Apple Fixes Bug That Bricked Some Intel Macs After macOS Monterey Install

[Bandaman]

Yeah, as I said in another comment, they broke high refresh rate 4K monitor support over USB-C early in the Big Sur beta cycle and it remains broken in Monterey.

Funnily enough, the bug (if that’s what it is) only affects Intel Macs — which worked fine in the same scenario on Catalina.

That kind of regression should never happen, but to have it not only happen but persist over two OS releases is totally unacceptable.

It doesn't just affect Intel Macs. External display issues have been plaguing M1 since its inception.

 

[Bandaman]

A lot of people mess with Secure Boot and disable T2 on their Macs. I wonder how many of those bricked machines have their T2 played around with. Apple obviously didn't make reinstalling macOS easier so they're at fault here as well. I wonder what the reason is for those machines getting bricked. I guess we'll never know.

The reason is bad coding. It's not some mysterious unicorn.

 

[lysingur]

The reason is bad coding. It's not some mysterious unicorn.

Bad coding, eh?
I guess you can say that about almost everything.

 

[Bandaman]

Bad coding, eh?
I guess you can say that about almost everything.

No, you can say that about this. That's why there's a fix. A fix is coding. Bad coding bricks things. That's what it is. It's not some intangible, unfathomable mystery of the universe. There was error in the code leading to the bricking of devices. This happens on both macOS and Windows. But it shouldn't happen like this as frequently as this on a platform with limited hardware to code for with a company on the massive scale as Apple.

 

[falainber]

LOL! For Intel Mac's. Trash!

With this software did it fixed the heating issues, LOL?

The problem was with the trashy Apple T2 chip, not Intel.

 

[Razorpit]

Hopefully next they'll fix the issue where you don't have to remove your Time Machine drive just to boot your T2 Mac.

 

[BornAgainMac]

My gold Macbook from 2015 was not supported so I took a chance bricking it by installing Ubuntu Linux on it. Decided not to just keep it a Mac anymore. Bricking a Mac with Apple's own OS would not be expected though. I would be very upset.

 

[Shirasaki]

is this really a "bug"?

or is it Apple's polite way of reminding people to upgrade to a Mac with M1 chip?
(a.k.a. time to contribute more money to the "Tim Cook & Apple Executives New 225-foot Yachts Fund")

If apple somehow denies the service of those Intel macs claiming user error, then we know for those unfortunate souls, it is time to drain $4000 for a “long overdue” upgrade lol.

I actually appreciate Apple is being more transparent to push obsolescence on the intel macs.

Your pc wouldn’t have been bricked if it were an iMac M1 chip

I am glad to see that you have so much money you just toss away a device bricked by apple and get a new one.

This is why I don't update my Apple devices on day one anymore.

Apple's quality has become atrocious.

How the heck do they not catch that Intel based computers fail to boot after installing this update?

There was a 6 month long public beta for Monterey - how was this not caught during that?

And then when it's discovered, the OS was released 11 days ago. Apple was just too busy making other broken software to bother fixing the fact that a lot of Macs couldn't boot for nearly two weeks?

Human QA team costs a LOT, so does maintaining supported macs for real world testing. It might be so much cheaper for apple to just run through their automatic test suite and let customer be the real tester, similar to what Microsoft is doing for their windows release. We customer are doing test for them for free already.

Apple controls the hardware, and there's a finite set of it, and of configurations, that any MacOS release supports. That giant spaceship campus of theirs should have rooms full of all the different old hardware taking both clean installs nd updates. When something like this happens, it really shows their QA process has some gaping holes.

They probably don’t have any QA tester anymore, instead, we customer are their free QA tester, in the disguise of “public beta” and “developer beta” program. Bet this approach saves Apple a LOT of money.

 

[lysingur]

No, you can say that about this. That's why there's a fix. A fix is coding. Bad coding bricks things. That's what it is. It's not some intangible, unfathomable mystery of the universe. There was error in the code leading to the bricking of devices. This happens on both macOS and Windows. But it shouldn't happen like this as frequently as this on a platform with limited hardware to code for with a company on the massive scale as Apple.

My point is rather that you aren't adding anything to the discussion and offering no insight. It's like saying a car broke down because of bad engineering and bad engineering causes the breakdown of cars. It's like saying nothing at all.

 

[Bandaman]

My point is rather that you aren't adding anything to the discussion and offering no insight. It's like saying a car broke down because of bad engineering.

I'm sorry, but please explain to me how telling everyone that you think it's a mystery that will never be solved what's bricking these devices is adding to the discussion. I'll wait. And no, what you said is like saying a car broke down and we'll never find out why because it's a mystery.

 

[lysingur]

They probably don’t have any QA tester anymore, instead, we customer are their free QA tester, in the disguise of “public beta” and “developer beta” program. Bet this approach saves Apple a LOT of money.

