MacBook pro 14 inch(2021) Bricked on Boot

[rumonmh]

Recently my latest macbook pro 14 inch laptop got bricked upon opening the lid (in the booting process). I tried to put it on DFU mode while connecting to my old computer but was unsuccessful. Based on reading some threads related to this matter, I noticed some people complained how the latest OS Monteray caused their M1 macbook airs to be bricked.

But no thread mentioned anything about the latest 14 inch macbook pro to get bricked while booting up. The error that appeared on booting was: support.apple.com/mac/restore with an exclamation mark in the center.

After trying all the recovery procedures from google and youtube, I decided to take to the apple store and send it for repairs. But based on the feedback I got from the genius bar worker, I will most prolly lose all my data.

Was wondering whether anybody else faced this same issue as myself! Would appreciate if yall could share your experiences!

 

[bobcomer]

I haven't faced that problem, but it sure sounds like your SSD died. Had to be a defect of some kind.

 

[russell_314]

Recently my latest macbook pro 14 inch laptop got bricked upon opening the lid (in the booting process). I tried to put it on DFU mode while connecting to my old computer but was unsuccessful. Based on reading some threads related to this matter, I noticed some people complained how the latest OS Monteray caused their M1 macbook airs to be bricked.

But no thread mentioned anything about the latest 14 inch macbook pro to get bricked while booting up. The error that appeared on booting was: support.apple.com/mac/restore with an exclamation mark in the center.

After trying all the recovery procedures from google and youtube, I decided to take to the apple store and send it for repairs. But based on the feedback I got from the genius bar worker, I will most prolly lose all my data.

Was wondering whether anybody else faced this same issue as myself! Would appreciate if yall could share your experiences!

Wow that's crazy. Yeah if it's hardware failure then your data is gone. If you're mostly using it away from home where there's no WiFi back it up with Time Machine when you're home. If it's for at home use try putting your documents on iCloud. This is what I do for my iMac and even if it dies my documents are fine. Of course this only works if you have an internet connection.

 

[rumonmh]

I haven't faced that problem, but it sure sounds like your SSD died. Had to be a defect of some kind.

I have used it for about 3.5 month with no issue, so it was really surprising when it just got bricked when booting it up all of a sudden. Been a mac user for over a decade now and have never faced such an issue.

 

[rumonmh]

Wow that's crazy. Yeah if it's hardware failure then your data is gone. If you're mostly using it away from home where there's no WiFi back it up with Time Machine when you're home. If it's for at home use try putting your documents on iCloud. This is what I do for my iMac and even if it dies my documents are fine. Of course this only works if you have an internet connection.

Yes, in terms of backup I usually upload and backup everything on Google drive and Github. But there were some documents and code repositories I was unable to link it to google or github. I tried everything to bypass that restore warning but initially when it happened, there was a small pop sound on when booting then it showed the black page with restore warning.

 

[yitwail]

Based on reading some threads related to this matter, I noticed some people complained how the latest OS Monteray caused their M1 macbook airs to be bricked.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, but do you mind sharing link(s) to reports of bricked M1 MB Airs? Because only bricking I've heard of involved older Macbooks. Thanks

 

[rumonmh]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, but do you mind sharing link(s) to reports of bricked M1 MB Airs? Because only bricking I've heard of involved older Macbooks. Thanks

That is the link to the youtube channel where i tried to replicate the procedure and fix my bricked laptop but was unsuccessful. But based on some other small threads i read that the older models with the new Mac os got bricked. In my case it happened to my latest 14 inch so was extremely shocked.

 

[Steve63]

I have used it for about 3.5 month with no issue, so it was really surprising when it just got bricked when booting it up all of a sudden. Been a mac user for over a decade now and have never faced such an issue.

Same here. Mine would not react to anything. The LED of the MagSafe charger is not turning into yellow/green. It just is "off" ... It is totally bricked. Have brought it to repair. Only 5 months old. My trust in Apple products is now really challenged. I never had this with ANY Apple product in the past.

 

[altaic]

Yikes, that’s bizarre! Depending on how valuable your data is, you may be able to recover it by way of a specialty shop. A lot of things have to work to get to that error screen, so the SoC and SSD might be okay (they are cryptographically paired, so as long as both are undamaged, your data should be recoverable).

 

[Steve63]

Yikes, that’s bizarre! Depending on how valuable your data is, you may be able to recover it by way of a specialty shop. A lot of things have to work to get to that error screen, so the SoC and SSD might be okay (they are cryptographically paired, so as long as both are undamaged, your data should be recoverable).

