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> they store the networks you connect to on a chip That is the first I've ever heard of such a thing, and it sounds implausible.
by rootusrootus 3y ago
> they store the networks you connect to on a chip
That is the first I've ever heard of such a thing, and it sounds implausible.
- walterbell 3y agoSome Apple Intel Macbooks came with an Arm T2 chip that controls security-related functions, e.g. disk encryption. With Apple Silicon, that capability is part of the M1/M2 SoC. If network SSID history is/was stored on the T2 chip, then it could likely be removed using MacOS settings before installing another operating system.
- chadcatlett 3y agoOlder Intel macs stored the SSIDs as UEFI vars, I think even the T2 ones did too but I might be wrong.
- walterbell 3y agoInteresting, I wonder if Windows does something similar.
- pxeboot 3y agoThis really is a feature on Macs. It works for Bluetooth too, apparently to allow network/keyboard/mouse functionality to work in recovery mode and to unlock an encrypted disk.
- rootusrootus 3y agoWhat I find especially weird is that even if there is a hardware level feature, why would that become available to a non-MacOS operating system?
- Nextgrid 3y agoIt's still stored in NVRAM, which the OS (or EFI firmware) has to consciously parse and then give to whatever process manages network connections. Nothing is stored in the wireless chip itself - those are generally stateless.