That's what's happening at Microsoft with Windows so it's an industry-wide phenomenon much like subscription-based software.

 

[lysingur]

I'm sorry, but please explain to me how telling everyone that you think it's a mystery that will never be solved what's bricking these devices is adding to the discussion. I'll wait. And no, what you said is like saying a car broke down and we'll never find out why because it's a mystery.

Please tell me where I said it's a "mystery". You obviously mistook me for someone else. I'll wait for your apology.

 

[emmab2006]

The amount of Disgusting comments referring to those who have lost machines and laughing at them is disgusting. This is why the Apple community is viewed in such a bad light. Those of you laughing at those who have lost machines and simply saying things like ‘’ wouldn’t have happened if you went M1 ‘’ you should be ASHAMED of your selves! I am fed up Rich American children messaging people like this GROW UP.

 

[Bandaman]

Please tell me where I said it's a "mystery". You obviously mistook me for someone else. I'll wait for your apology.

You:

"I wonder what the reason is for those machines getting bricked. I guess we'll never know."

 

[lysingur]

You:

"I wonder what the reason is for those machines getting bricked. I guess we'll never know."

LOL

And this translates into "mystery", how?

So everything humanity doesn't know is a "mystery"? A math problem you are incapable of solving is a "mystery"? A strange noise coming from your car engine you're incapable of fixing is a mystery?

Mystery:
something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.

A mystery isn't something we don't know.

And we won't know because Apple won't reveal it. It doesn't make it a mystery. It's only a question to be answered. Your whole tirade is based on a linguistic failure and miscomprehension.

My response added to the discussion because I actually express a desire to know whereas yours just manifests your superiority complex by stating the super obvious as if people in this forum are mostly cognitively challenged.

 

[justperry]

They can't, or at least Apple hasn't released instructions on how it can be done. Fix will prevent more Macs from having this problem, but those who already have a bricked Mac will need to get it fixed by Apple.

There was an article just a few days ago which shows how to do this yourself here on MR.

One possible solution floated on Apple Support Communities is that users may need to revive or restore their Mac's firmware. "In very rare circumstances, such as a power failure during a macOS update or upgrade, a Mac may become unresponsive and so the firmware must be revived or restored," Apple says in a support document.

 

[decypher44]

I have the first one on the list and have no problems (yet).

 

[Regbial]

Nice, but what about the bug that makes Music take up 2 GB+ of storage when it's supposedly empty in iOS 15? They are seemingly ignoring that...

 

[Wildgift]

I've released instructions for anyone who is having this issue. ?

You are affected by this issue if your T2 Intel Mac (2018-2020) is booting up to a black screen after installing the Monterey 12.0.1, Big Sur 11.6.1 or Catalina 2021-007 Security Update.

You will need a 2nd Mac for the fix and will be restoring the BridgeOS firmware. Once connected, you will perform a REVIVE. This will fix the issue + retain all OS and User data.

The Apple Store can do this for you but BE SURE to say you need a REVIVE and not a restore. If they click the restore option all your data will be ERASED.

How to Restore BridgeOS on a T2 Mac + Boot a Mac to DFU Mode

macOS Update brick your Mac? This article will show you how boot to DFU Mode and restore BridgeOS on a T2 MacBook Pro, Air, iMac Pro, Mac Mini & Mac Pro!

mrmacintosh.com

 

[Wildgift]

This update bricked my 27" iMac. It's being fixed now at Apple store. SO ANNOYED!

 

[Stunning_Sense4712]

I hope Apple offers to correct the out of warranty bricked machines at no cost to the user since it is not their fault that Apple‘s faulty firmware/software bricked their machines.

 

[BobSc]

is this really a "bug"?

or is it Apple's polite way of reminding people to upgrade to a Mac with M1 chip?
(a.k.a. time to contribute more money to the "Tim Cook & Apple Executives New 225-foot Yachts Fund")

This must be a plot to force people into buying a new Mac. NOT.

 

[BobSc]

How are they going to get the update if they can’t boot their Mac?

Re-read or read the article. The answer is there.

 

[MBAir2010]

 should have released a "drink the purple kool-aid" message while offing such OS in intel chips.
now i know why the meaning of the wallpaper color scheme, it's Kool_aid'78!

 

[Bandaman]

LOL

And this translates into "mystery", how?

So everything humanity doesn't know is a "mystery"? A math problem you are incapable of solving is a "mystery"? A strange noise coming from your car engine you're incapable of fixing is a mystery?

Mystery:
something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.

A mystery isn't something we don't know.

And we won't know because Apple won't reveal it. It doesn't make it a mystery. It's only a question to be answered. Your whole tirade is based on a linguistic failure and miscomprehension.

My response added to the discussion because I actually express a desire to know whereas yours just manifests your superiority complex by stating the super obvious as if people in this forum are mostly cognitively challenged.

Yes. English is English. No, what you said added nothing to the discussion. In your mind maybe. But not in reality.