I have no worries with data. I have done all my Time Machine backups! Some very important data is stored on Google Drive in addition. But it worries me that an Apple device just stops working … unexpectedly. I do not torture my devices. Actually, I sold all my old ones in an „as new“ state. No scratches, no marks, nothing.
This really annoyed me, especially because the MB Pro is considered a „premium“ device, is‘nt it ???

 

[chabig]

I have used it for about 3.5 month with no issue, so it was really surprising when it just got bricked when booting

That's how failures happen. It had to be hardware, otherwise the DFU restore would have worked.

 

[altaic]

I have no worries with data. I have done all my Time Machine backups! Some very important data is stored on Google Drive in addition. But it worries me that an Apple device just stops working … unexpectedly. I do not torture my devices. Actually, I sold all my old ones in an „as new“ state. No scratches, no marks, nothing.
This really annoyed me, especially because the MB Pro is considered a „premium“ device, is‘nt it ???

Sorry, I was replying to the OP.

 

[Steve63]

Sorry, I was replying to the OP.

Did mix that up .. sorry!

 

[jdb8167]

I have no worries with data. I have done all my Time Machine backups! Some very important data is stored on Google Drive in addition. But it worries me that an Apple device just stops working … unexpectedly. I do not torture my devices. Actually, I sold all my old ones in an „as new“ state. No scratches, no marks, nothing.
This really annoyed me, especially because the MB Pro is considered a „premium“ device, is‘nt it ???

There haven’t been a sizable number of reports of dead M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pros. It seems you just got unlucky. With any mass manufactured product there are going to be some failures.

I trust that Apple will make it right for you with some inevitable annoyance on your part. I’m keeping my M1 MacBook Air for a while as my M2 MBA is too new to know if it is as reliable as the M1 was. I can’t be without a notebook for a week waiting for repairs right now.

 

[Steve63]

There haven’t been a sizable number of reports of dead M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pros. It seems you just got unlucky. With any mass manufactured product there are going to be some failures.

I trust that Apple will make it right for you with some inevitable annoyance on your part. I’m keeping my M1 MacBook Air for a while as my M2 MBA is too new to know if it is as reliable as the M1 was. I can’t be without a notebook for a week waiting for repairs right now.

I agree. I probably received one of these 0.001% that are faulty when leaving the factory.... unfortunately the problem did show up just now and not during QC (whatever QC they do at the factory). But better now than in a year when i am out of warranty.
I can live 1-2 weeks without my MacBook because it is my secondary machine "for the go...".
A surprise nevertheless. As i said - this is my first Apple product that has problems.

 

[rumonmh]

Same here. Mine would not react to anything. The LED of the MagSafe charger is not turning into yellow/green. It just is "off" ... It is totally bricked. Have brought it to repair. Only 5 months old. My trust in Apple products is now really challenged. I never had this with ANY Apple product in the past.

Mine happened around the same time after I purchased it. It completely shut down to the point restoring through DFU mode or other rebooting procedures failed. The computer was wiped clean. Some threads mentioned about the issue originating from the OS but never had this type of failures so difficult to say precisely. But one thing i did noticed was when it bricked, I heard a pop sound while it was turning on then the screen turned black and bricked. Felt almost like there was some sort of internal failure. But after I took it to the apple store they said there was no hardware issue but it was apparently only a software issue. They rebooted the system and updated the OS and returned me back. Its gonna be almost a year now and no issues so far!

 

[rumonmh]

That's how failures happen. It had to be hardware, otherwise the DFU restore would have worked.

When it bricked, there was a slight pop sound. I did suspect a hardware issue but the Apple store claimed the internals were fine and that it was a software issue. They just restored the devices and rebooted it with the updated OS and returned me back. Therefore, I am not clearly sure what kind of issue it was because the device is perfect overall but having a sudden issue like definitely had me shook.

 

[rumonmh]

Yikes, that’s bizarre! Depending on how valuable your data is, you may be able to recover it by way of a specialty shop. A lot of things have to work to get to that error screen, so the SoC and SSD might be okay (they are cryptographically paired, so as long as both are undamaged, your data should be recoverable).

I did try some of those methods to recover the data but I could not bypass that error screen no matter what I did. It was as if the computer never had any data or a workable OS. Everything was wiped. But now I make sure to keep a copy of everything on the cloud or a portable ssd as a future precaution.

 

[Steve63]

Yikes, that’s bizarre! Depending on how valuable your data is, you may be able to recover it by way of a specialty shop. A lot of things have to work to get to that error screen, so the SoC and SSD might be okay (they are cryptographically paired, so as long as both are undamaged, your data should be recoverable).

I have sent the MacBook to Apple for repair. Excellent service. They repaired the device and sent it back within 2 days! Logicboard, Trackpad, all replaced. I had my Time Machine Backup and was able to restore everything within 2 hours.