2018 MacBook Pros crashing with "Bridge OS" error

[Maven1975]

I am completely blown away that Apple is this arrogant. How on earth do they justify this now?!
In my opinion, the T2 chip was FORCED out to not only enhance security, but I have a sneaking suspicion to block Hackintosh builds. I'm pretty sure T2 implementation will force EOL for computers without it sooner than normal.
I have about 20 days left on my X1 Carbon test drive and would like to see this addressed before I just throw in the towel and keep the X1.
Feel for all of you! I would be in the same boat if it had not been for your reporting on the matter.
The last thing I would like seen addressed is the dreaded throttling in Bootcamp. (An official device wide firmware fix)

 

[zargap]

So, when everyone is resetting their SMC, according to this support page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295 there are two steps, power button for 10 seconds, and "if that doesn't work", "right Shift key, the left Option key, and the left Control key for 7 seconds. Then keep holding those keys while you press and hold the power button for another 7 seconds."

If I do the second step, my computer doesn't boot all the way. A few times lately after rebooting, my fans were running pretty fast for idling, after JUST resetting SMC after this update, seems much quieter in general.

Can anyone confirm their computer will reboot after this second step?

 

[dspdoc]

I remember I had a similar issue with a 2014 Triumph Tiger motorcycle I owned. Myself and other kept having issues with fueling. People on the forums would say "Oh I am sure it is just an ECU issue and we are sure Triumph will eventually fix it and issue an ECU update that works." Well, they didn't. After numerous attempts of flashing it with updated firmware, they issued a recall on several models to replace the ECU "for faulty engine control units (ECUs), which may improperly activate the bikes’ fuel injectors."

Of course on a motorcycle it is a lot more serious when the "crash" warning is worded "the affected ECU’s improperly signal the activation of the bikes’ fuel injectors. This can cause a loss of power on affected machines, which could induce a crash"

But I hope we are not seeing something similar, where we will see a number of failed attempts to update firmware, before ultimately being told it is a hardware failure that cannot be fixed via firmware and the units are recalled.

I completely agree with you.

 

[SDColorado]

I am not saying that I know emphatically that it is hardware. What I am saying though is that it is fairly obvious that Apple doesn't even know. And this my friends is the most frustrating part of all.

I keep seeing posts saying that it is "software." But it appears as though it is more likely "firmware" if not hardware? Yes, I know firmware is a software specifically designed for a piece of hardware, but it seems maybe both things Hardware & Software issue could be true at once.

 

[Premal212]

He is not entirely wrong, i never said that.
The guy is a legend, but he hates Apple and will bite it whenever possible.
Let's be honest, if Apple wasn't this popular, all these issues would not be so popular, too much media, youtube attention and negativity.

He is a legend indeed.

I don’t believe that imp not selling that hot compared to the iPhone or mbp is a valid reason for them to neglect the device. Seeing as technically it’s their most powerful, it’s the one that should have 24-7 support. I mean you buy a McLaren and they’ll come out to the race track and check your car before you take it for a spin.

If this is apples dimese and the pros go somewhere else. It would have to take another operating system, it would have to take a new player to the market. Out of nowhere, look at Beats (before Apple) out of nowhere they came and dominated the field (granted their quality is so so). All it takes is for the pros to go somewhere else, everyone will follow. You look at their adverts, guys creating beautiful art science and engineering. People want that lifestyle, they figure out it’s achieved somewhere else. Apple are done, don’t forget, we are still in control. Apple knows this but they have a LOT of buffer before they need to take action on it. Hence the 2016 models vs 2018.

You don’t defend yourself if you’re right. The headphone jack - they said courage and that was that.
The professionals, tim said a load of stuff about them caring about the pros etc. Multiple press releases etc.

 

[IG88]

That's a good question. Yours were AppleSMC related.
The only way to figure out if this has been addressed who hasn't installed the latest update yet would take a look at /System/Library/Extensions/AppleSMC.kext and check the version number (however there wasnt a new build in the latest update).

But given these are the only Kernel Extensions that were touched by the update, I don't think they have addressed anything coming from the SMC driver yet - (This doesn't necessarily mean anything because the driver speaks to what's being controlled by the SMC Unit that's part of the T2 Chip, so the fix might have been firmware side and didnt require a driver update*).
Given the size of the update, they might have touched on both drivers and firmware... (For example a few other crashes reported here came from the IOPCIFamily.kext which has indeed been touched by the update).

