# Intel MacBook Pro (2016-2020) on Omarchy
Intel MacBook Pro 2016-2020 on Omarchy 4.0.4: T2 models are supported and mostly work, 2016-2017 T1 models lose the Touch Bar and audio.
> **Short answer:** Bronze, and it depends hard on the year. 2018-2020 T2 MacBook Pros are the case Omarchy handles: it installs linux-t2, Apple Wi-Fi/Bluetooth firmware and fan control automatically, and most things work. 2016-2017 T1 models are worse: the installer wipes the Apple EFI payload the Touch Bar and camera need, speaker audio is broken, and the 2016 15-inch fails to boot the 4.0.4 kernel without intel_iommu=off.
- Applies to Omarchy: 3.0.0 and later
- Status: partial
- Last verified: 2026-09-16
- Canonical: https://omarchylinux.org/hardware/apple-macbook-pro-intel/
_Unofficial community page. Not affiliated with 37signals or the Omacom Foundation. Omarchy is a registered trademark of 37signals LLC._

## Verdict

Bronze overall, and the year matters more than anything else.

A 2018 to 2020 MacBook Pro with a T2 chip is the machine Omarchy actually supports. The installer detects the T2 by PCI ID, swaps in the patched `linux-t2` kernel, installs Apple's Broadcom firmware and the `t2fanrd` fan daemon, and sets a kernel command line tuned for suspend. Keyboard, trackpad, audio, Wi-Fi, fans and the Touch Bar are all covered by that path. Call it silver on its own.

A 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar is a different machine. Those carry the T1 chip, not the T2, and nothing in the partitioner detects it: the T1 is a USB device, so the `lspci` check that picks `linux-t2` cannot see it, and the DMI match in the Apple quirk scripts only runs after the disk has been written. The manual is blunt about the result: on T1 models the Touch Bar is non-functional and sound is not functioning. Worse, a full-disk install destroys Apple boot data those machines need. That corner of the lineup is closer to broken than bronze.

Checked against v4.0.4 (2026-09-15) and the v4.0.4 source tree. T2 support first landed in v3.0.0.

## What works

On T2 models (`MacBookPro15,x` and `MacBookPro16,x`), the internal keyboard and trackpad come up through the `t2bce_vhci` virtual USB bridge, speaker audio works via `apple-t2-audio-config`, the Touch Bar comes up on `hid_appletb_kbd`, which is in-tree, and fan control works through `t2fanrd`. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth use Apple's Broadcom firmware from `apple-bcm-firmware`. Keyboard backlight control was fixed in v3.5.0.

Across the Intel-graphics-only models the internal panel and the iGPU work, and the SPI keyboard on 2016-2017 models reaches the LUKS prompt once `fix-spi-keyboard.sh` puts `applespi` in the initramfs. The models with an AMD dGPU are the exception, below. The manual reports a 36% performance gain over macOS on a 2019 MacBook Pro, which matches the general reason people do this.

## What breaks

The T1 firmware wipe is the serious one. Issue [#8323](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/8323) and the source audit in [#8271](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/8271) show that the full-disk installer recreates the EFI system partition and nothing anywhere reads, copies or preserves an existing `EFI/APPLE` directory. On a T1 Mac that payload is what initializes the iBridge, so after the install the T1 shows up as `05ac:1281` in recovery mode instead of `05ac:8600`, and the Touch Bar, camera and Touch ID stay dead. The audit's own correction is worth repeating: T2 machines are not affected, because their Touch Bar is a plain USB HID device. That narrows it to four model IDs: `MacBookPro13,2`, `13,3`, `14,2` and `14,3`.

It is not a one-way door. Reporters on the same thread recovered a wiped `MacBookPro14,2` from Linux with the community `t1-revive` tool, which re-requests the machine's own firmware from Apple's signing server and writes it back to the new ESP, and a side-by-side install that leaves Apple's EFI partition alone avoids the problem entirely. Both are third-party work with a short tested list, so treat them as a fallback rather than a plan.

The other half of [#8323](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/8323) is smaller but real: `fix-spi-keyboard.sh` installs `macbook12-spi-driver-dkms` without pulling `linux-headers`, so the DKMS build never runs and `apple_ibridge`, `apple_ib_tb` and `apple_ib_als` never exist. The built-in keyboard does not depend on it, because `applespi` is in-tree, but the Touch Bar drivers that package carries do.

