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PSA: macOS 14 Sonoma Beta 4 Not Installing Properly for Some Users

Actually my location services ARE disabled on the machine that failed the upgrade. And I don't have Avast, hmmmm...
 
My MacBook Pro A2251 (2020 Touchbar) got bricked after updating to beta 4.
Wonderful…

Updates:

Apparently, the computer won’t start with the power cable plugged in. It only runs on battery . The moment you plug it in, it freezes and restarts.

I tried this during boot, recovery mode, while loading and in the os. The outcome is the same: the moment the power cable is plugged into the macbook, it freezes/crashes.
 
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My MacBook Pro 2020 (4 Thunderbolt ports) also has serious issues. Sometimes it does start up and boot, shows an error of kernel panic due to an AppleSMC problem. The major scare is that it is not charging anymore, even when off so the battery is about to be drained completely... If I attach a power cord the fans ramp up and it just turns off. So it is I am afraid about to be bricked... 😡

(Note: My M1 MBP works fine with beta4.)

UPDATE: Was able to make it working again - but had to put it into DFU mode (Recovery mode did not do it) and do a full Restore (Revive did not work, failed with "AMRestoreErrorDomain - 0x44 (68)") using Apple Configurator.
 
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Marshall73 said:
It will be the usual issue caused by some random software which has its hooks into the system where it shouldn't.
Click to expand...

No, such low level issues (inability for the MacBook to be charged even when turned off) on T2 Intel Macs like the 2020 Intel MBP can only be caused by the system firmware that is part of the update (or a firmware update problem - but obviously the firmware update went through fine otherwise iBridge and eventually the OS could not be started up). That's why it needed a DFU reset and full restore (with everything wiped) using the Apple Configuration utility. It is definitely something an average user will have a super hard time to figure out and accomplish especially as you need a second Mac and a complicated procedure to follow. Now that developer betas are basically available for all, Apple should be super careful to at least avoid these semi-bricking firmware issues. In my case the MacBook became totally unresponsive and seemingly fully bricked (no startup chime, nothing on screen, no charging sound, no actual charging - checked with a power meter).
 
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16 MBP having the issues. i literally updated it to 4 and the problem happened almost immeditely :/ I cant get it to reboot back up fully. it just shows an apple logo and shows status bar for a minute or two then goes blank screen but the mouse is oddly there. Nothing resolves it to boot to the login window so now im recovering :/
 
Realityck said:
Not yet AFAIK for beta 4, only the devs beta 4 is out there. Only a first PB based on a 2nd release of beta 3 was seeded. 🙂
Click to expand...
Meant "haven't" released. Went back and fixed.

I wonder if it has to do with all the installation problems. I'm one of the folks whose machine locked up; had to erase and reinstall Monterey
 
Count me amongst those affected. Thank goodness I had a backup from just prior to installing. I would reboot, login, see a progress bar and then all black. Fix was reinstalling and restoring from Time Machine.

I do happen to have avast and location services. Maxed out M2 MBP.
 
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profbobo said:
Count me amongst those affected. Thank goodness I had a backup from just prior to installing. I would reboot, login, see a progress bar and then all black. Fix was reinstalling and restoring from Time Machine.

I do happen to have avast and location services. Maxed out M2 MBP.
Click to expand...
Avast? Questionable life choices. Avast? No wonder the MacBook Pro committed suicide. 😂
 
I’m wondering how many of the bricked Macs are due to impatience? I thought I had run into the same problem with a black screen with nothing but the mouse cursor in the top left. Uh oh. But then I waited about another 30 seconds or so (didn’t time it, so it could have been as long as a minute) and the screen changed to the Apple logo and a quickly moving progress bar and then done. The Mac is just fine with no noticeable problems.

The install probably has a part 2 where it updates the firmware or boot software before completing and it’s possible people aren’t waiting long enough for it to finish.

The machine I was updating was an M1 Max MacBook Pro 16”.
 
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Aetherius said:
My MacBook Pro A2251 (2020 Touchbar) got bricked after updating to beta 4.
Wonderful…

Updates:

Apparently, the computer won’t start with the power cable plugged in. It only runs on battery . The moment you plug it in, it freezes and restarts.

