Help! Updated to macOS 10.12.4, MBP randomly shuts off

[bivalvegruff]

Update:

After applying new thermal paste, my MacBook is much more stable. Unfortunately, the problem hasn't completely gone away. But it's such a huge difference – it ran for 4 days until I eventually had to reboot it because of something else – that I'm thinking it has got to do with the heat.

I read that thermal paste needs about 200 hours of runtime before it's fully effective, and that's about the time it took before it got this stable. But it still dies occasionally – maybe I didn't apply the paste well enough? It was my first time doing that. It seems to die much more frequently when I close the lid, which I think contradicts the theory that it would be related to the paste.

 

[outluch]

Was having this same issue and deleting/renaming AppleThunderboltNHI.kext file was working fine for a few weeks with osx 10.13.5
Earlier tonight I updated to 10.13.6 and within 30 mins I was getting shutdowns just like before. The only problem is AppleThunderboltNHI.kext is not replaced, but still named AppleThunderboltNHI.kext.BAK

Anyone else havee this problem?

Look for AppleThunderboltNHI.kext (no BAK). After each OS upgrade there one fresh new .kext. And old BAK. Remove BAK and repeat fix from 1 step. (maybe you will be able to remove BAK only in csrutil off mode.

 

[Wookbert]

*** Found permanent Hardware fix ***

Folks, I thought that you might be interested in my recent find of what looks to be a permanent hardware fix to the infamous random shutdown issue.

TL; DR

Replaced the factory-installed Apple Samsung F-Type SSD (imprinted Model ID ends to /0A6) with an Apple Samsung G-Type SSD (Model ID ends to /0A4). Machine now behaves totally normal.

Full story

I bought a bunch of 512 GB Apple Samsung SSDs last week for resale, of which one was intended to be an upgrade for a 'random-shutdown' MacBook Pro Retina (15" Mid-2014; it worked OK with the Thunderbolt-Ethernet-Driver removed ... but then of course lacked the Thunderbolt Ethernet).

The MacBook had an Apple Samsung SM0256F (so an F-Type; Model ID MZ-JPU256T/0A6) installed when bought. Did blank out after a few seconds, fans spun up, followed by shutdown shortly thereafter. The known problem.

I first tested consecutively 4 pcs. Apple Samsung SM0512F (so again F-Type; Model ID MZ-JPU512T/0A6) - sudden shutdown pattern on each of them.

Then I tested 2 pcs. Apple Samsung SM0512G (note: G-Type!; Model IDs MZ-JPV5120/0A4 and MZ-JPV512S/0A4) ... and to my big surprise, no sudden shutdown with those installed. The MacBook behaved totally NORMAL!

Even better side effect is that according to Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, the G-types are significantly faster than the F-types.

G: ~ 1,320 MB/s Write & 1,500 MB/s Read
VS.
F: ~ 700 MB/s Write & 720 MB/s Read

I assume that the G-types have more PCIe channels, which perhaps draws a bit more power, thus likely prevents the CPU to cross that low-voltage threshold, which AFAIK causes the shutdown issue. See here for more info on the various Apple SSD models, wherein the PCIe channels differences are described -> https://beetstech.com/blog/apple-proprietary-ssd-ultimate-guide-to-specs-and-upgrades

It remains to be tested, if this only did the job in my particular random-shutdown MacBook or if it works for your MacBooks as well.

 

[psychodalien]

Hi! To introduce some diversity I would like to point out that I have OS X El Capitan installed on my macbook pro retina mid 2014 (11,3). So the problem relates not only to Sierra. Everything worked like a charm until recently. I performed all kinds of resets, formatting and clean installs - but the problem still here. All diagnostic tests passed.
I'm not 100% sure, but when I install latest updates for El Capitan (I have an App Store image of el capitan - so firstly i install it from external flash drive, and then after installation I click "Software Update" and it updates via internet) it shuts down more often.
I couldn't find any dependency between cpu or gpu load and shut offs - I tried to make copy, archiving operations and using gpu/cpu intensive apps - nothing happened. At the same time it could shut down just when I was watching YouTube.

And also - anyone could be so kind to reupload the script - the link is dead.

