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macOS Big Sur Update Bricking Some Older MacBook Pro Models

dotnet said:
I believe the failures can also be prevented by not interrupting firmware updates, e.g. by impatiently power-cycling the machine. But that’s just my theory. I waited through an hour of blank screen, and in the end everything was fine.
Click to expand...
yeah I did that and no problem, but I think I may just have been lucky: I left Big Sur downloading before I went to bed that night. When I woke up the next morning, my mid 2013 macbook air had the apple logo screen with a progress bar that was just starting to fill and I thought that must be macOS Big Sur being installed. Though I was a bit worried about it taking that long I still let it sit like that for nearly two hours before it finally jumped to 50% and then completed and the machine finally restarted, but that turned out not to have been the macOS big sur installation since the machine still booted up to macOS Catalina when it finally restarted. After reading this thread, I now realize that that installation which took so long and I let the laptop sit through must have been one of those firmware updates so many people are talking about here. It is the only explanation I can find for the machine having still booted up to Catalina afterwards. It certainly wasn’t the final macOS catalina supplemental update that was released about a week before big sur, because that one was still available to be installed when the machine restarted. To make a long story short, I finally installed the supplemental update and then later Big Sur with no problem at all other than needing to delete the boot camp partition to get the necessary free space for the big sur update (which turned out to be why big sur itself hadn’t been installed before in the first place, though apparently the firmware update did get installed). So yes, I too believe that having left the machine sitting for over an hour let it successfully complete the firmware update preventing me from getting a bricked machine like other people here did and allowing me to now enjoy macOS Big Sur. Nonetheless, apple should have included some kind of warning about this possibly happening before allowing the end users to install the macOS big sur update.
 
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The only reason I can think of for the firmware updates is the move to the protected System Volume in Catalina and Big Sur. The need to load and then lock down the System volume means the firmware needs to behave differently.

I haven't been keeping track of the firmware until after upgrading to Catalina. I have macOS, Linux and Windows all loaded on separate volumes, and use rEFInd to load the one I want at startup. After upgrading from Mojave to Catalina I couldn't do that any more. Choosing Catalina (or, now, Big Sur) from rEFInd changes something so the rEFInd boot up doesn't come up after that, it just goes straight to macOS on the next boot. I have to re-install rEFInd to get back to Linux and Windows.

Going back to Mojave doesn't revert the firmware.

I just wish Apple had been more forthcoming about the firmware changes. Certainly there should be a BIG, RED WARNING that says proceeding with this update will change your firmware and may brick your computer. Because they haven't done that, I think they are wide open to lawsuits to repair/replace the computers that no longer work.

This is the last macOS BETA program I will be participating in. From now on I will be waiting a month after the public release of a new version of macOS. And if everyone else did the same, Apple wouldn't have a large body of free testers.

From now on, Apple should indemnifiy public beta testers against damage done to their computers. You should sign up with Apple, lodge your computer serial number, proceed with the testing and if it bricks your Mac, Apple should repair it in exchange for the free testing you are doing for them.

And they should certainly fix all those machines bricked by the public release. You have to opt in to a beta test program, and should have enough nouse to understand the possible risks. However, once an update has moved to public release, it is open to everybody, regardless of their level of technical understanding.

Apple have really stuffed this one up.

Things like this have happened to other companies. I used to have a calculator made by HP (the original HP32). There was an electrochemical mismatch between the battery terminals and the battery contacts, resulting in corrosion that rapidly migrated to the motherboard, killing the calculator. HP had a world-wide replacement program. You put your dead calculator in for repair and what you got back was the original body with a complete new insides. No questions asked.
 
I wonder if they pulled the update as it is currently not offered on my 13in 2013 macbook pro (might have been mentionned earlier but didn't want to skim through 600+ posts to find out).
 
