All we can see is that Apple's "Geniuses" are completely useless in these situations - and company is actually ready to receive all the money they can get...
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MacOS 26.4 update broke MBP
- Thread starter creativesmith
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Well, it happened again. Two days after my initial recovery, I powered off my M2 Max and it bricked itself into a dead machine again.
Since I already returned the M5 Air, I had no second Mac. I had to spend 10 hours figuring out how to build a macOS VM on a Windows machine just to do the DFU restore again.
I strongly suspect this bug is triggered if you shut down the MacBook while it's connected to a Thunderbolt dock. It’s extremely disappointing that Apple hasn't pulled the 26.4.1 update or released a fix for this yet. I'm honestly too worried to ever power off my Mac now.
Since I already returned the M5 Air, I had no second Mac. I had to spend 10 hours figuring out how to build a macOS VM on a Windows machine just to do the DFU restore again.
I strongly suspect this bug is triggered if you shut down the MacBook while it's connected to a Thunderbolt dock. It’s extremely disappointing that Apple hasn't pulled the 26.4.1 update or released a fix for this yet. I'm honestly too worried to ever power off my Mac now.
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If this situation is reappearing after some time "by itself" then there is some possibility that there might be something hardware-related in this situation after all. It could be much wider spread problem otherwise...
The possiblity isn't any higher than a software bug related to a specific configuration causing the issue. We just don't know. Apple has to figure it out.
This issued happened after 26.4 upgrade and since the MacBook didn’t power off so far still ok. It highly related to the software issue as other user with the very similar symptom.
genexx
macrumors 6502
Quick update: Air is back on Sequoia 15.7.5 and I'm honestly really happy with it.
The DFU + 15.6.1 IPSW route worked, just a bit bumpy along the way — Apple ID activation spinner hung forever until I switched to "Use Device Password", and the setup assistant defaulting to US keyboard layout for Wi-Fi password entry was a nice extra hurdle. Once past that, I pointed Migration Assistant at a Time Machine backup from my Mac Mini M4 (still on Sequoia, lucky me), and because the backup was on a newer minor version than the freshly restored 15.6.1, it automatically pulled and applied the 15.7.5 update before running the actual migration. ~700 GB over TB4 came across cleanly in about 30 minutes after that.
Honestly though — the brick situation was just the trigger. I'd been wanting to take the Air back to Sequoia anyway. The 26.x UI padding eats too much vertical space on a 13.6" screen, and I'd basically stopped reaching for the Air since the upgrade. Now it feels right again, matches my Mini, and there's no 11 GB Tahoe staging volume sitting in mnt1 waiting to do something I didn't ask for. Worth the Sunday evening.
Thanks to everyone in this thread for the heads-up on the brick situation — that was the actual trigger, and the timing was perfect since I'd been wanting to do this anyway.
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One more thing for anyone doing a 1:1 clone like I just did (Time Machine backup from one Mac restored onto another, both running side-by-side afterwards):
Before the migration's final reboot on the target Mac, **shut down the source Mac**. Migration Assistant copies hostname, Bonjour name, and network identity along with everything else, so if both machines come back up on the same network at the same time you'll get duplicate Bonjour names, mDNS conflicts, and SSH/VNC pointing to the wrong host. Source off, target finishes setup with the migrated identity, then rename the target before powering the source back on.
I also skipped Apple ID sign-in during the initial setup assistant on purpose — only signed in afterwards, once the rename was done and the machine had rebooted cleanly. Avoids the activation server hanging for ages and keeps things tidy.
The rename via System Settings only changes ComputerName — HostName and LocalHostName stay on the source's values, which is exactly what causes the conflicts. Three Terminal commands handle all three properly:
Verify with `scutil --get ComputerName` / `HostName` / `LocalHostName` — all three should match. Then power the source back on and you're good.
The DFU + 15.6.1 IPSW route worked, just a bit bumpy along the way — Apple ID activation spinner hung forever until I switched to "Use Device Password", and the setup assistant defaulting to US keyboard layout for Wi-Fi password entry was a nice extra hurdle. Once past that, I pointed Migration Assistant at a Time Machine backup from my Mac Mini M4 (still on Sequoia, lucky me), and because the backup was on a newer minor version than the freshly restored 15.6.1, it automatically pulled and applied the 15.7.5 update before running the actual migration. ~700 GB over TB4 came across cleanly in about 30 minutes after that.
Honestly though — the brick situation was just the trigger. I'd been wanting to take the Air back to Sequoia anyway. The 26.x UI padding eats too much vertical space on a 13.6" screen, and I'd basically stopped reaching for the Air since the upgrade. Now it feels right again, matches my Mini, and there's no 11 GB Tahoe staging volume sitting in mnt1 waiting to do something I didn't ask for. Worth the Sunday evening.
Thanks to everyone in this thread for the heads-up on the brick situation — that was the actual trigger, and the timing was perfect since I'd been wanting to do this anyway.
