ~/Projects/legion.git
./Y720.sh --install-config
You could also copy the file using Finder.
After copying the config.plist from the repo to EFI/Clover/config.plist, you should customize the SMBIOS so you have a unique serial. You can use Clover Configurator to do this (use google to find/download it). DO NOT use Clover Configurator to edit your actual config.plist. Instead edit a "dummy" config.plist to create the SMBIOS data and then use copy/paste with a plist editor (I use Xcode) to copy the SMBIOS section into my active config.plist. Clover Configurator is too buggy and cannot be trusted with edits to your real config.plist.
Repeat:
DO NOT edit your config.plist with Clover Configurator. Clover Configurator will erase important settings from the config.plist, and as a result, it will not work.
Note: The config.plist in the repo is using MacBookPro14,1. It works. You could also use MacBookPro11,1 to avoid problems related to HWP.
Note regarding HDMI/DP ports: These ports are connected to the Nvidia GTX1050 (or GTX1060) card, which is disabled. Therefore those ports will never work on macOS. The provided config_y520.plist/config_y720.plist completely disables all the external framebuffer ports.
Do not stop reading
Although most of the post-install tasks are done, continue to read this guide. It has important information you should know about.
Be sure to visit "Known Problems", especially the instructions in the "Audio:" section. Typically, even after completing all the above tasks, audio will not work on the first reboot. You must follow the specific instructions in that section in order to get the audio kexts in cache.
In the case of a problem, don't bother asking about with without all files requested in "Problem Reporting".
Updates to the patch repositories
From time to time, updates may become available to the NUC repository. In the event of such updates, you may want to update your copies, and re-patch ACPI with the updates.
Since you're using git, it is easy...
In Terminal:
Code:
cd ~/Projects/legion.git
./Y520.sh --update # or ./Y720.sh --update # to save any local changes you might have made and update repo to latest
./Y520.sh --download-requirements # or ./Y720.sh --download-requirements
./Y520.sh --install-downloads # or ./Y720.sh --install-downloads
./Y520.sh --update-config # or ./Y720.sh --update-config
make clean
make
make install_y520 # or make install_y720
What works
- UEFI booting via Clover.
- Built-in keyboard (with special function keys).
- Built-in trackpad (basic gestures).
- AirPlay mirroring to AppleTV.
- Native WiFi via BCM94352Z.
- Bluetooth (with handoff) using BCM94352Z.
- Native USB3/USB2/USB-C.
- Native audio with AppleHDA, including headphones.
- Built-in camera.
- Native power management.
- Battery status.
- Backlight controls.
- Accelerated graphics for HD630 including OpenCL.
- Wired Ethernet.
- Mac App Store working.
- Messages/FaceTime.
Not tested/not working
- USB 3.1 Type-C port on the Y720 doesn't work properly because it's connected to the TB device (not XHC). It works only if the device is plugged in prior to booting, hotplug is not working/not reliable. There are current solutions being worked on, but no 100% solution AFAIK.
- HDMI/DP video/audio don't work because those ports are connected to the Nvidia card, which is disabled.
Known Problems
Find My Mac/Locking: Find My Mac does not work properly. Don't lock your mac because it's difficult (or impossible) to unlock again.
Slow WiFi after sleep/wake cycle: Disable "Wake for network access" in SysPrefs->Energy Saver.
Audio: After installing new/updated kexts or after the initial installation, you may lose audio.
To fix:
- reboot without caches (hit space at Clover, select without caches)
- rebuild cache
- Reboot normally (if needed, two times)
Other post-install tasks
Trackpad: Be sure to visit the options in SysPrefs->Trackpad and change them to your liking.
Trackpad three finger support: You can configure three finger swipes in SysPrefs->Keyboard->Shortcuts. Instead of pressing keys for a given function, do the three finger swipe (up/down/left/right).
Disable trackpad when using an external mouse: The latest script installs the latest VoodooPS2Controller.kext. It allows you to disable the built-in trackpad when a USB mouse is plugged in. Just check the box in SysPrefs->Accessibility->"Mouse & Trackpad".
Bluetooth: If you get the Bluetooth Setup Assistant popup, go to SysPrefs->Bluetooth->Advanced, uncheck the boxes.
Problem Reporting
Read the FAQ here:
[FAQ] READ FIRST! Laptop Frequent Questions.
Credits
@RehabMan: his repos, guides, kexts, tools, and scripts.
