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It has to be configured to enable Intel AMT to do that, and that is if the firmware edition that has the code is installed (which I don't think is always the case). It is useful in enterprises that want remote management. It probably uses DHCP by default.

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I did not find anything about ME in BIOS settings, probably the code is not present as you suggested. I have not seen any DHCP requests from the box.

My brand new Thinkpad T550 has an explicit ME config firmware I can enter. PRESS ENTER TO INTERRUPT BOOT -> F1 BIOS, F12 CUSTOM BOOT DEVICE, F9 INTEL ME SETUP

I can enter into it but its vital parts are password protected. Even though it is my computer, I cannot configure and control it. Scary. This is not the future I wanted.

The default password is "admin".

Nice one! Will try that.

Did it work?

It accepted the password, though all uppercase "ADMIN". It then immediately wanted to set a new password, which fails every time. Possibly an undocumented password strength policy, but could be anything.

Not every machine has AMT support even if the CPU and chipset support it.

Firmware level ME features are usually found on the 'enterprise' grade laptops, OS driver support for ME is another issue since that can usually be taken advantage off regardless of firmware support but it requires additional software.

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