I tried this during boot, recovery mode, while loading and in the os. The outcome is the same: the moment the power cable is plugged into the macbook, it freezes/crashes.
Click to expand...
If you are still having issues - mine did the same thing. After attempts at damn near everything I was finally able to get it downgraded and took it into apple. I got an amazing tech (TG!!!!) that was able to diagnose it pretty quickly - he reinstalled the firmware and now all USB's are recognized.
 
Dizzy303 said:
If you are still having issues - mine did the same thing. After attempts at damn near everything I was finally able to get it downgraded and took it into apple. I got an amazing tech (TG!!!!) that was able to diagnose it pretty quickly - he reinstalled the firmware and now all USB's are recognized.
Click to expand...
This kind of supports my theory that people didn't wait long enough for the install to finish where part 2 was supposed to update the firmware. Sounds like the OS update requires something changed in the firmware. I mentioned that two posts above this one.
 
tfresquezdxs said:
16 MBP having the issues. i literally updated it to 4 and the problem happened almost immeditely :/ I cant get it to reboot back up fully. it just shows an apple logo and shows status bar for a minute or two then goes blank screen but the mouse is oddly there. Nothing resolves it to boot to the login window so now im recovering :/
Click to expand...
This is exactly what happened to my M1 16 inch MBP. I tried it 3 times and got the same result. I also made sure I did't have any USB devices plugged in.
 
I think it's a problem with the download. I was not (and still cannot) get it to download or install. To get it to last time, I did it through recovery and then the issues began.
 
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Dizzy303 said:
If you are still having issues - mine did the same thing. After attempts at damn near everything I was finally able to get it downgraded and took it into apple. I got an amazing tech (TG!!!!) that was able to diagnose it pretty quickly - he reinstalled the firmware and now all USB's are recognized.
Click to expand...

Yes, it seems like 2020 13" MBPs do this with the beta4. But if you have a second Mac and an USB-C cable, you can downgrade the firmware yourself by putting the MBP into DFU mode and do a Restore with Apple Configurator (this will wipe everything). You can try a Revive also first (that also tries to restore the latest firmware).

Here is a detailed guide: https://mrmacintosh.com/how-to-restore-bridgeos-on-a-t2-mac-how-to-put-a-mac-into-dfu-mode/
 
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Atlantean said:
Apple have released an updated version of Beta 4 — it's installed on my MBP M1 and is running fine (23A5301h)
Click to expand...
Even though I installed DB4 fine on a M1 24" iMac and a 16" M1 Max MBP. I had no issues with second instlall which was very quick going 23A5301g to 23A5301h builds to same Macs. So anyone running the previous should install this revision.
 
Sonoma Beta 4 bricked my MacBook Pro 2020 (intel) due to SMC problem. Could anyone let me know whether second public beta has addressed that issue yet? Thanks a lot.
 
Aetherius said:
My MacBook Pro A2251 (2020 Touchbar) got bricked after updating to beta 4.
Wonderful…

Updates:

Apparently, the computer won’t start with the power cable plugged in. It only runs on battery . The moment you plug it in, it freezes and restarts.

I tried this during boot, recovery mode, while loading and in the os. The outcome is the same: the moment the power cable is plugged into the macbook, it freezes/crashes.
Click to expand...

stevemr123 said:
My MacBook Pro 2020 (4 Thunderbolt ports) also has serious issues. Sometimes it does start up and boot, shows an error of kernel panic due to an AppleSMC problem. The major scare is that it is not charging anymore, even when off so the battery is about to be drained completely... If I attach a power cord the fans ramp up and it just turns off. So it is I am afraid about to be bricked... 😡

(Note: My M1 MBP works fine with beta4.)

UPDATE: Was able to make it working again - but had to put it into DFU mode (Recovery mode did not do it) and do a full Restore (Revive did not work, failed with "AMRestoreErrorDomain - 0x44 (68)") using Apple Configurator.
Click to expand...

Confirm that 2nd Public beta / Revised Dev beta 4 (23A5301h) will fix this issue.
 
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