*There's a way to find out by dissecting the latest bridgeOS update:
http://newosxbook.com/articles/BridgeOS.html
But I feel like a wait & see approach is better than going through the hoops of all of this.

I attached a pmset log in case you find it interesting (I gutted most of it except for just before and a few hrs after the KP).

I turned the display off around:

• 2018-08-24 23:23:26 -0500 Notification

The KP happened around 10 minutes later at:

• "date" : "2018-08-24 11:32:12.64 -0500"

Here's the last 2 entries in in the log prior to the KP (while I was away with the lid closed)

2018-08-24 23:31:54 -0500 Wake Requests [proc=dasd request=SleepService inDelta=142732 info="com.apple.dasd:0:com.apple.apsd.apprefresh"] [*proc=dasd request=TimerPlugin inDelta=2375 info="com.apple.dasd:502:com.apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.BrowsingDatabases.Update"] [proc=mDNSResponder request=Maintenance inDelta=7200]

2018-08-24 23:31:54 -0500 PM Client Acks Delays to Sleep notifications: [com.apple.apsd is slow(1005 ms)] [mDNSResponder is slow(5008 ms)]

 

[tjoab]

I keep seeing posts saying that it is "software." But it appears as though it is more likely "firmware" if not hardware? Yes, I know firmware is a software specifically designed for a piece of hardware, but it seems maybe both things Hardware & Software issue could be true at once.

I’ve never thought of that point LOL, it’s software AND hardware faults, we are doomed

 

[SDColorado]

I’ve never thought of that point LOL, it’s software AND hardware faults, we are doomed

Welcome to the new Apple. Enjoy your new CrashBook Pro

It will be an interesting journey. Haven’t decided on keeping mine or not, but happy to have the extension to 30. Why can’t Apple just give 30 right off the bat? Don’t most?

 

[cwosigns]

Interesting that they say it was to address KPs and crackling speakers. I never had the crackling speakers, but 24 hours and no KPs since the update for me. Hope that holds. I love this computer.

 

[tjoab]

Welcome to the new Apple. Enjoy your new CrashBook Pro

It will be an interesting journey. Haven’t decided on keeping mine or not, but happy to have the extension to 30. Why can’t Apple just give 30 right off the bat? Don’t most?

Honestly I think I’m gonna go ahead and get my 13inch 2018 next week and deadass ask for the 30 days in store as I’m purchasing....wait for the September keynote to come out and see if the nontouchbar or anything else is getting updated, then return or go from there
(Hopefully it’s fixed by then)

That is if I can make it to the September event without pulling my hair out from kps

 

[SDColorado]

Interesting that they say it was to address KPs and crackling speakers. I never had the crackling speakers, but 24 hours and no KPs since the update for me. Hope that holds. I love this computer.

I like mine very much. I wish I could say love, but the prior issues and weak video card prevent it from being “love.”

 

[Wags]

I completely agree with you. That is my whole point here. If this is indeed hardware, Apple needs to own it sooner rather than later. This continued shrugging of the shoulders is only going to make the end result far more ugly if it is something that was dodged for many months, or even years.

I am not saying that I know emphatically that it is hardware. What I am saying though is that it is fairly obvious that Apple doesn't even know. And this my friends is the most frustrating part of all.

Apple probably has iMacs slated with same chip. They can’t admit there is a problem and still release.

 

[tjoab]

Guys...I think I figured it all out, so you guys remember when we put those plastic thingys with money on them in those machines at the Apple store... there was some fine print that’s signed us all up as beta testers!!!

 

[SDColorado]

Apple probably has iMacs slated with same chip. They can’t admit there is a problem and still release.

I am almost certain that is true. I believe the idea is to have it in all new models. Isn't there a Macbook and perhaps a mac mini also down the pipe?

 

[michael31986]

You should have gotten a message at startup stating your computer had to restart unexpectedly.

You can check for kernel panic logs as follows:

Console App:

/Library/Logs > DiagnosticReports > ProxiedDevice-Bridge​

Thanks! tried that nothing shows up there.

 

[IG88]

Thanks! tried that nothing shows up there.

Then you're ok.

 

[dspdoc]

Apple probably has iMacs slated with same chip. They can’t admit there is a problem and still release.

Point noted.

 

[SDColorado]

Point noted.

