2018 MacBook Pros crashing with "Bridge OS" error

[doitdada]

Time for ‘Which T2 chip do you have’ thread
Sorry, couldn’t resist

Waiting for T3 chip...

 

[Painter2002]

Time for ‘Which T2 chip do you have’ thread
Sorry, couldn’t resist

You realize you probably jinxed it by saying that, right? Lol.

 

[Premal212]

This is great in theory and all, but how do you then explain my iMP suffering from the KPs that arrived only weeks ago? It was a BTO machine (as are many of the iMPs for that matter).

I am not saying you are wrong. I however think that this is a much wider spread issue than you indicate and it’s just that not everyone is going to take the time to flock to MR. Not only that, but many users may shut their machine down after every single use and may not be experiencing it.

On the iMP you are talking about a machine what has been having these issues since 2017. Apple hasn’t figured this out in that length of time and keeps spitting machines out with the same chip? If that’s the case it’s really bad on Apple.

Then I am lost for words Sir. But I would have assumed a lot more than the 100 or so guys on this thread and 300-500 on the Apple Discussions. It just seems like a small unfortunate population right? Maybe I'm just kidding myself. Let's find out in a few months.

Time for ‘Which T2 chip do you have’ thread
Sorry, couldn’t resist

When the 2016s came out there was a thread on the keyboards and the clicks, we all downloaded Coconut Battery to see when our models were shipped out / manufactured. Let's not go down that route hahaha. God man, we should be paid for this work, there's so much data on this forum.

Geez... almost 50 pages now in this thread. :/ Apple better make sure Mojave fixes this 100%. If we're all on here talking it through as more involved "computer people" ... then how does the normal consumer feel who has one? Would be doubly confusing.

What do they do? They most certainly don't go to MR or Apple Forums, probably head back to the store if it does it too many times. My Mum would just ring me up and say there's errors, I wouldn't think much of it, would check for stupid software she may have installed and that's a wrap. If it continues, I would say take it into store and get a replacement / repair. In fact, when her screen glare started coming off, that's exactly what happened. I assume the masses do this too.

 

[SDColorado]

This is great in theory and all, but how do you then explain my iMP suffering from the KPs that arrived only weeks ago? It was a BTO machine (as are many of the iMPs for that matter).

I am not saying you are wrong. I however think that this is a much wider spread issue than you indicate and it’s just that not everyone is going to take the time to flock to MR. Not only that, but many users may shut their machine down after every single use and may not be experiencing it.

On the iMP you are talking about a machine what has been having these issues since 2017. Apple hasn’t figured this out in that length of time and keeps spitting machines out with the same chip? If that’s the case it’s really bad on Apple.

I suppose one possible alternative to the "bad batch" theory would be if they began using a slightly modified chip in newer models. I don't know how that would still explain the issues with a few weeks old iMP though, other than to suggest that most BTO machines probably are not by and large as new as we think. Many components of them probably assembled previously and waiting for an order for the specifics that can be modified.

In other words, is it not possible for a few week old iMP order to still ship with a few months old T2? Particularly considering the far lower demand for those models vs MBP.

 

[dspdoc]

Curious the power the T3 chip will hold.

 

[SDColorado]

Me too, though I am not even certain who builds the iMac Pro. They are built in the USA are they not? As opposed to the MBP which I believe are manufactured by Pegatron?

In either case, I am guessing neither facility of manufacture produces the T2 chip. No idea where those are actually made and by whom. I know it is an Apple in-house designed chip, but who actually manufactures it?

 

[dspdoc]

Me too, though I am not even certain who builds the iMac Pro. They are built in the USA are they not? As opposed to the MBP which I believe are manufactured by Pegatron?

In either case, I am guessing neither facility of manufacture produces the T2 chip. No idea where those are actually made and by whom. I know it is an Apple in-house designed chip, but who actually manufactures it?

No, not one of the iMPs came from the USA that I’ve had.

 

[doitdada]

When Apples owners critic their Macs, then you know there is a problem.