They have pulled it, yes. I am more interested in some official information on when we they think to republish it for our machines as I counted on this update and it was promised
 
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tsa1 said:
Any reported issues on mid 2015’s?

sort of glad I didn’t update yet.
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Are you on Catalina or Mojave, my mid-2015 is still on High Sierra but the service on that OS will end soon, looking to go to the OS with the least amount of bugs.
 
So, I've come back by this thread to see how the situation is. Looks like there only real resolve at this point is Apple pulling the update for the specific Mac models affected here. Question though, While I have already successfully upgraded my late 2013 13" MBP to Big Sur, I've decided to put it back to Catalina, just to have one computer on the previous OS. With this being said, if I were to manually download Big Sur, would apple still prevent it from installing if I wanted to go back? I as others are seeing software update saying I'm up to date with Catalina 10.15.7.

Also is there a link I can go to about the Catalina bricking problem? I heard about a lot of issues with Catalina, but never that one.

One other thing, since my MBP has had the firmware successfully updated, is there any reason why it should still be considered at risk if I wanted to go back to Big Sur?

Thanks.
 
MacinMan said:
So, I've come back by this thread to see how the situation is. Looks like there only real resolve at this point is Apple pulling the update for the specific Mac models affected here. Question though, While I have already successfully upgraded my late 2013 13" MBP to Big Sur, I've decided to put it back to Catalina, just to have one computer on the previous OS. With this being said, if I were to manually download Big Sur, would apple still prevent it from installing if I wanted to go back? I as others are seeing software update saying I'm up to date with Catalina 10.15.7.

Also is there a link I can go to about the Catalina bricking problem? I heard about a lot of issues with Catalina, but never that one.

One other thing, since my MBP has had the firmware successfully updated, is there any reason why it should still be considered at risk if I wanted to go back to Big Sur?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The latest version of the Big Sur 11.0.1 public release will not install on the affected machines.
 
DaveFromCampbelltown said:
The latest version of the Big Sur 11.0.1 public release will not install on the affected machines.
Click to expand...
OK, that's what I was checking on before I went through the time to download the installer on the iMac, create a usb installer to do a clean install on the MBP. Sounds like even though that machine had already successfully been upgraded, it would still be recognized as an affected machine by the local installer itself, and wouldn't reinstall until the next release.
 
So basically Apple broke your machines and refuses to compensate you.

Obviously this cannot be ethical. First checkbox ticked.

Second question: Is it legal? If anyone came to me and broke my machine, I presume they would be accountable by law, unless they I had explicitly accepted such a risk.
 
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Just in case it helps anyone. I have a late 2013 MBP which upgraded to Big Sur with no problem. However about a week later it locked up and on re-boot went to the bricked blank black screen state people describe here, but could power up into safe mode. Rang Apple who told me to reset the SMC (Shift + Ctrl + Alt + Power for 10 seconds then wait 2 seconds and normal power on) I thought I had already tried that, but it got everything back working normally again. We'll see how it goes....
 
Same here guys (MacBook Pro Mid 2014)! This is what I sent to Apple (Spain Apple Support) last week, and they've told me that they would give a ''solution this Monday''...not expecting much.

I've been talking back and forward with Apple Support team and technicians for almost 2 weeks now, and no one is giving customers answers about why the Big Sur update is bricking some MacBook Pro. There's a full community of angry customers complaining about the same and looking for answers and of course compensation or repair for their machines and Apple is doing NOTHING to help!

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/page-29

My MacBook was fully functioning prior to accepting Apple's System Preference > Software Upgrade notification, ensuring my MacBook satisfied the age requirement (checked it before on their webpage https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238) to upgrade to MacOS Big Sur and backing up my data. I am not aware of operating system upgrades destroying hardware before this issue but my machine is now completely unresponsive.