-----------
One more thing for anyone doing a 1:1 clone like I just did (Time Machine backup from one Mac restored onto another, both running side-by-side afterwards):
Before the migration's final reboot on the target Mac, **shut down the source Mac**. Migration Assistant copies hostname, Bonjour name, and network identity along with everything else, so if both machines come back up on the same network at the same time you'll get duplicate Bonjour names, mDNS conflicts, and SSH/VNC pointing to the wrong host. Source off, target finishes setup with the migrated identity, then rename the target before powering the source back on.
I also skipped Apple ID sign-in during the initial setup assistant on purpose — only signed in afterwards, once the rename was done and the machine had rebooted cleanly. Avoids the activation server hanging for ages and keeps things tidy.
The rename via System Settings only changes ComputerName — HostName and LocalHostName stay on the source's values, which is exactly what causes the conflicts. Three Terminal commands handle all three properly:
Bash:
sudo scutil --set ComputerName "NewName"
Bash:
sudo scutil --set HostName "NewName"
Bash:
sudo scutil --set LocalHostName "NewName"
Bash:
sudo dscacheutil -flushcacheVerify with `scutil --get ComputerName` / `HostName` / `LocalHostName` — all three should match. Then power the source back on and you're good.
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If people will file it to Feedback Assistant then there's a bigger chance to that.
All people that complain about "how time-consuming and useless" filing feedback is are unhelpful here. If this might have anything to do with hardware-related issue(s) then it would be even harder to reproduce for Apple without feedback from users.
All people that complain about "how time-consuming and useless" filing feedback is are unhelpful here. If this might have anything to do with hardware-related issue(s) then it would be even harder to reproduce for Apple without feedback from users.
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Wanted to jump in and share my experience. Similar to other people in this thread, my MacBook Pro M2 Max updated to 26.4.1 at some point. It was working fine until this morning where I noticed windows losing focus while typing so I decided to restart it. After restarting, only got a black screen and un-responsive trackpad. Tried to force restart by holding the power button and nothing. Even tried unplugging and replugging the battery and nothing worked!
Tried a revive using Finder and it didn't work (stuck on waiting for Mac). Moved to Apple Configurator, and same thing (this time it would error out with something about DFU target), didn't work. Then tried using a 26.4 ipsw and didn't work again. Decided to try with 26.3.1 after finding this thread and my MacBook is fine now!
Unsure why this is happening, but definitely feels like a trend. Disabling automatic updates for the time being.
Tried a revive using Finder and it didn't work (stuck on waiting for Mac). Moved to Apple Configurator, and same thing (this time it would error out with something about DFU target), didn't work. Then tried using a 26.4 ipsw and didn't work again. Decided to try with 26.3.1 after finding this thread and my MacBook is fine now!
Unsure why this is happening, but definitely feels like a trend. Disabling automatic updates for the time being.
bone1337
macrumors newbie
Hi guys.
It happened to me too.
Mac M3 running Tahoe 26.4.1.
I let the battery drain down to 4%, didn’t plug in the charger right away, and the Mac wouldn’t turn on.
Using Revive through Finder didn’t work. I finally managed to get it working using AppleConfigurator, but my system version is still 26.4.1.
One thing I noticed is that fingerprint login doesn’t work when logging in.
I will try switch to 26.3.1.
It happened to me too.
Mac M3 running Tahoe 26.4.1.
I let the battery drain down to 4%, didn’t plug in the charger right away, and the Mac wouldn’t turn on.
Using Revive through Finder didn’t work. I finally managed to get it working using AppleConfigurator, but my system version is still 26.4.1.
One thing I noticed is that fingerprint login doesn’t work when logging in.
I will try switch to 26.3.1.
Recently upgraded from M2 MBP to M5 Pro. Transferred my backup through Time Machine as I've done so many times in the past. The new MBP has the latest version of Tahoe. Shortly afterward, the new MBP froze and was completely unresponsive. At first I thought I'd been hacked. Called Apple support. Got to a second tier person who assisted me. She told me the freezing and gobbledegook (sp) showing on my screen was due to my upgrading through Time Machine since some old apps didn't work any more under the latest OS. She left me thinking there was a ghost in my machine and I just had to see what might happened next. I thought why did I ever upgrade? Things seem to be working just fine now. In the back of my mind though, after hearing about Tahoe issues, I can't help but wonder if it was Tahoe related to begin with. I'm not greatly savvy when it comes to software issues, but I came away thinking it must have been my fault somehow for transferring my data through Time Machine. Never dawned on me that there might ever be a problem with that since I'd done it previously without any issues. Just glad it's working now.
You know what, same. TouchID is not working for log in.
miharekar
macrumors newbie
Tried the 26.3.1 IPSW three times, no luck.
After rebooting for the software update, the Mac stopped booting properly. It shows the Apple logo and loading bar to around 15-20%, then reboots and loops. It does this roughly 10 times, then eventually shows a dialog saying macOS needs to be reinstalled. From there I can enter Recovery.
