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2018 Macbook Pro Touchbar has NO Data Recovery Port!

iamdarkyoshi

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/22/2018-macbook-pro-lacks-data-recovery-port/

 

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In 2016, when Apple introduced the first MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models, the repair experts at iFixit discovered the notebooks have non-removable SSDs, soldered to the logic board, prompting concerns that data recovery would not be possible if the logic board failed. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. 


Apple has a special tool for 2016 and 2017 models of the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar that allows Genius Bars and Apple Authorized Service Providers to recover user data when the logic board fails, but the SSD is still intact. 

The tool is essentially a little black box that is able to transfer data from a failed logic board to a functioning MacBook Pro. The box has a flex cable that connects to a data recovery port on the failed logic board, while the box and a functioning MacBook Pro are connected via USB-C to USB-C cable. 

 

 

TL;DR there's a port on the previous macbooks that allows the service tech to connect a tool that reads the contents of the machine's SSD. Louis Rossmann actually managed to get ahold of one, and has confirmed that it does work.

 

Quote


Last week, iFixit completed a teardown of the 2018 MacBook Pro, discovering that Apple has removed the data recovery connector from the logic board on both 13-inch and 15-inch models with the Touch Bar, suggesting that the Customer Data Migration Tool can no longer be connected. 

MacRumors contacted multiple reliable sources at Apple Authorized Service Providers to learn more, and based on the information we obtained, it does appear that the tool is incompatible with 2018 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models. 

Multiple sources claim that data cannot be recovered if the logic board has failed on a 2018 MacBook Pro. If the notebook is still functioning, data can be transferred to another Mac by booting the system in Target Disk Mode, and using Migration Assistant, which is the standard process that relies on Thunderbolt 3 ports. 

The data recovery port was likely removed because 2018 MacBook Pro models feature Apple's custom T2 chip, which provides hardware encryption for the SSD storage, like the iMac Pro, our sources said. 

 

So it looks like they removed it due to hardware encryption.

 

This means that if your board dies, your only chance at recovering data is to get the board working again. Better hope you made a backup (which is actually not that hard in OSX)

 

This 2018 MBP launch isn't going so well...

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1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

So do other storage devices or laptops have the same thing?

Other storage devices and laptops have removable drives, which this macbook does not have...

 

The storage device is soldered directly to the motherboard.

 

On removable drive machines, data recovery was as easy as putting the old drive in a new machine

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So it's basically a phone now.  GG, very professional  ?

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Why would a company do this, when it's clear in this day and age people WILL breakdown their products to see what they can and cannot do in terms of repair-ability, then report those findings??? Boggles my mind...

 

Edit: totally remembered as i was typing that, that apple have legions of loyal sheep who have no clue this would be a thing and buy regardless and spend the daft prices of "repairs" and "data recovery". Silly me.

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4 minutes ago, Noctus said:

Why would a company do this, when it's clear in this day and age people WILL breakdown their products to see what they can and cannot do in terms of repair-ability, then report those findings??? Boggles my mind...

 

Edit: totally remembered as i was typing that, that apple have legions of loyal sheep who have no clue this would be a thing and buy regardless and spend the daft prices of "repairs" and "data recovery". Silly me.

Any other brand of laptop with encryption will have the same exact issue. Crucifying Apple over better security is comical.

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The Throttlebook Pro gets even worse. It's almost funny until you remember people buy this shit @DrMacintosh

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Just now, 2FA said:

Any other brand of laptop with encryption will have the same exact issue. Crucifying Apple over better security is comical.

Other brands solder the data storage to the boards so we cant get it sorted if the board dies?

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10 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

So it's basically a phone now.  GG, very professional  ?

Not really

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1 minute ago, Noctus said:

Other brands solder the data storage to the boards so we cant get it sorted if the board dies?

Yes, other brands do.

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Just now, 2FA said:

Yes, other brands do.

Well then, i retract my statement.

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5 minutes ago, orbitalbuzzsaw said:

The Throttlebook Pro gets even worse. It's almost funny until you remember people buy this shit @DrMacintosh

To be fair hes not the happiest about the 2018 macbook pro. Very few Apple fans are happy

 

 

Overall this is not big of a deal. Backups are important, port or not.