Apple Support sent me to a store where I could get it fixed and to my surprise they've asked for a 500€ repair. How is that even legal to charge customers when the issue was caused by the lack of beta testing from Apple? Can someone explain how a software update from Apple can fry the I/O board?! Well I'll tell you, because it includes firmware updates. Apple even released this article saying that:

''When you install macOS Big Sur on these Mac models, the installer might say that the update cannot be installed on this computer, or your Mac might start up to a blank screen or circle with a line through it.''
Click to expand...
- Mac might start up to a blank screen!!! So they are very aware that this is happening.

https://mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-...leased-to-block-install-for-2013-14-13-mbpros

Several users are saying that they have replaced or unplugged the I/O board and everything now works as it should some others still in the same situation. Apple is saying that the logic board needs to be replaced due to this update and even worse some are being told it’s a vintage product, and they can’t get parts. This is FALSE, Apple will keep stock of parts up to 7 years.

The only reason I can think of for the firmware updates is the move to the protected System Volume in Catalina and Big Sur. The need to load and then lock down the System volume means the firmware needs to behave differently. But of course, if this was the case Apple should have showed customers a BIG, RED WARNING that says proceeding with this update will change your firmware and may brick your computer before everything started, but of course you they haven't done that. Once an update has moved to public release, it is open to everybody, regardless of their level of technical understanding which makes Apple responsible for what they are putting out there.

Apple has pulled the update as it is currently not being offered to most of 13in 2013 MacBook Pro...wonder why uh? In fact The latest version of the Big Sur 11.0.1 public release will not install on the affected machines. Apple released a new build (20B50) of macOS 11.0.1 which excluded MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) and MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014) models from the previous supported installation list, and then issued the following statement on Nov 19th.

Apple should be responsible for fixing all those machines bricked by their own public release free of charge. But it seems like there is only one way to resolve this at this point and is by pulling the update for the specific Mac models affected here or exchange it for a new machine with similar specs. This is unacceptable and the worst Apple experience someone could have at this point.
 
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Regarding the downloaded update to BS, mine is downloaded, but I held off on installing, so I have that constant red badge on my Sys Prefs icon. Want to delete the update, so I don't accidentally do the update. Anyone know where the system stores the update file?
 
If you downloaded the full 12 Gbyte update, there should be an installer app in your Applications folder. Just delete that, or move it to a different volume if you want to keep it.
 
catarinaav said:
Same here guys (MacBook Pro Mid 2014)! This is what I sent to Apple (Spain Apple Support) last week, and they've told me that they would give a ''solution this Monday''...not expecting much.

I've been talking back and forward with Apple Support team and technicians for almost 2 weeks now, and no one is giving customers answers about why the Big Sur update is bricking some MacBook Pro. There's a full community of angry customers complaining about the same and looking for answers and of course compensation or repair for their machines and Apple is doing NOTHING to help!

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/page-29

My MacBook was fully functioning prior to accepting Apple's System Preference > Software Upgrade notification, ensuring my MacBook satisfied the age requirement (checked it before on their webpage https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238) to upgrade to MacOS Big Sur and backing up my data. I am not aware of operating system upgrades destroying hardware before this issue but my machine is now completely unresponsive.

Apple Support sent me to a store where I could get it fixed and to my surprise they've asked for a 500€ repair. How is that even legal to charge customers when the issue was caused by the lack of beta testing from Apple? Can someone explain how a software update from Apple can fry the I/O board?! Well I'll tell you, because it includes firmware updates. Apple even released this article saying that:


- Mac might start up to a blank screen!!! So they are very aware that this is happening.

https://mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-...leased-to-block-install-for-2013-14-13-mbpros

Several users are saying that they have replaced or unplugged the I/O board and everything now works as it should some others still in the same situation. Apple is saying that the logic board needs to be replaced due to this update and even worse some are being told it’s a vintage product, and they can’t get parts. This is FALSE, Apple will keep stock of parts up to 7 years.

The only reason I can think of for the firmware updates is the move to the protected System Volume in Catalina and Big Sur. The need to load and then lock down the System volume means the firmware needs to behave differently. But of course, if this was the case Apple should have showed customers a BIG, RED WARNING that says proceeding with this update will change your firmware and may brick your computer before everything started, but of course you they haven't done that. Once an update has moved to public release, it is open to everybody, regardless of their level of technical understanding which makes Apple responsible for what they are putting out there.