 

[outluch]

Hi! To introduce some diversity I would like to point out that I have OS X El Capitan installed on my macbook pro retina mid 2014 (11,3). So the problem relates not only to Sierra. Everything worked like a charm until recently. I performed all kinds of resets, formatting and clean installs - but the problem still here. All diagnostic tests passed.
I'm not 100% sure, but when I install latest updates for El Capitan (I have an App Store image of el capitan - so firstly i install it from external flash drive, and then after installation I click "Software Update" and it updates via internet) it shuts down more often.
I couldn't find any dependency between cpu or gpu load and shut offs - I tried to make copy, archiving operations and using gpu/cpu intensive apps - nothing happened. At the same time it could shut down just when I was watching YouTube.

And also - anyone could be so kind to reupload the script - the link is dead.

Read this topic last 4 pages, or just go and make steps from my summary site: https://outluch.wixsite.com/rmbp-crash
No need for script if you dont use ethernet via thunderbolt.

 

[psychodalien]

Read this topic last 4 pages, or just go and make steps from my summary site: https://outluch.wixsite.com/rmbp-crash
No need for script if you dont use ethernet via thunderbolt.

Thank you, Outluch, I'll give it a try. Sometimes I use Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter, btw...But It's a matter of putting the required .kext back into place, I suppose?

 

[slowbullet]

Hello,
I've been running my Macbook 2014(11,3) fine for more than 8 months on 10.12.6 (16G29, 16G1114 and 16G1408 looking at my TM backups). I use my laptop for work and sometime home. When at work I use a TB to Ethernet adapter.

On June 9th, I've upgraded to 10.14 beta 1, eager to try the new dark mode. I ran this for another month fine without issues.

On the 1st of July I reverted to Sierra 10.12.6 from my TimeMachine backup as I had an app not working in 10.14 that I needed very much.

Since then, I've seen this problem we have all... sudden shutdowns...

I'm running now without the kext AppleThunderboltNHI but wondering if anyone has tried to see if this is not an issue in 10.11 ?


Very frustrated as I even tried to replace /System from my 10.12.6 (16G1114) backup which I am sure was running ok 100%... so it's really a weird issue I don't understand....

 

[revjon]

I have been having shutdown problems too. Like so many i have tried SMC PRAM resets and the like. My Macbook pro is a 15" late 2013 with High Sierra 10.13.6. I started runing smc fan control at about 4250rpm fan speed instead of default fan control. High fan speed has solved my problem at least temporarily. I tried to lower the fan speed to 3500 and the shutdowns started again. Elevating fan speed stopped the problem. Could this be a heat sink, or heat paste problem which is mitigated by higher fan speed?

 

[slowbullet]

As I use the ethernet/thunderbolt quite a lot I resorted to move AppleThunderboltNHI.kext in /Library/Extensions/

This allows me to remove or add it when needed, without having to disable the system integrity protection, just need to copy the kext, run "kextcache -i /" and reboot. At least I can easily make sure what I need works without sudden shutdowns.

Hello,
I've been running my Macbook 2014(11,3) fine for more than 8 months on 10.12.6 (16G29, 16G1114 and 16G1408 looking at my TM backups). I use my laptop for work and sometime home. When at work I use a TB to Ethernet adapter.

On June 9th, I've upgraded to 10.14 beta 1, eager to try the new dark mode. I ran this for another month fine without issues.

On the 1st of July I reverted to Sierra 10.12.6 from my TimeMachine backup as I had an app not working in 10.14 that I needed very much.

Since then, I've seen this problem we have all... sudden shutdowns...

I'm running now without the kext AppleThunderboltNHI but wondering if anyone has tried to see if this is not an issue in 10.11 ?


Very frustrated as I even tried to replace /System from my 10.12.6 (16G1114) backup which I am sure was running ok 100%... so it's really a weird issue I don't understand....

 

[appleino]

Same problem here on a 15' MacBook Pro (2015). System shuts down at night when the lid is closed and the computer sleeps. It happens totally randomly, sometimes every night for a few consecutive days and then it stops for a while before shutting down again (longest time I went without a reboot was around 2 weeks). Will try the TB kext fix since the machine is out of warranty and I don't want to spend money on hardware fixes that might not solve the issue like reported by some users here.

The only thing I could find in the logs was the following:

BUG in libdispatch client: kevent[EVFILT_MACHPORT] monitored resource vanished before the source cancel handler was invoked

Timestamp was in the middle of the night last night and the computer was in a rebooted state this morning, hence it should be a log related to the crash?

 

[porto]

*** Found permanent Hardware fix ***

Folks, I thought that you might be interested in my recent find of what looks to be a permanent hardware fix to the infamous random shutdown issue.

