2018 MacBook Pros crashing with "Bridge OS" error

[LogicalApex]

The T2 is just an intermediate step until Apple can replace the Intel processors with an Apple designed Arm processor. It will be interesting to see if a T3 chip is released or if they directly transition from Intel / T2 to an Arm processor laptop.

I'm not convinced Apple will be fully walking away from Intel anytime soon. Especially since I'm sure bootcamp with Windows isn't an insignificant part of sales for Macs.

But, if people are suffering so heavily under Apple's T2 chip which is one of Apple's larger moves away from Intel I can't see how people will be willing to take a risk of Apple having issues with the CPU side.

Keep in mind there is a "Bridge OS" because the T2 is a core processor on the new Macs and is running separately with the Intel "Application" processor running separately as well and the Bridge OS is, well, bridging the two for secure operations where they need to communicate.

I have not had any issues with my 2018 MBP in this regard, but it is very possible this is a fabrication issue. Apple has stated in the T2 security documents that are public the they integrate the encryption keys during chip fabrication so they are unique for each chip and unknown by anyone, including Apple, and never accessed off the chip itself. So there is room for an issue in fabrication since they do have a variable component in the manufacturing of these chips.

 

[SDColorado]

Hi there! Just got my first Mac ever: a 2017 MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar. Now I am reading about these Kernal Panics and it scares the crap out of me! Am I f*cked now or is this only related to Touch Bar models? Thank you for commenting and helping me out. When I went to the store I was really confused with al the laptops they offered, but luckily someone with Apple experience went with me to buy the thing

The T2/Bridge kernel panics are only related to 2018 models with the T2 chip. Your 2017 will not have the T2 chip and won’t be effected by this issue.

Enjoy your new MacBook Pro!

 

[pttai]

My apologies.
I moved my post out to another thread.

 

[mreg376]

Interestingly, there is a post in the iMac Pro forum that says he's been getting KP's but never in boot camp running Windows. So does that mean that it's a software problem or is it that Windows does not use any or some of the T2's features?

 

[Chad Brostorm]

Interestingly, there is a post in the iMac Pro forum that says he's been getting KP's but never in boot camp running Windows. So does that mean that it's a software problem or is it that Windows does not use any or some of the T2's features?

Apparently Windows doesn’t have access to the T2. This is particularly problematic as the T2 also controls the fans now (as opposed to the SMC), so Windows users can’t set manual fan curves as they’ve done in the past.

 

[Plutonius]

Apparently Windows doesn’t have access to the T2. This is particularly problematic as the T2 also controls the fans now (as opposed to the SMC), so Windows users can’t set manual fan curves as they’ve done in the past.

Good to know.
[doublepost=1543645648][/doublepost]

Hi there! Just got my first Mac ever: a 2017 MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar. Now I am reading about these Kernal Panics and it scares the crap out of me! Am I f*cked now or is this only related to Touch Bar models? Thank you for commenting and helping me out. When I went to the store I was really confused with al the laptops they offered, but luckily someone with Apple experience went with me to buy the thing.

For now: I really enjoy the OS, the shortcuts and mission control and other stuff. Just started with learning some Python and coding on this display is so much better than what I was used to! Good for my eyes to look at the sharp text (1337 x something dell tn display). Battery life is amazing as well.

Congrats on your laptop.

I also bought a 2017 MacBook Pro and I am waiting on delivery. The 2017 MacBook Pro has the T1 chip which hasn't shown problems so far so you should not have any issues.

The only thing to keep an eye on in your 2017 MacBook Pro is your keyboard. The butterfly keyboard is susceptible to dust and can develop problems. Apple has a video on how to clean the keyboard with compressed air if needed. The 2017 keyboard is also covered by a 4 year warranty.

 

[0-0]

Vega 20 mbp and no bridge OS crashes at all since receiving at launch. P.S I am on 10.14.2 Beta.

 

[ArrayOfLilly]

Hi there! Just got my first Mac ever: a 2017 MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar. Now I am reading about these Kernal Panics and it scares the crap out of me! Am I f*cked now or is this only related to Touch Bar models? Thank you for commenting and helping me out. When I went to the store I was really confused with al the laptops they offered, but luckily someone with Apple experience went with me to buy the thing.

For now: I really enjoy the OS, the shortcuts and mission control and other stuff. Just started with learning some Python and coding on this display is so much better than what I was used to! Good for my eyes to look at the sharp text (1337 x something dell tn display). Battery life is amazing as well.

