Fixing Embedded Controller (SSDT-EC/USBX)

What this SSDT does

The purpose of SSDT-EC/USBX is a couple things:

  • On desktops, the EC(or better known as the embedded controller) isn't compatible with AppleACPIEC driver, to get around this we disable this device when running macOS
  • AppleBusPowerController will look for a device named EC, so we will want to create a fake device for this kext to load onto
    • AppleBusPowerController also requires a USBX device to supply USB power properties for Skylake and newer, so we will bundle this device in with the EC fix
  • On laptops, the EC is used for hotkeys and battery so disabling this isn't all too ideal. Problem is our EC's name isn't compatible, so we will create a simple "fake" EC device that will satisfy Apple

So TL;DR:

  • EC is embedded controller
  • Desktops will want real EC off, and a fake EC created
  • Laptops will just want an additional fake EC present
  • Skylake and newer devices will want USBX as well

Methods to make this SSDT

For the EC fix, there are 3 methods you can choose from:

Prebuilt

The main things to note with this method:

  • Quite Bloated
    • There's ACPI naming for every type, this means there's added delays in boot times
  • Doesn't really teach you anything
    • For most, this doesn't matter. But to some knowing what makes your hackintosh tick is part of the journey

By far the easiest way to fix your Embedded Controller is just downloading one of the files below:

Desktop

Laptops

SSDTTime

The second involves using SSDTTime which automates most of the process. See here on how to use it: SSDTs: Easy Way

To get the SSDT-EC on desktops, run the following:

  • 7. Dump DSDT then run 2. FakeEC

To get the SSDT-EC on laptops, run the following:

  • 7. Dump DSDT then run 3. FakeEC Laptop

This will provide you with some files, the main one you care about is SSDT-EC.aml. The DSDT and .dsl are only left for referencing or verification.

The main things to note with this method:

  • Doesn't provide you the USBX property to fix power
  • Doesn't really teach you anything
    • For most, this doesn't matter. But to some knowing what makes your hackintosh tick is part of the journey

Manual

TO-DO

  • Finish Edge cases and sample SSDT edits

Finding the ACPI path

To find the ACPI pathing, you have 2 methods:

DSDT

Finding the ACPI pathing is quite easy actually, first open your decompiled DSDT you got from Dumping the DSDT and Decompiling and Compiling with either MaciASL(if in macOS) or any other text editor if in Windows or Linux(VSCode has an ACPI extensionopen in new window that can also help).

Next, search for PNP0C09. You should get something similar:

From the above example we see 2 main things:

  • Name of our embedded controller
    • In this case being EC0
  • Pathing of our embedded controller
    • PC00.LPC0

But now we get into edge case territory, what fun!

If none of the above apply to you, you're ready for the next section:

DeviceManager

If you already have Windows installed on this machine, finding the EC pathing is fairly easy.

Start by opening up Device Manager in Windows and looking for a device named Embedded Controller. Once found, click on it and select the BIOS device Name entry. You should get something like this:

From the above, we can see that our pathing is SB.PC00.LPC0.EC0

Now with the pathing, you can head here: Edits to the sample SSDT

Edits to the sample SSDT

Now that we have our ACPI path, lets grab our SSDT and get to work:

Now when opening this SSDT, you'll notice a few things. Mainly:

  • Some code is commented out
    • This is code for disabling our EC
    • Laptops users SHOULD NOT uncomment this
  • There's a new EC called Device (EC)
    • DO NOT RENAME THIS, this will be the EC we give to macOS
External (_SB_.PCI0.LPCB, DeviceObj) <- Rename this

Scope (_SB.PCI0.LPCB) <- Rename this

Following the example pathing we found, the SSDT should look something like this:

External (_SB_.PC00.LPC0, DeviceObj) <- Renamed

Scope (_SB.PC00.LPC0) <- Renamed

Edge Cases

Multiple PNP0C09's show up

When multiple PNP0C09 show up, we need to next check for the following properties:

  • _HID (Hardware ID)
  • _CRS (Current Resource Settings)
  • _GPE (General Purpose Events)

What these signify is whether this PNP0C09 device is real or not, as per the ACPI specopen in new window. So one's matching the above criteria are the one's we want to disable.

No PNP0C09 show up

When this happens, you'll only need to create a "dummy" EC for macOS.

Try searching for any devices named: "LPCB", "LPC0", "LPC", "SBRG", "PX40". If you have any of these, try using the LPC pathing of each of those device in place of the Embedded Controller's pathing.

Note that DO NOT uncomment the EC disabling code as there are no devices that are considered "EC" in your machine.

PNP0C09 already named EC

Congrats! No need to create an SSDT-EC! However you will still want USBX if you're Skylake or newer.

Prebuilt can be grabbed here: SSDT-USBX.amlopen in new window

PNP0C09 already has an _STA method

This is the equivalent of not having an EC as we can't control it with our SSDT-EC, instead we'll need to create a "dummy" EC for macOS. You'll still want to find the PCI and LPC pathing for this device. So follow the guide as if you were creating a laptop SSDT-EC/USBX.

Example of an EC with STA already:

Credit to rottenpants466

Compiling the SSDT

With the SSDT done, you're now ready to compile the SSDT!

Wrapping up

Once you're done making your SSDT, either head to the next page to finish the rest of the SSDTs or head here if you're ready to wrap up: