Apple Preps for Thunderbolt Display Release with MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update

thunderbolt display macbook air
Apple today released MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.1, a 3.99 MB update addressing a pair of issues on the company's latest MacBook Air models. The fixes include enhanced stability for Lion Recovery over the Internet and improvements for Thunderbolt-related issues including compatibility with Apple's forthcoming Apple Thunderbolt Display.

This update includes fixes that enhance the stability of Lion Recovery from an Internet connection, and resolve issues with Apple Thunderbolt Display compatibility and Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode performance on MacBook Air (mid 2011) models.

For more information about Lion Recovery, please visit http://www.apple.com/macosx/recovery/.

The MacBook Air EFI Update will update the EFI firmware on your notebook computer. Your computer's power cord must be connected and plugged into a working power source. When your MacBookAir restarts, a gray screen will appear with a status bar to indicate the progress of the update. It will take several minutes for the update to complete. Do not disturb or shut off the power on your MacBookAir during this update.

We noted last week that the new Apple Thunderbolt Display was beginning to ship to stores in anticipation of a launch in the near future, and today's release to ensure compatibility with the new MacBook Air offers further evidence that a launch for the display is near.

Apple announced the display back in July with a shipping date of "within 60 days", a timeframe that is rapidly approaching. Apple's order page for the $999 display is showing a 2-3 week estimate for new orders, but earlier pre-orders will likely ship sooner than that. We have yet to hear, however, of any pre-orders being prepared for shipment.

Related Forums: Mac Accessories, MacBook Air

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...

Top Rated Comments

hefeglass Avatar
174 months ago
there is so much misinformation in this thread...i really hope nobody comes here for factual information



^...wow..


.."demi-god"
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ksgant Avatar
174 months ago
I was looking elsewhere for a high-quality monitor like the 27" display, but all I found were these around $400 monitors that were certainly 27" displays, but were limited to the 1080P resolution of 1920 x 1080 and none at the Apple monitor's 2560 x 1440.

I looked over at Dell and they have 27" IPS monitors that can do 2560 x 1440 but they're like fricken $1200. Again, Dell has lower cost monitors but they're only 1080P ones. What happened to other manufacturers having lower cost hardware yet the same quality as Apple?

Are there any high end 27" monitors with 2560 x 1440 that are under the $999 of Apple? Or is this thing truly a bargain?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scarred Avatar
174 months ago
So, TBolt means upgrading your BIOS just to attach a display?

I thought that we'd eliminated that kind of crap in the early 1990's.

1. EFI isn't BIOS.

2. What's so wrong with updating some low level functionality? Anyone who knows anything about computers knows that there are various levels put together to ultimately provide the end user with a nice experience. EFI is one of those layers... I'm glad they have a nice easy way to update it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Icaras Avatar
174 months ago
These displays are definitely a rip off but Apple built this as a luxury machine intended for the rich. Sure it may be 1000$ but people will flock to but it just because its apple. The thunderbolt port is useless as my Windows computer only has USB and many others only have USB.

You're in the wrong thread, sir.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
catalyst6 Avatar
174 months ago
For those of you that are interested in having this display work with anything other than Mac products, go buy the 27 Cinema Display now.

That's what I did about 2 hours ago. $899 and free shipping at B&H.

I have a Thunderbolt enabled Macbook Pro, but I would much rather have the version of this that I can use with BOTH my gaming PC and my Macbook Pro.

The Thunderbolt Display is not backwards compatible with mini displayport!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
milkaxor Avatar
174 months ago
That is completely false. The Thunderbolt port is not just an extra port. It's an extra port that is compatible with every other kind of port.

Without this display, my Macbook Air has no ability to connect to my gigabit ethernet. With the Thunderbolt display, it does.

Without this display, my Macbook Air has no ability to connect to my firewire 800 drive. With the Thunderbolt display, it does.

It's not just an extension cord. It's allowing me to use devices/networking that I'm not otherwise able to.
Don't forget the 3 usb ports (one more than your MBA), the 2.1 speaker system, or built-in webcam. This is a great monitor for the price and the fact that I have to connect 2 cables (thunderbolt and optional power) to get all of that is what makes it a true companion hub to any TB-enabled laptop.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)