That and the issue with admitting that you have a problem is that the admission usually is accompanied with a solution/resolution and I am not sure Apple has a clear idea of what the problem truly is yet, let alone a solution that they can offer to owners.

 

[onelm]

Apple probably has iMacs slated with same chip. They can’t admit there is a problem and still release.

I just don't follow this logic--it assumes so much about not just Apple's internal processes, but also their motivations. It assumes that they have definitively identified a T2 hardware chip as the *cause* of the problem and are...what? actively just going to roll out new machines? Because an even _more_ widespread problem and angsty forum posters and endless hardware returns/exchanges == profit??

Realistically, they probably have T2's running Bridge OS sitting on engineers' benches right now running through (and probably passing) all kinds of tests. They may have even pulled T2's off of some of the logic boards from machines they've captured, to see if there are some kind of random manufacturing variances that could have affected certain chips, and if so, the manufacturing batches affected.

Meanwhile, they've also released a software fix patch that, at the very least, updated the software running on the T2. And still hasn't resolved all the issues, but maybe it has fixed some that they've identified through testing so far? The release of that patch is a beacon of hope that the problems of the people here aren't just going to be ignored as an "edge case", which is what I had always feared.

Every 5 or 6 pages of posts I have to also point out, again, that many 2016 and 2017 MBPs with the T1 chip also experienced these KPs with external devices connected. Make of that what you will.

Forgive me if I sound like I'm trying to give Apple a pass on this--I'm not, and I am deeply frustrated each time I forget to power down my monitors and I come back to find my MBP crashed. I just think that we should not take Apple's general refusal to comment on anything (which has always been their MO) as cold profit-seeking behaviour. Their path to profit has always been to make hardware that people love, and they know we're not loving our MBPs (and iMPs) right now.

Let's keep the discussion going, post the details of our KPs when we get them, and make sure that we keep the pressure alive as long as the problems exist -- but let's make that pressure fair, not accusatory.

 

[guillone]

I just don't follow this logic--it assumes so much about not just Apple's internal processes, but also their motivations. It assumes that they have definitively identified a T2 hardware chip as the *cause* of the problem and are...what? actively just going to roll out new machines? Because an even _more_ widespread problem and angsty forum posters and endless hardware returns/exchanges == profit??

Realistically, they probably have T2's running Bridge OS sitting on engineers' benches right now running through (and probably passing) all kinds of tests. They may have even pulled T2's off of some of the logic boards from machines they've captured, to see if there are some kind of random manufacturing variances that could have affected certain chips, and if so, the manufacturing batches affected.

Meanwhile, they've also released a software fix patch that, at the very least, updated the software running on the T2. And still hasn't resolved all the issues, but maybe it has fixed some that they've identified through testing so far? The release of that patch is a beacon of hope that the problems of the people here aren't just going to be ignored as an "edge case", which is what I had always feared.

Every 5 or 6 pages of posts I have to also point out, again, that many 2016 and 2017 MBPs with the T1 chip also experienced these KPs with external devices connected. Make of that what you will.

Forgive me if I sound like I'm trying to give Apple a pass on this--I'm not, and I am deeply frustrated each time I forget to power down my monitors and I come back to find my MBP crashed. I just think that we should not take Apple's general refusal to comment on anything (which has always been their MO) as cold profit-seeking behaviour. Their path to profit has always been to make hardware that people love, and they know we're not loving our MBPs (and iMPs) right now.

Let's keep the discussion going, post the details of our KPs when we get them, and make sure that we keep the pressure alive as long as the problems exist -- but let's make that pressure fair, not accusatory.

I'm keeping the pressure alive, I just bought a Dell.....

 

[TTOZ]

That's right.

Some iMac users claim that Apple TB3->TB2 adapter causes kernel panic. My MBP 2018 also panicked when the adapter was connected. However, there are people who get panics without connecting any but power source during sleep. Maybe we are dealing with some deeper problem of T2..

Well this will suck for me as I just had an imac Pro delivered, base model with 64gb ram and 2TB SSD, and i *have* to use the TB3 to TB2 connector cause I use UAD Apollo interfaces.. 4 units daisy chained. A person at the apple forums is having kernel panics with the same audio device especially if it's daisy chained, so I guess that's the first thing I have to test.. I have twelve days left in my return period as I have been ill the last couple days and didn't use it till today.

Is there anything else I can do to see if my machine is affected? I'll max out the test time as best I can.