 

[AZhappyjack]

So far, my 13" MBP (2018) is still problem free... I did have a scare this morning when I opened my MBP and got the Enter your password prompt... but then I remembered that I was away from my MBP for the last couple of days... and it was more than 48 hours since I last logged into it.

Apple needs to find and fix this issue... as it is a major problem for many... but so far, I'm good here... 28 days today and no Bridge OS errors or kernel panics.
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Me too, though I am not even certain who builds the iMac Pro. They are built in the USA are they not? As opposed to the MBP which I believe are manufactured by Pegatron?

In either case, I am guessing neither facility of manufacture produces the T2 chip. No idea where those are actually made and by whom. I know it is an Apple in-house designed chip, but who actually manufactures it?

All of Apple's Macs are built overseas (China mostly), except for the trashcan Mac Pro, AFAIK.

 

[IG88]

Turning off the T2 boot check does NOT turn off the T2 chip, its still functioning as a gatekeeper and decrypting the drive. I think its coincidental that you turned it off a new machine and you're not incurring any issues. I guess the question is, turn it back on and run macOS and see if your symptoms return.

True but any setting you disable that T2 is performing is one less task off its plate as far as potentially having a bad T2 chip.

Me personally, I'd rather enable everything I can that's within its scope while I'm still inside the 14 day return window.

Which is more or less your point, I just thought I would elaborate in case there are people that have tried to eliminate T2 from the equation as much as possible by disabling settings it's involved in, and considering keeping a potentially defective device.

I wish I could decide whether I think it's hardware or firmware. I just have no idea.

 

[onelm]

I turned it off so that I could boot windows from an external hd. The T2 was preventing this. My understanding is that I have not disabled it fully, just the functionality that checks the OS is legit.

I think this (running Windows) is an interesting angle that maybe should be explored more. There's been some commentary about Bridge OS and the T2 only being in the picture here because of the _reporting_ of the panic, and not necessarily being the cause... I doubt that disabling boot security functionality is having much effect (of course, who knows at this point) but if a machine that panics consistently under macOS behaves under Windows, that would really start to bolster the idea that Bridge OS is popping up in our crash logs just because it's reporting a panic caused by some other underlying process / driver. ...And if it _doesn't_ behave under Windows either, those crash logs could add some context too.

Does anyone out there who's experiencing frequent KPs have a boot camp or windows-to-go setup?

I'm on the road for the next week and a half so I can't test my "guaranteed panic" scenario with external displays until I'm home, but I do have a Windows-to-go install w/ boot camp drivers on an external SSD that I can eventually test. I'm really curious now to see if the MBP can sleep overnight with my external displays connected when running Windows...

 

[IG88]

There's been some commentary about Bridge OS and the T2 only being in the picture here because of the _reporting_ of the panic, and not necessarily being the cause

Do we have anyone in the forum that's savvy enough at reviewing the KP log files that could offer an opinion there?

 

[bigcat]

Do we have anyone in the forum that's savvy enough at reviewing the KP log files that could offer an opinion there?

It seems pretty clear that BridgeOS is the thing that is crashing, not the thing that is reporting the crash. The reports show the panicked thread identified by a TID. When you look for the TID, it's normally the AppleSMC thread, though in many of my reports, it was also the RTBuddyV2 thread.

 

[zargap]

It seems pretty clear that BridgeOS is the thing that is crashing, not the thing that is reporting the crash. The reports show the panicked thread identified by a TID. When you look for the TID, it's normally the AppleSMC thread, though in many of my reports, it was also the RTBuddyV2 thread.

Do you know what RTBuddyV2 is? Seems hard to google. All of mine have been AppleSMC.

 

[IG88]

Apple Support contacted me just now and asked me for a System Diagnostics dump and a System Report dump. They also said to email them right away and collect dumps again if I have another KP.

I thought this was pretty cool. My initial experience yesterday with L1 support didn't give me warm fuzzies, but this person was obviously a higher level tech and knew exactly what she was looking for.

 

[bigcat]

Do you know what RTBuddyV2 is? Seems hard to google. All of mine have been AppleSMC.

