Mac Mini 2018 Kernel panic bug_type 210 after Security Update 2020-002

[msephton]

"Big Sur beta install to force the latest T2 update" worked for me.

I would recommend installing Big Sur on a separate drive, because it totally messed up my APFS container (notification on login: "INCOMPATIBLE DISK, uses features which are not supported on version of macOS") and I had to erase it completely and restore my system from backup.

 

[msephton]

Also, I would not expect this fix to be rolled back to Mojave and Catalina unless there is a another update before Big Sur is released, and even then it's unlikely. Once Big Sur has shipped, the window for this fix is pretty much closed completely.

In times gone by I had to use the WiFi kext from Mojave on High Sierra to sidestep a bug that was introduced in a High Sierra point update. Apple Engineers told me that the fix would never be rolled back because of policy of only supporting the current OS, even though it had been introduced in a point update. Mojave was their focus, to the detriment of everything else. They only look forward.

 

[BroncoBear]

"Big Sur beta install to force the latest T2 update" worked for me.

I would recommend installing Big Sur on a separate drive, because it totally messed up my APFS container (notification on login: "INCOMPATIBLE DISK, uses features which are not supported on version of macOS") and I had to erase it completely and restore my system from backup.

Hi msephton
Just so I am understanding correctly…
You installed Big Sur on an external drive and in the process of installing the new system it updated the firmware of the T2 chip?
So when you went back to Mojavethe sleep problem and Safari was no longer an issue?

 

[008dp]

Hi msephton
Just so I am understanding correctly…
You installed Big Sur on an external drive and in the process of installing the new system it updated the firmware of the T2 chip?
So when you went back to Mojavethe sleep problem and Safari was no longer an issue?

Yes, this is what I did also, and the issue appears to be gone.

 

[mindaz]

Hi all,
another (hopefully) former victim of Security Update 2020-002 here. I was struggling with frequent crashes during sleep since the end of March (Mac mini 2018 with Mojave 10.14.6), ended with Amphetamine set to indefinite awake session. Two days ago I tried the Big Sur route. Signed up to the Apple beta software program, downloaded Big Sur public beta (12GB), installed it on my external USB drive and then put it back to the drawer. During the system installation T2 firmware was upgraded from 17P6065 to 18P50347c and Boot ROM version from 1037.147.1.0.0 (iBridge 17.16.16065.0.0,0) to 1554.0.0.141.1 (iBridge: 18.16.10347.5.3,0).
Anyway, after booting back from Mojave, it's been two days of fine sleep without any problem now. It looks to me that it also resolved two additional annoying issues I had:
1/ my Wacom tablet was unusable for about 10 seconds after every wake-up (frozen pointer), and
2/ I had frequent spontaneous wake-ups of the computer during the sleep (even with Power Nap, Wake for network access, Find My Mac and other suspected processes turned off).
Now both issues seems to be gone as well. Let's hope that my long-term report will remain unchanged.

Many thanks to all trying to solve this frustrating problem and especially for the Big Sur beta tip!

 

[008dp]

Hi all,
another (hopefully) former victim of Security Update 2020-002 here. I was struggling with frequent crashes during sleep since the end of March (Mac mini 2018 with Mojave 10.14.6), ended with Amphetamine set to indefinite awake session. Two days ago I tried the Big Sur route. Signed up to the Apple beta software program, downloaded Big Sur public beta (12GB), installed it on my external USB drive and then put it back to the drawer. During the system installation T2 firmware was upgraded from 17P6065 to 18P50347c and Boot ROM version from 1037.147.1.0.0 (iBridge 17.16.16065.0.0,0) to 1554.0.0.141.1 (iBridge: 18.16.10347.5.3,0).
Anyway, after booting back from Mojave, it's been two days of fine sleep without any problem now. It looks to me that it also resolved two additional annoying issues I had:
1/ my Wacom tablet was unusable for about 10 seconds after every wake-up (frozen pointer), and
2/ I had frequent spontaneous wake-ups of the computer during the sleep (even with Power Nap, Wake for network access, Find My Mac and other suspected processes turned off).
Now both issues seems to be gone as well. Let's hope that my long-term report will remain unchanged.

Many thanks to all trying to solve this frustrating problem and especially for the Big Sur beta tip!

I haven't used my Wacom on the MM since applying the Big Sur fix, but I have experienced that issue as well - hopefully it's been resolved on mine also.

 

[Green242]

I'm using an old 23" Apple Cinema HD Display over HDMI (via an Apple DVI-HDMI adapter) with the mini. I get the 'corrupted display' static issue each time I startup, and have to unplug/replug the monitor into the mini's HDMI port each time I start the system. This hasn't changed with the new T2 firmware that came with the Big Sur installation, unfortunately.