TL; DR

Replaced the factory-installed Apple Samsung F-Type SSD (imprinted Model ID ends to /0A6) with an Apple Samsung G-Type SSD (Model ID ends to /0A4). Machine now behaves totally normal.

Full story

I bought a bunch of 512 GB Apple Samsung SSDs last week for resale, of which one was intended to be an upgrade for a 'random-shutdown' MacBook Pro Retina (15" Mid-2014; it worked OK with the Thunderbolt-Ethernet-Driver removed ... but then of course lacked the Thunderbolt Ethernet).

The MacBook had an Apple Samsung SM0256F (so an F-Type; Model ID MZ-JPU256T/0A6) installed when bought. Did blank out after a few seconds, fans spun up, followed by shutdown shortly thereafter. The known problem.

I first tested consecutively 4 pcs. Apple Samsung SM0512F (so again F-Type; Model ID MZ-JPU512T/0A6) - sudden shutdown pattern on each of them.

Then I tested 2 pcs. Apple Samsung SM0512G (note: G-Type!; Model IDs MZ-JPV5120/0A4 and MZ-JPV512S/0A4) ... and to my big surprise, no sudden shutdown with those installed. The MacBook behaved totally NORMAL!

Even better side effect is that according to Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, the G-types are significantly faster than the F-types.

G: ~ 1,320 MB/s Write & 1,500 MB/s Read
VS.
F: ~ 700 MB/s Write & 720 MB/s Read

I assume that the G-types have more PCIe channels, which perhaps draws a bit more power, thus likely prevents the CPU to cross that low-voltage threshold, which AFAIK causes the shutdown issue. See here for more info on the various Apple SSD models, wherein the PCIe channels differences are described -> https://beetstech.com/blog/apple-proprietary-ssd-ultimate-guide-to-specs-and-upgrades

It remains to be tested, if this only did the job in my particular random-shutdown MacBook or if it works for your MacBooks as well.

I'd like to join this party. I've got a mid-2014 13-inch mbp retina with High Sierra that shuts down constantly.

Apple support didn't help. Moving the drivers did not fix it. Reinstalling OSX sometimes helps for a while... somehow I got it to stop shutting down for a couple months, but it's doing it again now. I found that holding a key down from startup (like '=') keeps the system from shutting down. The python script also works! But, like others say, it's not a good long term solution.

I'm considering trying a new SSD, but man that's an expensive fix!! Any advice where I can get one of G-Types for a reasonable price?

(Could it be that the SSD itself is going bad? Don't they go bad after 100,000 read/writes or something close to that?)

 

[mikenatz]

Hi there, ok so i ran the code on terminal trick and it has worked but using 100 percent of my cpu makes my mac hot but still am happy it works. Now i followed all the steps in your tutorial but however when i drag Run shell script and it opens, i then select as arguments in the drop down, i get a code as follows :-

for f in "$@"
do
echo "$f"
done

so should i wipe this code away and then enter your code or should i just enter your code after this ??
i tried doing both and saved the application etc but when i restarted my mac it gave me an error saying MacFix cant open due to the error.

And about the authorised apple service center i collected my mac and they said there is a problem with the logic board and that will need replacement. and the replacement cost is 44,000 rupees.

Could someone share this again, as the dropbox link expired

 

[RSX]

I don't understand why there wasn't a update fix in the last osx updates, so many people with this issue including me with mbpr 2014 and no response fix from apple...
BTW deleting the thunderbolt driver didn't change anything I still have the same problem.

 

[mikenatz]

I don't understand why there wasn't a update fix in the last osx updates, so many people with this issue including me with mbpr 2014 and no response fix from apple...
BTW deleting the thunderbolt driver didn't change anything I still have the same problem.

Try to replace all of these 12 files. It should work. But honestly I believe that my Mac slowed down using this solution. Best one that works for me is a python script, try this.

 

[DeltaMac]

Try to replace all of these 12 files. It should work. But honestly I believe that my Mac slowed down using this solution. Best one that works for me is a python script, try this.

You show a list of files to replace, but you don't offer any information about what you replace them with.
How about a link to "a python script" that you want someone to try?

 

[mikenatz]

You show a list of files to replace, but you don't offer any information about what you replace them with.
How about a link to "a python script" that you want someone to try?

By replacing I meant to just get rid of them from the Extensions folder (after you enable csrutil in terminal). Simply create another folder and rename it to ex. Extensions Disbaled and move mentioned files into the new location.

Python script is available few pages back, someone already uploaded it.