Apple has pulled the update as it is currently not being offered to most of 13in 2013 MacBook Pro...wonder why uh? In fact The latest version of the Big Sur 11.0.1 public release will not install on the affected machines. Apple released a new build (20B50) of macOS 11.0.1 which excluded MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) and MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014) models from the previous supported installation list, and then issued the following statement on Nov 19th.

Apple should be responsible for fixing all those machines bricked by their own public release free of charge. But it seems like there is only one way to resolve this at this point and is by pulling the update for the specific Mac models affected here or exchange it for a new machine with similar specs. This is unacceptable and the worst Apple experience someone could have at this point.
Click to expand...
What I observe is that local Apple shop representatives and central Apple support staff do react differently

on these cases. I read about the following variations:

  • The guy in Dubai store that got the i/o board replaced for approx. 100 USD
  • The lady in the Düsseldorf shop and several others that got an offer of approx. 500 USD for Logic board replacement
  • One guy in Germany that got an i/o board replacement free of charge.
  • Another guy from Germany, I read on a Facebook forum that got the Apple support to admit its a i/o board issue,
where the support said they do not get spare parts for vintage hardware and they offered to potentially replace the MBP with another one but is waiting for their final offer.



To me handling these issues in such different ways seems wierd.
 
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pshufd said:
Could be RAM. The 13s only have two cores too.
Click to expand...
Well I’m on a 13 inch model too. But maybe bosozoku is on a air? Because my 13 inch is a pro from late 2013. Still, weird that I’m basically on an older machine that’s possibly slower in terms of hardware but that runs better in the end.
 
Update: Apple Store called me offering a free I/O board replacement.
I visited Beijing Apple Store 3 times before for my bricked MacBook Pro. First time no solution at all. Second time I asked them disconnect I/O Cable and successfully upgrade to Big Sur. Third time I went asking any progress the answer is no, but they are aware this issue and helped me report my unsolved case. They said they can’t order parts for testing because it’s a vintage product. Today they called me again said new ‘Internal Document’ said they can order the I/O board and replace it for free if my Mac will boot up normally after the replacement. I’m not sure other countries but in China I guess all affected MacBook Pro will be eligible for free I/O board replacement. I suggest you guys contact local Apple Store or authorized shop again ask for free repair. They are ordering the board for me now and I will update later for the repair
 
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While I have no doubt that many have had a problem with this update, I still wonder just what the difference is between those that work and those that become bricks. My late 2013, 13" retina did fine although it was a scary update, it is now on v11.0.1 build 20B29 and had been running fine for several weeks. Only thing is that it does take a bit longer to boot. I really wish someone could narrow down the problem to which ones work and which ones don't. I'd be willing to share any info with those wanting to decipher this to help those still in doubt of whether to upgrade or not.
 
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kraney548 said:
This same thing happened to me during the betas, several times, but I was able to fix with a visit to the apple store.

When this particular issue occurred to me no boot modification keys would work for me or the genius. But here is the steps that we’re ultimately successful. All data will be lost!
You will need an extra Mac to do this.

Boot a working Mac into Recovery mode and then open disk utility. Hookup your un-bootable Mac via target disk mode with the appropriate cable. Use the working Mac’s disk utility to completely erase the disk of the unworking Mac.

After it’s erased you should be able to use internet recovery on the unworking Mac to re-attempt the install of Big Sur.

Good Luck, would love to get feedback about this if it’s successful or not for anyone affected.
Click to expand...
I have a 2014 15" MBP bricked. Other than pulling the drive out and installing in an external, any way to access target disk mode if the mac won't even boot?
 
I have a late 2013 MacBook Pro 13" and normally do a fresh install (clean out the crud). Whilst I can commiserate with people whom have updated, this year I left it a few days and saw the issues in the forums, and so did not install Big Sur. - Phew, dodged the bullet...