I have the same monitor and adapter which had some similar issues on older mini's as well. I found it best to bypass the HDMI port. On my current 2018 with Mohjave and then Catilina I solved the issue, which for me was a line down the center of the screen and artifacts on the edges. I would need to do same to fix after sleep or reboot, by unplugging the HDMI and pluging back in to fix.

By adding another adapter, this one is an HDMI to USB-C 3.1Gen 2 OWC Travel Dock and plunging it in to the Thunderbolt port the monitor works perfectly without the lines and no more unplugging/repluging the HDMI connector to fix.

I can also confirm that this worked for me on 2 different Mini's, a 2018 i7 running Mojave and a 2020 i5 running Catiina.

Hope that helps!

 

[Boyd01]

I have the same monitor and adapter which had some similar issues on older mini's as well. I found it best to bypass the HDMI port.

I also have one of those, got it with my G5 in 2006 IIRC. Cost a fortune back then, but I certainly got my money's worth over the years and it still looks surprisingly good. Have used it continuously on a variety of computers until I got my 2018 Mini in June and thought it was time to move on. Used it for years on my 2012 quad Mini and never had any problems. I was using the Apple HDMI to DVI adapter that originally shipped with the 2012 Mini. Haven't tried it on the 2018 Mini.

 

[BroncoBear]

Yes, this is what I did also, and the issue appears to be gone.

008dp
Did you have to boot up from big sur external drive to update the firmware, or did it update on the install process to the external drive?

 

[008dp]

008dp
Did you have to boot up from big sur external drive to update the firmware, or did it update on the install process to the external drive?

I'm pretty sure it was updated from the install before I booted into it. I actually had issues trying to boot into BS straight after the install, so went back to Mojave and found that firmware was updated, and didn't try again with Big Sur until the next day (when I eventually did manage to get in).

 

[BroncoBear]

I'm pretty sure it was updated from the install before I booted into it. I actually had issues trying to boot into BS straight after the install, so went back to Mojave and found that firmware was updated, and didn't try again with Big Sur until the next day (when I eventually did manage to get in).

Thank you

 

[llihp]

Which version of the Beta fixes this? I might try and install it on flash stick and see if it fixes it for me.

 

[Colstan]

Two days ago I installed Big Sur Beta 4 on an external hard drive. I had forgotten that I had disabled booting from an external drive. So, I never actually got into Big Sur. That wasn't my goal. The firmware updated regardless. Not only has it completely resolved the crash issues with Safari, sleep and BridgeOS, but I have the bong sound back at startup, like the good old days.

This whole incident has made me much more wary of system updates, even just "minor" security updates. I used to update without considering the consequences. Now I consider the time while the firmware is updating to be the "two minutes of terror" because I never know what it's going to mess up, or if there's a chance that my Mac mini will get bricked.

I'll be glad when BridgeOS and the T2 are a thing of the past, once the Mac moves to Apple Silicon. There have been significant benefits from the T2, but the added complexity is a kludge that's really just a bridge to Apple's own SoC.

Again, standard disclaimer, Big Sur is still in beta and can potentially cause issues, even if you are just updating the firmware. In fact, that's probably the most risky aspect of this. It's good that beta 4 is open to the public, which probably means Apple considers it more stable, but if anyone considering this is feeling cautious, then wait for the final release. Just because it worked on my Mac mini, doesn't mean that it will work out well for others.

I have noticed that startup/shutdown takes a little longer with the new firmware, but as far as I can tell, everything runs fine.

Colstan

 

[008dp]

...

I have noticed that startup/shutdown takes a little longer with the new firmware, but as far as I can tell, everything runs fine.

Colstan

That's the one "negative" I've noticed as well—startup takes a lot longer to reach the login screen with the new firmware installed.

 

[Lasthenia]

---

I have noticed that startup/shutdown takes a little longer with the new firmware, but as far as I can tell, everything runs fine.

Colstan

I also noticed that startup and shutdown took longer after installing the Big Sur beta on an external disk. Didn't bother to boot Big Sur up and just erased the external disk afterwards.

I run this Mac mini headless and also found that the NewerTech 4K HDMI dummy plug no longer works although HDMI output is fine. I did check that the dummy plug still works on another mini.

Did a fresh install of Mojave from a bootable USB drive just in case but no change to the startup/shutdown delay.

So far no sign of the dreaded Kernel Panic bug...

 

[TomM1]

So is the consensus that upgrading to Catalina from Mojave fixes this Safari sleep crash thing?

 

[brandair]

No, that's not the consensus

Installing Big Sur Beta it is. Even an incomplete install suffices as long as the deranged T2 chip gets updated with the improved firmware. Fixed all the problems I had from the last Mojave "Security" update - Sleep crashing, some external hard disks stuck on loading, and other minor ones. Further bonus - startup now happens again with the "chime" sound.

So is the consensus that upgrading to Catalina from Mojave fixes this Safari sleep crash thing?