It appears related to remote controlling the mac. Something that appears to be in the T2 chip as well. Not sure the details, someone else posted a link earlier in the thread about it. If you search this thread for RTBuddyV2 you'll probably see it.

 

[onelm]

It seems pretty clear that BridgeOS is the thing that is crashing, not the thing that is reporting the crash. The reports show the panicked thread identified by a TID. When you look for the TID, it's normally the AppleSMC thread, though in many of my reports, it was also the RTBuddyV2 thread.

AppleSMC is the process associated with the panic TID in my crashlogs. Though, that TID comes in a panic string that contains "macOS panic detected"

Is AppleSMC a process / driver that is running "under" macOS that communicates with Bridge OS, or are you saying that it is Bridge OS itself?

I might be confused on the basics here, but this is what I thought:
- T1 SoC is an ARM chip that runs eOS and controls SMC stuff on 2016/2017 MBPs w/ touchbar
- T2 SoC is an ARM chip that runs Bridge OS and controls SMC stuff and more on iMP and 2018 MBPs
- eOS / Bridge OS are loaded as firmware onto the T1/T2 and not dynamically loaded at OS runtime (inferring this based on the ability to upgrade to Bridge OS 3.0 w/o doing a full upgrade to Mojave)
- eOS / Bridge OS run in parallel to _any_ OS running on the device

(I only mention the T1 again because of my (and others) experiences with the exact same crashing behaviour on non-T2 machines).

Going back to my previous comment, it would be very interesting to see the behaviour under Windows. If AppleSMC is a macOS process causing a macOS panic, it'd be curious to see how a similar driver / process act under Windows.

 

[doitdada]

I have a MacBook 12 (1.2GHz 2015) which I use while waiting for a replacement, and it never crashes, but sometimes gets slow when I am using it on 4K display, which is a resolution (scaled) and frame rate (60hz) unsupported for this model, but it works in contrast to the new 2018. No crashes, no KP panics, it simply wakes without a problem every time I need it. I will probably buy a 2018 MacBook 12" if they release it with a quad core and lacks a T2 chip. USB-C hubs also works on this MacBook 12, but won't give me 4K 60hz on the new MacBook Pros 2016-2018 due to limits put in place to support licensed hardware rather than promoting compatibility which the USB-C was supposed to partake in.

 

[svgn]

Geez... almost 50 pages now in this thread. :/ Apple better make sure Mojave fixes this 100%. If we're all on here talking it through as more involved "computer people" ... then how does the normal consumer feel who has one? Would be doubly confusing.

i'm pretty sure that "how disappointed some people are from Apple and if Steve Job was alive it would be different and the engineers need someone who yell at them constantly, otherwise they will keep just sitting there and do nothing" comments are more than actual kp reports here

\sorry for my english and the overreacting, i hope the problems will be fixed asap

 

[RumorConsumer]

i'm pretty sure that "how disappointed some people are from Apple and if Steve Job was alive it would be different and the engineers need someone who yell at them constantly, otherwise they will keep just sitting there and do nothing" comments are more than actual kp reports here

\sorry for my english and the overreacting, i hope the problems will be fixed asap

Sorry to burst your bubble but there were easily easily as many quality issues when Steve was alive. Less in software perhaps by number and in terms of scale I’d say its roughly proportional.

 

[guillone]

1&2) I have already gone through at Apples request, including a couple of trips to the "Genius" Bar for hardware diagnostics. None of that accomplished anything but lost time for me. They finally suggested I send it back for a replacement. Their thought was that maybe it might be due to a bad run of T2 chips since not all exhibit the problem. But if that is truly the case, the bad run has been going on since the debut of the iMP in 12/17.

3) Hopefully *will* happen eventually. Whether it is a software patch/fix or a repair/return program for effected units, who knows. My first one crashed within half an hour of setting it up with no peripherals attached. I set it up, had to take care of something else. Came back to find it crashed with a BridgeOS error.