Kernel regression on the 15-inch T1. Issue [#12119](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/12119) reports that `linux-omarchy` 7.2.5-3, which 4.0.4 pushed to everyone, hangs during `amdgpu` init on a `MacBookPro13,3` and then cannot find the NVMe root. The stock Arch kernel boots fine on the same box. Adding `intel_iommu=off` fixes NVMe, the Apple SPI keyboard and AMD graphics in one go. A second reporter hit the same `CONFIG_INTEL_IOMMU_DEFAULT_ON` default on unrelated hardware. Still open.

Audio on 2016-2017. The Cirrus Logic CS8409 codec in those models is not configured correctly by the in-tree driver, so speakers stay silent and headphone switching is broken. Issue [#11619](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/11619) proposes the out-of-tree `snd_hda_macbookpro` driver, but the attached PR was closed without merging. Nothing ships for this.

Wi-Fi needs a regulatory domain, not just the Broadcom quirk. On BCM43602 machines the shipped `feature_disable=0x82000` option is not enough. In [#9019](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/9019) a `MacBookPro14,3` sat in the default world domain for about 47 minutes before it would associate, because the hardware gives `cfg80211` no regulatory hint to start from. Setting `options cfg80211 ieee80211_regdom=GB` fixed it from cold boot. Issue [#11745](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/11745) is the same thing on a `MacBookPro14,1`, where Wi-Fi looked connected but dropped every packet until `iw reg set`. In the other direction, [#9802](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/9802) shows the same quirk disabling SAE on a `MacBookPro16,1`, so WPA3-only networks fail with `ssid-not-found`.

T2 odds and ends, all open: Bluetooth audio drops out on the 16-inch 2019 because `hci_uart_bcm` wins the bind race against `hci_bcm4377` ([#10119](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/10119)); USB hot-plug does nothing on the same model unless the device was present at boot ([#11926](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/11926)); the trackpad hangs off the T2 virtual USB bridge and is therefore classified as external, so disable-while-typing never activates ([#10815](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/10815)); and the `MacBookPro16,1` gmux can leave the internal panel on the AMD dGPU and hang the machine at session start ([#9609](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/9609)).

Suspend is model-specific. On `MacBookPro14,1` the default `deep` sleep leaves the Thunderbolt controller dead and resume takes 75 to 107 seconds; if anything is plugged into a Thunderbolt port at lid close, only a cold boot brings the port back ([#10593](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/10593)). Wake-from-suspend problems on T2 models are still reported in [#3883](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/3883), which is open from 2025.

## What Omarchy does for this model

Four scripts in `install/hardware/apple/` run at install time, plus a migration.

`fix-t2.sh` gates on `lspci` finding `106b:1801` or `106b:1802`. It installs `linux-t2`, `apple-t2-audio-config`, `apple-bcm-firmware` and `t2fanrd`, force-loads `t2bce_vhci` and `hci_bcm4377`, adds the T2 bridge and HID modules to the initramfs, and appends `intel_iommu=on iommu=pt pm_async=off mem_sleep_default=deep` to the Limine command line.

`fix-spi-keyboard.sh` and `fix-suspend-nvme.sh` both match DMI `product_name` against `MacBookPro13,[123]` and `MacBookPro14,[123]` plus the small MacBooks, and the two lists differ by one entry: only the keyboard script also matches `MacBook12,1`. The first installs `macbook12-spi-driver-dkms` and puts `applespi` in the initramfs; the second clears `d3cold_allowed` on the NVMe device so it wakes.

`fix-brcmfmac-supplicant.sh` writes the `feature_disable=0x82000` module option. Since v4.0.0 it applies to non-T2 Macs too, gated on the chip IDs `brcmfmac` actually binds rather than on the T2 bridge.

Migration `1785944594.sh` rewrote the T2 suspend defaults for the `t2bce` kernel, added the missing `[Fan2]` section that was crashing `t2fanrd` on dual-fan models, and removes `tiny-dfr` if present. That came from [#6559](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/6559) and shipped in 4.0.0.

## Variants

Prefer the 13-inch T2 models (`MacBookPro15,2`, `15,4`, `16,2`, `16,3`). Intel graphics only, so no gmux or dGPU problems, and they get the full T2 stack.

Be careful with the 15-inch and 16-inch T2 models. They work, but the AMD discrete GPU adds the gmux hang and dual-GPU power problems on top.

Avoid the 2016-2017 Touch Bar models unless you accept losing the Touch Bar, camera and speakers. The 2016 15-inch (`MacBookPro13,3`) currently also needs a manual `intel_iommu=off` to boot 4.0.4.

