I am still rather uncertain about how SMBIOS and related settings relate to Apple account logins. I am currently running Catalina on a GA-h97-D3h/Haswell build, booting with OC (currently 6.1, will upgrade to 6.4) using SystemProductName 14,2.
I want to try Big Sur, and, so, apparently, I will need to go to 15,1. If at all possible, I would prefer to have the Big Sur install be viewed as the same machine under my AppleID.
I already have a legit MB-Air, an iPad, an iPhone, a second hack all under this Apple ID. I use the AppleID to sync various stuff across all these, in particular iMessage. I have in the past registered two or three other hackintosh installs, but so far have avoided any getting tagged as invalid.
In OC config.plist I use PlatformInfo/Automatic: True, and in PlatformInfo/Generic I have these settings (details masked):
MLB : D25aaaaaaaaaaaaa
ROM : <bbbbbbbbb bbbb>
SystemProductName : iMac14,2
SystemSerialNumber : D25ccccccccc (not sure if 1st three digits match with MLB is conincidence or required)
SystemUUID : dddddddd-dddd-dddd-dddd-dddddddddddd
Some posts in this thread and elsewhere seem to be saying that I can use 15,1 and generate new SystemSerialNumber and SystemUUID (with the usual checks), then paste back in my previous MLB and ROM, and the AppleID login and sync will work fine, though the usual two factor authorization will need to be done from another registered device. (Of course AppleID/iCloud logout before any PlatformInfo settings are changed)
But other posts in other threads seem to say that there are critical dependencies among all or most of MLB/ROM/SystemProductName/SystemSerialNumber/SystemUUID which might cause boot and OS issues or iMessage login troubles. Trying to google and research all this is even more confusing because the nomenclature for the various SMBIOS-related settings is often inconsistent across various Clover/OC guides and setup and inspection tools.
Can anyone point me to a definitive explanation on how these settings are interrelated and which are considered as machine-specific by AppleID-related functions?