 

[delboy27]

Just signed up to add that this just happened yesterday to my mid-2012 non-retina MacBook Pro running 10.12.6.

Took me hours going through the SMC and PRAM etc to no avail. Finally stumbled upon this article. Removing thunderboltnhi.ktext did the trick.

I’m travelling and working for the next two weeks so it would have been very frustrating if I couldn’t get it to work.

Just wanted to thank you guys for saving me lots of hassle and potentially money!

Del

P.S. so many people experiencing it in the last week or two.. coincidence??

By replacing I meant to just get rid of them from the Extensions folder (after you enable csrutil in terminal). Simply create another folder and rename it to ex. Extensions Disbaled and move mentioned files into the new location.

Python script is available few pages back, someone already uploaded it.

 

[CoderGeek82]

Problem Statement
============
I faced the same issue 4 months back when I upgraded to macOS High Sierra. I am currently running macOS High Sierra Version 10.13.6 with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)

What I tried and failed
=============
After weeks of hit and trial methods, taking my MBP to multiple Apple care centres I decided to do some more research but nothing solved my issue. I tried SMC reset, NVRAM and PRAM reset, reinstall of the complete operating system after a complete format. Nothing solved this issue.

The alternate Solution
=============
Then one fine day I installed a VOIP application that I was using a few years back for gaming purpose. The application is called TeamSpeak and I noticed when this application is running my MBP never crashed / shutoff ever again. I just simply connect to my TeamSpeak Channel at ts.Drag2Death.com and just stay in the Guest room and mute.

Choice is yours
==========
I think this application does something similar to what nicoguzman's python script does, keeping MBP busy constantly and hence has same effect. TeamSpeak app is taking about 10 to 11% CPU resources whereas the python script takes up 14 to 18%. But honestly I never shared this solution with anyone cause I wasn't sure until I stumbled upon to this thread recently.

Extra Read below this
==============

I believe this is some sort of time bomb that apple has inflicted upon its earlier customers so that we are forced to visit MBP service centres once our warranty and extended warranty is over and get motherboard replaced. If this isn't the case then probably the newer OS is at fault.

I went to a company called Fixxo.in to get my MBP fixed and these guys also had no idea about this issue and just like any other service centre suggested, replaced my battery which was in perfect state and had only done 504 cycles (Benchmark is 1k cycles) and charged me approximately 137 USD (10k INR) for the new battery.

My problem never got fixed with the battery replacement and all the other efforts went in vain.

So those of you who don't want to remove that thunderbolt file or run the python script are also open to explore this application. Just run it, connect to my channel ts.Drag2Death.com (no password) join the guest room, mute and forget about it. Your machine will never go down. BTW say hi to me if you find me there. My ID is "CoderGeek82"

 

[gmac34]

I have a tweaked solution, for who like me needs the thunderbolt ports.

So, moving the AppleThunderboltNHI.kext driver means that every tunderbold device will not be recognised if hot plugged so not only the thunderbolt lan adapter but also hard drives and other things.

If you reboot they will be recognised as PCI devices, but this still results in random shutdowns for me, so it's important to disconnect any tunderbolt device before turning on the machine, also because PCI drivers do not support hot plug, so you can get a kernel panic if you remove e device this way.

_______________________________________
So, enter the "hybrid" solution:


First, neutralise the driver by moving it to a different folder without renaming it

if you haven't disabled SIP already

1) reboot with CMD+R pressed
2) open Terminal
3) sudo csrutil disable
4) reboot

5) open terminal
6) sudo mkdir /System/Library/Extensions_dis (create a directory to store "disabled" drivers)
7) sudo mv /System/Library/Extensions/AppleThunderboltNHI.kext /System/Library/Extensions_dis/AppleThunderboltNHI.kext

if you want to re-enable SIP
8) reboot with CMD+R pressed
9) csrutil enable
10) reboot

Now you can create an executable to run every time you need to use the a thunderbolt device, this script will load the driver and launch the famous python script to prevent the Mac from crashing.

The python script is using a considerable amount of power so wen the thunderbolt device are not needed its better not to have it running for better battery life and performances.