Your Mac hasn’t T2 chip that causes the crashes.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Apparently Windows doesn’t have access to the T2. This is particularly problematic as the T2 also controls the fans now (as opposed to the SMC), so Windows users can’t set manual fan curves as they’ve done in the past.

What does Windows get...software simulated controller? Can you check in Device Manager?

 

[Diazepam]

I have noticed a pattern on my system. A lot of my system freezes (supposedly due to this Bridge OS problem) occur when simply watching HD video on YouTube. I've now had at least 3 freezes when simply watching YouTube and nothing else is going on on the system.

Other freezes that have occurred did so when listening to music or watching a movie on VLC.

Something to do with audio/video rendering by any chance ? Does the T2 chip participate with that in any way ?

 

[Plutonius]

I have noticed a pattern on my system. A lot of my system freezes (supposedly due to this Bridge OS problem) occur when simply watching HD video on YouTube. I've now had at least 3 freezes when simply watching YouTube and nothing else is going on on the system.

Other freezes that have occurred did so when listening to music or watching a movie on VLC.

Something to do with audio/video rendering by any chance ? Does the T2 chip participate with that in any way ?

Here is a good article on the T2 chip. The T2 handles a lot including audio processing.

If your computer is having issues within the 14 day return period, I would just return it. Most T2 seem to have no issues but, when they do, a replacement seems to be the best fix.

After the 14 day period, getting service to replace the computer can be difficult since most of the time the problems are intermittent. The typical service solution is to just reload the OS which rarely seems to work.

 

[Diazepam]

Here is a good article on the T2 chip. The T2 handles a lot including audio processing.

If your computer is having issues within the 14 day return period, I would just return it. Most T2 seem to have no issues but, when they do, a replacement seems to be the best fix.

After the 14 day period, getting service to replace the computer can be difficult since most of the time the problems are intermittent. The typical service solution is to just reload the OS which rarely seems to work.

Thanks for the tips. I don't want the hassle of return/exchange. It's not so bad as to warrant one.

Perhaps future OS updates will contain a fix. Till then, I will live with it, I guess.

 

[Chancha]

An interesting thought: Has anyone gotten a refurb 2018 to get Bridge OS kernel panics? Since Apple official refurbs have literally gone through a "second pass" factory test.

 

[Naleri]

Just for anyone having this issue... here’s my story.

The TL;DR: got a new MacBook Pro and it was KPing constantly. Called Apple, reinstalled MacOS and everything, still doing it a lot. I went to Apple today and they gave me a new one. No issues.

I got a new 2018 MBP 2.6/16/512 yesterday and within a couple hours of taking it out of the box it was KPing with “BridgeOS 3.1” panic system reports. I found this thread. I ran disc utility and I got “warning: crypto_val” messages.

My kernel panic happened when I was normally operating the computer, while studying with just Microsoft Word open-not just after reboot or sleep.

Of note, my laptop shipped to me directly from a warehouse and came with an outdated version of High Sierra. I think it was an older 2018 build. The one I got as a replacement today came preinstalled with Mojave.

Try going to the Apple store near you and get them to replace it. I took videos of the KP happening and saved reports as well just in case it didn’t replicate in the store, but luckily they watched it happen over and over again right there in store and replaced it no issue.

 

[Plutonius]

An interesting thought: Has anyone gotten a refurb 2018 to get Bridge OS kernel panics? Since Apple official refurbs have literally gone through a "second pass" factory test.

I believe I read multiple post of people having the T2 Bridge OS issue on refurbished.

Most people report the T2 Bridge OS issue as intermittent so I would not count on a second factory test catching it. Also, I think that a large percentage of the 2018 MacBook Pros that have been returned were returned because of the T2 Bridge OS fault and those computers are now in the refurb store.

I like buying refurbished but, in the case of the 2018 MacBook Pro, I would never consider it.

 

[brainray]

An interesting thought: Has anyone gotten a refurb 2018 to get Bridge OS kernel panics? Since Apple official refurbs have literally gone through a "second pass" factory test.

I bought a refurb MBP 13, had 4 KPs a day, returned it. Then got a replacement (was also a refurbished) that worked okay in 99% of all cases. But using the camera e.g. recording video with Photo Booth or Quicktime crashed the Mac (sometimes it took like 1 hour until crash. Others here have that as well). IMHO this is not acceptable for a for a 2400 Euro computer. Returned it and got my money back.

Apple does not do a check regarding T2 KP's on refurb Macs.