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And if the SSD itself fails? Some people will just have to learn the hard way about the importance of backing up data you really don't want to lose. And encryption is pretty good reason to remove it, if that reason is genuine of course.

 

A data recovery port won't help if the laptop is stolen, submersed in water, or destroyed by fire. If it nudges people towards backups it's not the worst thing in the world.

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Not really worried about it.

 

It also means the government or someone who stole the laptop can't recover data either

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To be fair though, this isn't even a uniquely Apple design, is it?  There are actually other laptops out there with soldered storage and no magic save-my-ass port, right?

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The T2 encryption is a good technical excuse for removing, but the fact that the CDMT escaped Apple's walled garden cannot have played no part in this.

 

I really don't think they like their in-house utilities escaping, and being able to justify removal of the port with heavier encryption seems like they managed to both hit a marketing checkbox AND deal with upper management NIH'ism at the same time. 

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2 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

To be fair though, this isn't even a uniquely Apple design, is it?  There are actually other laptops out there with soldered storage and no magic save-my-ass port, right?

Yup, my Zenbook has soldered storage afaik.

 

Edit: I was wrong.

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1 minute ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

To be fair though, this isn't even a uniquely Apple design, is it?  There are actually other laptops out there with soldered storage and no magic save-my-ass port, right?

Yeah but those are 200$ 32GB EMMC HP streams, not several grand professional machines

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1 minute ago, 2FA said:

Yup, my Zenbook has soldered storage afaik.

Well imo this is a bad move on any device, particularly on a laptop, but particularly on a macbook because people are used to being able to take it in to the store and having them just magically fix everything for them, and that will no longer be possible.  While this is good in that it will help to start breaking the illusion and get people to actually think, I feel for those who will not be aware of this until it's too late...

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1 minute ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

To be fair though, this isn't even a uniquely Apple design, is it?  There are actually other laptops out there with soldered storage and no magic save-my-ass port, right?

Indeed, and in those cases since the data is often not encrypted, it simply makes it inaccessible to the users themselves - Three (or Four) Letter Agencies and highly competent data recovery specialists would still have the technical means to extract all the data from soldered storage.

 

Still, it's definitely not a coincidence that this improved security also undermines third party repair shops more. Two birds, one stone.

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1 minute ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Well imo this is a bad move on any device, particularly on a laptop, but particularly on a macbook because people are used to being able to take it in to the store and having them just magically fix everything for them, and that will no longer be possible.  While this is good in that it will help to start breaking the illusion and get people to actually think, I feel for those who will not be aware of this until it's too late...

Unfortunately, encryption is not meant to be convenient. In fact the less convenient it is, generally the more secure it is.

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3 minutes ago, 2FA said:

Unfortunately, encryption is not meant to be convenient. In fact the less convenient it is, generally the more secure it is.

I'm not talking about encryption, I'm talking about the drive being soldered in...

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Just now, Ryan_Vickers said:

I'm not talking about encryption, I'm talking about the drive being soldered in...

I know but the reason the port was removed is because of the encryption which is part of the problem.

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6 minutes ago, 2FA said:

I know but the reason the port was removed is because of the encryption which is part of the problem.

If it's encrypted, either they know their password or it's not coming back, regardless of the physical arrangement (soldered or not).  At least if it wasn't soldered, or if they had the option to move data with the port, encrypted or not it could be transferred to a new machine, but now that's not an option.  The data stays on the device and that's the end of it.

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44 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

So do other storage devices or laptops have the same thing?

No because they don't usually have hard soldered SSDs on the main board.

You can usually remove the drives and put it in another computer and go on with whatever you were doin...

 

 

That means if the CPU dies, your Data on the machine is gone and there is no (easy) way to get the data back...

While it might eventually possible, its work (and therefore cost) is not an option. And there is also a high risk to damage the Chips...

 

Its also mentioned here:

 

"Hell is full of good meanings, but Heaven is full of good works"

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