IMHO there is going to be a patch to Big Sur (Apple has not removed MacBook 13" late 2013 from their official list of supported hardware for Big Sur, and that would have been the first thing to disappear). I suspect there will have to be some form of program for individuals whose machines have been bricked by the installer - provided there are no other faults with the machine (the usual water ingress, crack screens etc, etc..). The big question is when this will occur? - my crystal ball is kinda cloudy...

When I originally saw information about support of this particular model, I thought that would fit in nicely, as the machine would last another year and I could replace it with a late 2021 ARM machine (which should allow enough time for Virtual machine and container software to catch up with macOS 'ARM') - Oh well - roll on with Catalina...
 
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I changed the I / O board and everything works as it should, I have one more play as if someone was looking on eBay and couldn't find it. MBP Late 2013
 
catarinaav said:
Same here guys (MacBook Pro Mid 2014)! This is what I sent to Apple (Spain Apple Support) last week, and they've told me that they would give a ''solution this Monday''...not expecting much.

I've been talking back and forward with Apple Support team and technicians for almost 2 weeks now, and no one is giving customers answers about why the Big Sur update is bricking some MacBook Pro. There's a full community of angry customers complaining about the same and looking for answers and of course compensation or repair for their machines and Apple is doing NOTHING to help!

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/page-29

My MacBook was fully functioning prior to accepting Apple's System Preference > Software Upgrade notification, ensuring my MacBook satisfied the age requirement (checked it before on their webpage https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238) to upgrade to MacOS Big Sur and backing up my data. I am not aware of operating system upgrades destroying hardware before this issue but my machine is now completely unresponsive.

Apple Support sent me to a store where I could get it fixed and to my surprise they've asked for a 500€ repair. How is that even legal to charge customers when the issue was caused by the lack of beta testing from Apple? Can someone explain how a software update from Apple can fry the I/O board?! Well I'll tell you, because it includes firmware updates. Apple even released this article saying that:


- Mac might start up to a blank screen!!! So they are very aware that this is happening.

https://mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-...leased-to-block-install-for-2013-14-13-mbpros

Several users are saying that they have replaced or unplugged the I/O board and everything now works as it should some others still in the same situation. Apple is saying that the logic board needs to be replaced due to this update and even worse some are being told it’s a vintage product, and they can’t get parts. This is FALSE, Apple will keep stock of parts up to 7 years.

The only reason I can think of for the firmware updates is the move to the protected System Volume in Catalina and Big Sur. The need to load and then lock down the System volume means the firmware needs to behave differently. But of course, if this was the case Apple should have showed customers a BIG, RED WARNING that says proceeding with this update will change your firmware and may brick your computer before everything started, but of course you they haven't done that. Once an update has moved to public release, it is open to everybody, regardless of their level of technical understanding which makes Apple responsible for what they are putting out there.

Apple has pulled the update as it is currently not being offered to most of 13in 2013 MacBook Pro...wonder why uh? In fact The latest version of the Big Sur 11.0.1 public release will not install on the affected machines. Apple released a new build (20B50) of macOS 11.0.1 which excluded MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) and MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014) models from the previous supported installation list, and then issued the following statement on Nov 19th.

Apple should be responsible for fixing all those machines bricked by their own public release free of charge. But it seems like there is only one way to resolve this at this point and is by pulling the update for the specific Mac models affected here or exchange it for a new machine with similar specs. This is unacceptable and the worst Apple experience someone could have at this point.
Click to expand...

Soooooo, after 3 miserable weeks calling back and forward with Apple Support and finally speaking to one good soul, Apple is paying for the Logic Board (i/o) for FREE. I must say that I had to send them allll the info by email that I found here and make them understand that this was truly caused by the Big Sur, which we all know it was. One important detail she mentioned is that the first shop wrote down in description (during the diagnostic) that my computer stopped after updating which actually proves from a ''technical expert'' that it's true. Whatever-....we'll see if they can really do their job on Monday.
 
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