 

[bobdob]

Has anybody with a new Vega MacBook Pro not had any issues? This is one of the first times I remember having money for an Apple product, having it in my cart, and not purchasing because of a possible hardware/software issue. Not to say there has never been any issues, but for something that costs this much, I just don’t have the time to play the lottery and be on phone with support, return over and over, etc.

 

[bigcat]

So I decided to give the 2018 MBP another try and ordered it again a few weeks ago. I've been using now for three weeks without a single KP or any other issue. The first machine I had had a KP every single I day I had it. I'm using the new one the same way, etc. So I believe there is definitely something hardware related that causes this issue or makes it more likely to occur.

I've run High Sierra on both machines, which is what the machines came with. Haven't upgraded to Mojave yet.

For the record the only difference between the first machine and the second machine is the storage capacity. First one had a 1TB drive. I went with a 512gb on the second machine.

 

[pttai]

Here is a good article on the T2 chip. The T2 handles a lot including audio processing.

If your computer is having issues within the 14 day return period, I would just return it. Most T2 seem to have no issues but, when they do, a replacement seems to be the best fix.

After the 14 day period, getting service to replace the computer can be difficult since most of the time the problems are intermittent. The typical service solution is to just reload the OS which rarely seems to work.

So after the first 14 days what would Apple have to offer you when your Mac is broken because of the T2? My AASP is keeping my Mac for almost 2 weeks and a couple of days ago I called to check on the Mac, they said they still had no idea what is happening with it, no updates on their sites for me to check until today also.

 

[Plutonius]

So after the first 14 days what would Apple have to offer you when your Mac is broken because of the T2? My AASP is keeping my Mac for almost 2 weeks and a couple of days ago I called to check on the Mac, they said they still had no idea what is happening with it, no updates on their sites for me to check until today also.

In the cases that you can prove the T2 fault, Apple would most likely give you a replacement but the problem is that the T2 fault is intermittent and people posting have indicated that it's harder to get a replacement unless Apple sees the T2 error.

 

[pttai]

In the cases that you can prove the T2 fault, Apple would most likely give you a replacement but the problem is that the T2 fault is intermittent and people posting have indicated that it's harder to get a replacement unless Apple sees the T2 error.

My Mac was unable to use at the moment I sent it to the AASP. It kept rebooting after I logging in for a few seconds. The report also said it was about the Bridge OS thing. Is it a T2's fault?

 

[Diazepam]

In the cases that you can prove the T2 fault, Apple would most likely give you a replacement but the problem is that the T2 fault is intermittent and people posting have indicated that it's harder to get a replacement unless Apple sees the T2 error.

1 - What if one can capture a few T2 crash logs over a period of a few days so that Apple can see a recurring pattern of these crashes ? Would that be enough proof ?

2 - What if the MBP was bought from a 3rd party on Amazon ? Would I have to deal with the 3rd party, or would Apple send me a replacement if I sent it to Apple ?

 

[itsamacthing]

Vega 20 mbp and no bridge OS crashes at all since receiving at launch. P.S I am on 10.14.2 Beta.

Interesting but skeptical, not of your experience but that it’s fixed across the board. Fingers crossed your experience continues to be crash free. If you have time please keep us updated. As soon as this issue is resolved I’m buying a new MBP

 

[Plutonius]

My Mac was unable to use at the moment I sent it to the AASP. It kept rebooting after I logging in for a few seconds. The report also said it was about the Bridge OS thing. Is it a T2's fault?

If it kept rebooting after you logged in, it isn't an intermittent problem (i.e. Apple service should see that it's broken and be able to fix or replace it).

1 - What if one can capture a few T2 crash logs over a period of a few days so that Apple can see a recurring pattern of these crashes ? Would that be enough proof ?

2 - What if the MBP was bought from a 3rd party on Amazon ? Would I have to deal with the 3rd party, or would Apple send me a replacement if I sent it to Apple ?

It can't hurt to give them the logs and it sounds like others here have had luck getting a replacement after showing Apple the logs.

I'm not sure how it would be handled if it was purchased from a third party on Amazon. It probably doesn't have the 14 day return policy so you would have to take to Apple and ask them.

 

[PalidinoDH]

Second bridge os crash since I bought my air maybe 2 weeks ago, although this time it was while I was on the air programming and listening to music, not while it was sleeping. Wow was that scary! The music stopped, my mouse wasn't responding, and pushing the trackpad wasn't giving any feedback. This lasted a good 10-20 seconds. I had no idea what was even happening until after it rebooted and I checked the error message for, sure enough, mention of the bridge os.