iOS UEFI Ventoy
Requirements
- UEFI motherboard.
- UEFI was a requirement to get OEM volume discount for Windows 8. So all computers that had Windows were produced after 2012 it should be assumed that the motherboard firmware should support UEFI, even if the machine was shipped with Windows 7.
- 256 megabyte (not gigabyte) or larger USB flash drive formatted as FAT32.
- USB-C iOS device such as iPhone 15 or newer OR a lightning iOS device and an adapter such as USB 3 Camera Adapter.
I would not recommend drives with lightning connector built in as they will usually require that you use their specific app.
1. Check if the USB format is FAT32 with Files app.
For UEFI booting the file system needs to be supported by the motherboard. The most commonly supported file system is FAT32. On Apple platforms FAT32 is labeled as “MS-DOS (FAT)” Steps
- Open the Files app
- Tap on Browse
- Press and hold on your USB flash drive
- Tap on “Get Info”
- Read the “Format” line and see that it is “MS-DOS (FAT)”
If the format is not “MS-DOS (FAT)” then you can erase the flash drive to FAT32 format if you have iOS 18 or newer. (If you have old iOS then I would suggest try another drive to see if it is FAT32.) Steps
- Open the Files app
- Tap on Browse
- Press and hold on your USB flash drive
- Tap on “Erase”
- Choose “MS-DOS (FAT)” from the list
- Tap on “Erase” in the upper right hand corner
- Tap on “Erase” again to confirm
2. Download Ventoy Bootable zip file
The iPhone cannot extract ISO files without 3rd party apps. The Ventoy Live CD ISO has been repacked into a zip file with secure boot support.
Download the FAT32 USB build fat32usb_buildXXX.zip
- Open the Files app
- Open the downloads folder
- Tap & hold on the zip file
- Tap on uncompress
- Open the folder
- Tap the 3 dots in upper right corner
- Tap Select
- Tap the EFI folder & the ENROLL.cer file
- Tap the share icon in the bottom left folder
- Choose the copy option
- Navigate to the USB flash drive
- Tap & hold in the blank area
- Choose paste
- Unplug drive
3. Convert to Ventoy disk
- Plug the flash drive into a PC
- Get into the boot menu or “bios” setup & choose the flash drive to start the computer with
- If prompted with
Verification Failed Security Violationenroll the Ventoy key into secure boot. Tutorial then reboot the computer & select flash drive again. - Choose the “Ventoy Installer” option
- Select the flash drive, the program will show brand & size information to make sure you choose the right drive, as it erases the all contents & formats as exFAT
- You can install Ventoy to the flash drive you booted the computer with or any other flash drive you plug in.
- When you see
Ventoy has been successfully installed to the device.you can unplug the flash drive and plug back into the iPhone - You can now download a Linux distro or Windows ISO & copy to the newly made Ventoy disk.