 

[msephton]

Hi msephton
Just so I am understanding correctly…
You installed Big Sur on an external drive and in the process of installing the new system it updated the firmware of the T2 chip?
So when you went back to Mojavethe sleep problem and Safari was no longer an issue?

Exactly this.

 

[davidlv]

No, that's not the consensus

Installing Big Sur Beta it is. Even an incomplete install suffices as long as the deranged T2 chip gets updated with the improved firmware. Fixed all the problems I had from the last Mojave "Security" update - Sleep crashing, some external hard disks stuck on loading, and other minor ones. Further bonus - startup now happens again with the "chime" sound.

What do you expect would happen if Apple releases another Security Update before Big Sur is released?
Do you think it will be OK to install any such update after having the T2 chip firmware updated?

 

[008dp]

What do you expect would happen if Apple releases another Security Update before Big Sur is released?
o you think it will be OK to install any such update after having the T2 chip firmware updated?

Probably nothing would happen. But just wait until and see what others report before installing any update yourself.

 

[Lasthenia]

... Further bonus - startup now happens again with the "chime" sound.

I used this Terminal command in Mojave to turn on the startup chime in the Mac mini 2018:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%00

To turn it off use:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%01

 

[davidlv]

I used this Terminal command in Mojave to turn on the startup chime in the Mac mini 2018:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%00

To turn it off use:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%01

On an older late 2012 iMac, iMac13,2 I had trouble getting those commands to work, especally to turn the startup sound off.
However, OnyX works! (login pane in the Parameters section)
If those commands work for you, great, if not, try OnyX.

 

[brandair]

The T2 is a controller chip and thus must function with a variety of late Mac OS X systems. There might be new features added that only the newest OS would utilize but else only bugs such as in the latest Security firmware update should affect the system stability.

You can of course wait and see but knowing Apple today it's quite possible that there will be no more T2 firmware update released specifically for Mojave.

As mentioned by others, if you do the Big Sur Beta update use an external partition to install on! Big Sur will mess with the filesystem by changing a say Mac OS Extended FS to a not quite compatible APPS FS.When installing externally you can then simply repartition that partition back to a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) FS with Disk Utility.

In principle, you could abandon the Big Sur update process once it has finished its series of reboots where T2 and hardware firmware get updated, then restart, zap the PRAM cache, and delete the installer files on the external partition. But it's tricky to find the right moment to abort and shut down the computer.

What do you expect would happen if Apple releases another Security Update before Big Sur is released?
Do you think it will be OK to install any such update after having the T2 chip firmware updated?

 

[eugene marie]

Yep, started happening on my Mini 2018. Got so annoyed with it crashing twice a day that I upgraded to Catalina. That appears to have resolved it for me so far...

My partner updated to Catalina. No more kernel panic (but it's only after one day) but now the Mac Mini (2018) won't shut down properly. What is going on???

 

[crazeazn]

Long Post: I'm having some serious issues as well. I'm not sure what the deal is but the machine keeps randomly freezing and shutting down with no regularity. In addition, once it crashes and shuts down, I can't just push the power button to turn it back on, I have to remove the power cable and push power on. I hope this post is useful to someone for troubleshooting.

Setup: Mac mini 2018 + 64 gig ram from OWC (Self-installed) + 2 x Lenovo P24h-10s via USB-C using Apple's thunderbolt cables + Logitech Keyboard + Logitech Mouse + Ethernet.

My peripherals: 2 externals, 1 cam link [all unplugged atm but the computer still crashes]

1. I cant run Apple's Diagnostic with the monitors both or single connected via usb-c. The monitor has to be plugged in via HDMI to run the Diagnostic. No problems found therefore I don't think its the ram. But could be the usb-c of the monitors and the usb-controller on the MM don't like each other.

2. I've also tried using the monitors on usb-c ports 1,2; 1,3; 1,4 to see if it was a bus issue. Still crashes.

3. Reset NVRAM/SMC. Still crashes.

4. I remember reading here that the 2018 mini has BT/Wifi issues. I don't really use the wifi but I keep it on for AirDrop. So my next step was to remove both the keyboard and mouse as bluetooth devices and add them back via Logitech's software using the unifying receiver. Still crashes.

5. Switched to wired keyboard and mouse. Still crashes.

6. Safe mode with #5. Still crashes.

I'm hoping that its number #4 because otherwise I'm going to have replace these monitors with something else. Will update this post as needed.

This machine thankfully is on AppleCare but if this continues, I'm getting rid of it because this is absolute ********.

#edited on 8/21/2020

Did RMA on my OWC 64 gigs ram. Apple diagnostics couldn't detect ram failure but when I made a bootable Memtest86, it crashed within 10 minutes of the stress test. HOPING THIS WAS IT! Also annoyed at the hoops you have to jump to be able to boot from external.

#edited on 9/1/2020