4) Between the kernel panic issues of the first unit & the physical damage out of the box (nicks along the left hand side near the speaker) on the unit they sent to replace it, I am now on MBP #3. The option of Dell, Razer, Microsoft, etc. is not out of the question if this one goes south as well.



Thanks for sharing the video Claudio. It was a good watch. Unfortunately though, I do have to say from first hand experience, that he is incorrect about it not having to anyone who has nothing attached to the computer.

For what it's worth, it's also not just these new machines and T2. As I've stated before, when OS Sierra showed up, my Macs started crashing. I've lost three since 2016. Hauled em all off to the re-cycle. I won't buy a stick of chewing gum from Apple now. Moving on to Dell and Windows 10. My only criterion for a computer is "who has the most stable OS?"
That is no longer Apple.... it's Windows 10.

 

[SDColorado]

For what it's worth, it's also not just these new machines and T2. As I've stated before, when OS Sierra showed up, my Macs started crashing. I've lost three since 2016. Hauled em all off to the re-cycle. I won't buy a stick of chewing gum from Apple now. Moving on to Dell and Windows 10. My only criterion for a computer is "who has the most stable OS?"
That is no longer Apple.... it's Windows 10.

Speaking of the whole Windows vs PC thing.. I know it is a different issue, but for some reason when I open certain web pages (and it doesn't matter which browser I use) my CPU temp shoots way up. One example is ESPN. It doesn't matter if I use Safari, Chrome or Opera. The temps shoot up to the mid-90's and the fans kick on. Right now with ESPN open, CPU temps are 91-96C and fans running about 5K.

Opening the exact same page on my Surface Pro in both Chrome and Opera (obviously can't use Safari) CPU temps stay around 37C and no fan.

It is a little puzzling to me and I know it is off topic, but using the MacBook Pro and then the Surface Pro and then back to the MacBook Pro, etc. Really does have me thinking about returning this one as well and going the Dell XPS, Razer Blade or SB2 route.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

i'm pretty sure that "how disappointed some people are from Apple and if Steve Job was alive it would be different and the engineers need someone who yell at them constantly, otherwise they will keep just sitting there and do nothing" comments are more than actual kp reports here

\sorry for my english and the overreacting, i hope the problems will be fixed asap

Any issues will be fixed. The company culture hasn't changed. It's just that they have a more diverse portfolio now and more projects in development. When you roll out a new controller it takes a little time and a few patches to get right because it is going to be used in several devices. Adding to that, new CPU microcode patches have been released by Intel and that has to be tested with the controllers.

My PC's motherboard has had 8 BIOS updates this year, just to bring some context into this. They included bug fixes, compatibility fixes and microcode updates.

 

[Premal212]

One this that has surfaced from this is the realisation of the amount of upgrades and patches that actually come through, I never knew about the hundreds of different controllers and updates that go into an actual OS Update. There's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that a lot of us guys don't see. Hell, I didn't know what a CPU Microcode was until 4 minutes ago, and I'm pretty good with computers.

Let's hope that the engineers at Cupertino wrap this one up pretty swiftly.

 

[AZhappyjack]

i'm pretty sure that "how disappointed some people are from Apple and if Steve Job was alive it would be different and the engineers need someone who yell at them constantly, otherwise they will keep just sitting there and do nothing" comments are more than actual kp reports here

\sorry for my english and the overreacting, i hope the problems will be fixed asap

The whole "Jobs would never allow this" is just, flat wrong. That does not mean that many (including myself) are not massively disappointed in Apple and their record of late... but Jobs had his share of issues.
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Any issues will be fixed. The company culture hasn't changed. It's just that they have a more diverse portfolio now and more projects in development. When you roll out a new controller it takes a little time and a few patches to get right because it is going to be used in several devices. Adding to that, new CPU microcode patches have been released by Intel and that has to be tested with the controllers.

My PC's motherboard has had 8 BIOS updates this year, just to bring some context into this. They included bug fixes, compatibility fixes and microcode updates.

It's been over 8 months... and is now affecting at least 2 product lines... I don't recall issues with the new Wireless controller (W1, W2) or the previous T1 version.