The 2012-2015 models are a separate story: they use the BCM4360 or BCM4331 with the out-of-tree `wl` driver, handled by `fix-bcm43xx.sh`, and none of the T1 or T2 machinery applies.

## Before you install

- Back up the whole disk, not just files. On a T1 Mac the Apple `EFI/APPLE` payload is not recoverable from a file backup.
- Disable Secure Boot and allow external boot from macOS Recovery, per the [Mac support chapter](https://omarchy.org/manual/mac-support/).
- Know your model identifier before you commit. The T1 machines are the 2016-2017 Touch Bar models, `MacBookPro13,2`, `13,3`, `14,2` and `14,3`. The non-Touch-Bar `13,1` and `14,1` have no T1 at all, and `15,x` and `16,x` are T2.
- Have a USB keyboard ready for the LUKS prompt. The SPI keyboard fix for these machines landed in v3.0.0, after [#1666](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/1666), but on the 2016 15-inch the 4.0.4 kernel still floods `applespi` with `-12` errors until you add `intel_iommu=off`.
- Plan to set a regulatory domain by hand if Wi-Fi associates but passes no traffic.
- On a 15-inch 2016, be ready to edit the Limine entry and add `intel_iommu=off` at first boot.

## Related

- [/hardware/t2-mac/](/hardware/t2-mac/) for the T2 stack itself
- [/hardware/apple-macbook-air-intel/](/hardware/apple-macbook-air-intel/) for the Air, which shares the T2 path
- [/hardware/apple-silicon-macs/](/hardware/apple-silicon-macs/) for M-series machines
- [/fix/suspend-wont-resume-s2idle/](/fix/suspend-wont-resume-s2idle/) and [/hardware/suspend-sleep/](/hardware/suspend-sleep/)
- [/fix/bluetooth-stops-after-resume/](/fix/bluetooth-stops-after-resume/)
- [/fix/no-sound-from-laptop-speakers/](/fix/no-sound-from-laptop-speakers/)
- [/fix/kernel-panic-after-update-limine/](/fix/kernel-panic-after-update-limine/)
- [/switch/should-you-dual-boot/](/switch/should-you-dual-boot/)

## Sources

- [Omarchy manual: Mac support](https://omarchy.org/manual/mac-support/)
- [Issue #12119: linux-omarchy 7.2.5-3 fails on 2016 MacBook Pro (MacBookPro13,3) unless intel_iommu=off](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/12119)
- [Issue #8323: Installer erases EFI/APPLE payload required by T1 MacBook hardware](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/8323)
- [Issue #8271: Installer erases T1/T2 firmware on Apple hardware, permanently disabling Touch Bar / camera / Touch ID](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/8271)
- [Issue #11619: MacBook Pro 2015-2017 audio broken, needs the snd_hda_macbookpro driver](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/11619)
- [Issue #9019: BCM43602 pre-T2 2017 MacBook Pro, feature_disable=0x82000 is not enough and a regulatory domain is also required](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/9019)
- [Issue #11745: BCM43602 on 2015-2017 Intel Macs associates but has no connectivity until iw reg set](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/11745)
- [Issue #9802: MacBookPro16,1 Broadcom quirk disables WPA3-SAE](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/9802)
- [Issue #9609: MacBookPro16,1 (T2, hybrid graphics), gmux leaves the internal panel on the AMD dGPU, hard-hanging the machine at session start](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/9609)
- [Issue #10119: Bluetooth audio dropouts on T2 MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019, hci_uart_bcm binds instead of hci_bcm4377](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/10119)
- [Issue #11926: USB hot-plug doesn't work in Intel-based MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) with T2 chip](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/11926)
- [Issue #10593: Suspend/resume support for MacBookPro14,1, default deep sleep breaks Thunderbolt on resume](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/10593)
- [Issue #10815: T2 MacBook Pro trackpad disable_while_typing setting not working](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/10815)
- [Issue #10618: omarchy-hw-external-monitors false positive from the tiny-dfr Touch Bar DRM device causes lid-close lock to silently fail (T2 Macs)](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/10618)
- [Issue #3883: In Macbook pro with T2 chip keyboard, wake-from-suspend, and webcam not working](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/3883)
- [Issue #6559: [quattro only] Update fix-t2.sh to enhance T2 macs compatibility](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/6559)
- [Issue #1666: Built-in MacBook Pro 2016 (13,1) keyboard not working at LUKS password prompt](https://github.com/omacom/omarchy/issues/1666)