1) Open automator and create a new "Application" document
2) from the side bar select "Run Shell Script", under Utilities
3) select the kind of shell as “/usr/bin/python“
4) paste this code:

from time import sleep
import os

os.system ("killall ScriptMonitor") #this avoids having the automator monitor open after running the application

os.system (" echo yourPassword | sudo -S kextload /System/Library/Extensions_dis/AppleThunderboltNHI.kext ") #this loads the driver

#this keeps your mac alive, you can tweak the number, the original one is (0.00002) and corresponds to a quite hight 20% cpu load, (0.001) is around 2% and its seems to be enough on my system
while True:
sleep(0.001)

5) replace "yourPassword" with your system password, it is needed to load the kext

6) export the application, if you prefer you can download the zip form here https://github.com/pignoniG/Load_Tunderbolt but you need to edit the "Contents/document.wflow" file inside the app and replace "yourPassword" with your password.

 

[loteqc]

Hi guys,
Same problem as the most of you here, MBP15 Late 2013, High Sierra, shuts down every 2-5 minutes without any reason, no hardware issues. Been in the Apple Store - they found nothing.
After reading this thread and trying different things (only Python script works in my case ) I think I found another way without creating any additional charge on the CPU and though no additional battery loss.

Here's the link where a guy basically disables most of the drivers: usb, thunderbolt etc and after that no shutdowns MacOS.
In my case when something is connected via Thunderbolt (screen, ethernet etc) MBP doesn't shutdown at all.
So I took from the list of the drivers only Thunderbolt related ones (which start with "AppleThunderbolt") and it runs ok !
But obviously I want to be able to connect external displays via Thunderbolt so I started enabling one after another to see if I can find one which causes problems and I think I found it (at least in my case).

So if you disable (move out of /System/Library/Extensions) AppleThunderboltNHI.kext driver then reboot. Everything runs ok, you can connect external screens via Thunderbolt.

The only drawback is that Ethernet via Thunderbolt will not work.


PS : you can't just move kext driver files from /System/Library/Extensions even if you're root. You need to disable "csrutil" (just google it)

Yep, you just revived my macbook. I have probably been looking up this issue 20+ times without finding a real solution. Hats off to you!

 

[maciek1422]

I don't understand why there wasn't a update fix in the last osx updates, so many people with this issue including me with mbpr 2014 and no response fix from apple...
BTW deleting the thunderbolt driver didn't change anything I still have the same problem.

Deleting all 12 drivers that someone listed don't help me. I must use python script all the time. I lost hope for repairing it... Apple should change our motherboards or something.

 

[gmac34]

Deleting all 12 drivers that someone listed don't help me. I must use python script all the time. I lost hope for repairing it... Apple should change our motherboards or something.

If you are sure you did everything correctly (disabled SIP? did your computer update since the day you removed the kext?) you can probably make the pyhon script less of a problem reducing the load. The 20% cpu load was unnecessarily high for my machine, I get a stable computer with just 2% load.

To try to increase gradually the value of sleep, the original one is (0.00002) but now I'm using (0.001)

while True:
sleep(0.001)

 

[maciek1422]

If you are sure you did everything correctly (disabled SIP? did your computer update since the day you removed the kext?) you can probably make the pyhon script less of a problem reducing the load. The 20% cpu load was unnecessarily high for my machine, I get a stable computer with just 2% load.

To try to increase gradually the value of sleep, the original one is (0.00002) but now I'm using (0.001)

while True:
sleep(0.001)

Yes, I'm definitely sure and have no idea why it didn't help me. When I try python with value = 0.002 my Mac still freeze sometimes, so I'm using default value. I'm so angry because I can't even sell my Mac with this issue (or maybe for a fraction of amount that I pay). I'm also angry because I had apple care, but they didn't help me, said that everything is okay.

 

[gmac34]

Yes, I'm definitely sure and have no idea why it didn't help me. When I try python with value = 0.002 my Mac still freeze sometimes, so I'm using default value. I'm so angry because I can't even sell my Mac with this issue (or maybe for a fraction of amount that I pay). I'm also angry because I had apple care, but they didn't help me, said that everything is okay.

You can tweak the value to get to sweetspot of lowest performance reduction and stability.
As a matter of fact I just bought my "piece of ****" macbook pro retina, used, form someone that was not as onest as you I suppose...
So, you know , it could be worse

 

[maciek1422]

You can tweak the value to get to sweetspot of lowest performance reduction and stability.
As a matter of fact I just bought my "piece of ****" macbook pro retina, used, form someone that was not as onest as you I suppose...
So, you know , it could be worse

Oh... So you can't talk with guy who sell you this crap?
I wondering where I could write about this issue to have any chance that someone from Apple will see this and help maybe.
I think that all of us should work together to show Apple that it's a bigger problem and they should run repair program. Maybe we should try on Reddit? But someone should write about it (my English is not good enough).