What I’ve tried so far:
- Reinstalling macOS from Recovery
- Reviving from Recovery
- DFU Revive via Finder, which I assume used the latest macOS version
- DFU Revive via Apple Configurator using the 26.3.1 IPSW
Each time, the install/revive process starts, but the target Mac eventually enters the same boot loop again.
If I try holding the power button to get to Startup Options, that also fails. I see it start loading Startup Options, but it reboots/loops before reaching the actual Startup Options screen.
Disk Utility First Aid returns green on everything.
I have not done DFU Restore yet because that would erase the Mac, and I’m still trying to preserve the data. Also, everything I’m seeing points to something being broken in the boot/recovery/startup process rather than an obvious issue with my user data volume.
Has anyone seen this exact pattern, especially after 26.5? Any workaround before doing a destructive DFU Restore or taking it to Apple?
After rebooting for the software update, the Mac stopped booting properly. It shows the Apple logo and loading bar to around 15-20%, then reboots and loops. It does this roughly 10 times, then eventually shows a dialog saying macOS needs to be reinstalled. From there I can enter Recovery.
What I’ve tried so far:
- Reinstalling macOS from Recovery
- Reviving from Recovery
- DFU Revive via Finder, which I assume used the latest macOS version
- DFU Revive via Apple Configurator using the 26.3.1 IPSW
Each time, the install/revive process starts, but the target Mac eventually enters the same boot loop again.
If I try holding the power button to get to Startup Options, that also fails. I see it start loading Startup Options, but it reboots/loops before reaching the actual Startup Options screen.
Disk Utility First Aid returns green on everything.
I have not done DFU Restore yet because that would erase the Mac, and I’m still trying to preserve the data. Also, everything I’m seeing points to something being broken in the boot/recovery/startup process rather than an obvious issue with my user data volume.
Has anyone seen this exact pattern, especially after 26.5? Any workaround before doing a destructive DFU Restore or taking it to Apple?
chrfr
macrumors G5
26.5 lists a fix for this in the enterprise release notes: “Resolved an issue where some Mac computers may start up to a black screen after a software update”
bone1337
macrumors newbie
Have you used Apple Configurator app?
Edit: sorry, didn’t see.
Stupid question do you use left port on your Mac’s?
Sometimes it is good to ask the "stupid questions" since it is easy to overlook things, especially when a person get frustrated/overwhelmed when trying to fix things.
Accidentally using the wrong USB/Thunderbolt port is an easy mistake. Another easy thing to overlook is to unplug everything from a MacBook and everything except the monitor from a Mac mini/Studio when doing a DFU recovery.
I have not upgraded my M4 Mac mini fro. 15.7.X or my Neo from 26.4 after seeing how 26.4.1 has been causing systems to crash.
That sounds different than what most of us were running into (blank screen, no response whatsoever)
miharekar
macrumors newbie
Yes. Would I be able to DFU via Configurator if I wouldn't? Because I had it in wrong port first and it didn't work. Chat GPT told me to put it in the port closest to trackpad, but that didn't work, so then I looked up Apple support guides and saw it need to be in the left most on the left and then I could start the procedure from Finder and later from Configurator.
Am realizing that as I'm reading this thread closely, yeah. :/
miharekar
macrumors newbie
UPDATE: it works! 🎉
I did another DFU Revive with 26.5, but initially got the same issue again. After that, I did another reinstall from Recovery.
This time I finally got to the login screen for the first time.
After entering my password, it looked like it was entering the boot loop again. My desktop picture and profile photo disappeared, and it went back to just the Apple logo and progress bar. It stayed there loading for over 10 minutes, then eventually returned to the login screen.
I entered my password again, and this time everything loaded normally.
The first thing I did was create a Time Machine backup. After that, I restarted the machine again, and it rebooted normally.
I have no clue what caused it, or what actually fixed it. But everything appears to be back to normal now. 😅
I did another DFU Revive with 26.5, but initially got the same issue again. After that, I did another reinstall from Recovery.
This time I finally got to the login screen for the first time.
After entering my password, it looked like it was entering the boot loop again. My desktop picture and profile photo disappeared, and it went back to just the Apple logo and progress bar. It stayed there loading for over 10 minutes, then eventually returned to the login screen.
I entered my password again, and this time everything loaded normally.
The first thing I did was create a Time Machine backup. After that, I restarted the machine again, and it rebooted normally.
I have no clue what caused it, or what actually fixed it. But everything appears to be back to normal now. 😅
this happened on my M2 Pro - died to 0% and was not turning on, I went to Amac Rotterdam, they dismissed my theory that it is software/firmware issue. I asked them to do a DFU AFTER they quoted me on 1200€ logical board issue, said I’m good. I had a M1 Air, and with DFU Blaster Pro (they have 14 day trial) and Apple Configurator got it working second try.