Very interesting, and sad discussion. Especially for MBP 2018 users who seem to be affected in much greater number.

After 10 years with Apple, I was actually about to build a windows PC for music and video production for the first time, a very powerful 7940X overclocked to 4GHZ.. would have been insane (need TBolt otherwise would have looked at Ryzen also).. But professionals that build workstation machines actually told me not to switch and that windows 10 forced updates break things on a weekly basis.. So the windows USERS lol put me off and I bought the imac Pro.. Darn I hope it just works.. for almost 10,000 AUD, it better!

 

[zhy3213]

After all the discussion in this thread I'm more and more likely to buy a Windows laptop and hack a macOS into it. Even a hackintosh is sound more stable than MacBook now, what a shame. I'm considering Aero15X as a choice, which has a way better GFX card and cooling system, and similar other specs on a similar price.

 

[Queen6]

Disclaimer: I am not an Apple Hater and everything I own computer tech-wise other than a Surface Pro is Apple.

I don’t know if I am allowed to post a link here due to his sometimes off-color language in his videos, but Louis Rossman’s “The Awful Truth About Apples Repeated Engineering Failures” is a good watch and includes some of Apples famous “fixes” such as the 2008 MacBook Pro, which had a video card issue. In order to determine if the unit had a video card issue, Apple required that the technician be able to boot the machine into OS and run a diagnostic, but the problem was that the majority that had the video card failure would not boot. Therefore it could not be determined that it was the video card that failed. Problem solved


Find it on YouTube if you are interested, or not ..

Historically Apple does not fix it's hardware issues. Apple very much waits until it's in an untenable position publicly and/or a court of law, Apple then issues an extended warranty program which generally only replaces the flawed component with exactly the same or worse still refurbished/reworked items.

If the T2 related crashes are hardware related all those effected are going to be in for a rough ride similar to the 2011 15" MBP dGPU fiasco. Apple's silence and lack of action similar to the recent Butterfly keyboard also makes me personally think that there's potentially a lot of $$$$ on the table here, with Apple very much wanting to avoid yet another costly repair program.

Personally I moved off the Mac professionally a couple of years back as I was dissatisfied with Apple's direction. Unfortunately Apple has done little to nothing in my mind to reverse that decision, rather more it has bolstered it. I simply don't have the time to deal with tracing KP's, deal with obvious design flaws or babying computers that run far too hot for their own good.

For all the talk Apple is now purely a consumer based provider, it's hardware may still fit your professional needs, equally as time is illustrating, it's becoming a riskier venture with every new iteration...

Q-6

 

[apiro]

I just think that we should not take Apple's general refusal to comment on anything (which has always been their MO) as cold profit-seeking behaviour. Their path to profit has always been to make hardware that people love, and they know we're not loving our MBPs (and iMPs) right now.

Let's keep the discussion going, post the details of our KPs when we get them, and make sure that we keep the pressure alive as long as the problems exist -- but let's make that pressure fair, not accusatory.

They've released the keyboard that gets breaking for 3 consecutive years. And only admitted it the third year. That's all you need to know about "how Apple will not release new iMacs with broken T2".

They've released MBPs with T2 when the problem has already been seen on iMac Pros.

I think they are trying to solve the problem. But not solving won't stop them from releasing new machines with this problem. And that IS cold profit-seeking behaviour.
[doublepost=1535620023][/doublepost]

Historically Apple does not fix it's hardware issues. Apple very much waits until it's in an untenable position publicly and/or a court of law, Apple then issues an extended warranty program which generally only replaces the flawed component with exactly the same or worse still refurbished/reworked items.

If the T2 related crashes are hardware related all those effected are going to be in for a rough ride similar to the 2011 15" MBP dGPU fiasco. Apple's silence and lack of action similar to the recent Butterfly keyboard also makes me personally think that there's potentially a lot of $$$$ on the table here, with Apple very much wanting to avoid yet another costly repair program.

Yup. Historically they admit hardware problems in the end of 2nd-beginning of 3rd year after release. I think statistically they choose the time where most of people already got ridden of the faulty machines and repairing the rest won't be a too big burden and won't hurt their new sales. Unless they're class-action law-sued before that.

So if this is a hardware problem, we're in for a long tough ride (I've just ordered maxed-out 13"). Let's hope it's not.

 

[doitdada]

Just got refunded. Goodbye Apple!