MBP15 (May 2019), hanging update Mojave 10.14.6

[nebukadnezar2508]

Hi,

I started the update for 10.14.6 this morning on a brand new MBP (May 2019).

After the restart the little startup "sun rays" icon shows up,
and starts turning extremely slowly, ie. nothing happens for 5/10 secs, then it turns a bit, and then it waits again. This has been going on now for over 2 hours.

Something looks seriously messed up...
Has anybody had a similar experience with this update ?

My only hunch is that the fact that I have switched on disk encryption,
which might somehow mess up this update process.

Thanks
J

As an aside, it is mind-boggling that Apple is charging the prices it is
and delivering this type of experience, an absolute scandal.
They should be sued to hell if they do not clean up their act.

 

[nebukadnezar2508]

If anybody else hits this issue, the following is "the" solution (it seems).

1. Apple geniuses did not have any suggestion and/or where not aware of any other instance of the issue.
2. After waiting for 24h, I powered down the laptop and restarted to get into the emergency boot.
3. The machine came back to live and started the update.
4. Machine is running again...

 

[MSastre]

Restarting a Mac cures a lot of ills. usually the first thing I do if it acts strange.

 

[Honza1]

Hi,
As an aside, it is mind-boggling that Apple is charging the prices it is
and delivering this type of experience, an absolute scandal.
They should be sued to hell if they do not clean up their act.

Ouch, strong words. And all was needed to restart the machine ;-) These are computers, things go wrong in any price category with some fraction of them. That's why there is warranty and service. And Apple service and warranties are generally better than most other. If you would have brought it to Apple store, they would fix it or replace it.
If you want system which will not fail - like ever - return this one NOW. There is a chance you may be disappointed in the future. And buy: ??? Hm, keep the money, there is nothing you can buy.

 

[nebukadnezar2508]

Yes, strong words... the sad reality is that Apple is charging prices that are not in line with the quality they deliver these days... since updating to 10.14.6 (less than 7 days) I have had 3 hard random reboots... That is pretty insane, I have never seen that before. Apple used to be pretty solid, hardware wise (modulo keyboards and silly USB-C ports) probably still is, software wise it seems to get worse and worse... and there is no real alternative yet as far as I can see, so that makes it pretty frustrating...

Update 1: make that 4 random reboots in less than 7 days...
Update 2: make that 6 random reboots in less than 7 days...

 

[Honza1]

That is annoying.
Tough to make a good suggestions, but here is what I personally would do. Stop when problem solved:
1. Backup all my stuff which I need to keep. Many ways possible (TimeMachine, disk duplication software or simple copy manually).
2. Reinstall latest version of OSX "in place" = over existing system. Simply download Mojave installer from App store and run it. It should not cause any loss of data, but you never know. This often fixes any stuff which did not correctly install. My first "go to" in case of any not-obvious issues. Usually helps.
3. Reinstall "clean" by booting to Recovery, wiping the disk with system and installing fresh copy of macOS. You will loose data and applications, so make sure your backup WORKS and you have ALL you need.
4. Take the computer, walk in Apple store and ask for replacement. Tell them what you do and they should be happy to do it.

If fresh clean install of macOS does not fix the problems, there is hardware problem and that should be fixed by Apple in warranty. They may look at it and try to find reason - and possibly fix it. That is fine, most fixes involve mainboard replacement, so-basically new computer anyway. But if it is relatively new (May 2019) they may simply replace the machine.

 

[nebukadnezar2508]

thanks for the suggestion. That is indeed a possibility,
however the fact that this barrage of (now 6 and counting) reboots after the update to 10.14.6 and not having seen this issue after buying this (overly expensive) machine a month or two ago strongly suggests a software issue.

We'll see how things evolve over the coming days, before wasting my further time on "geniuses"...

It is utterly frustrating that these days Apple is led by a marketing department that is more concerned about being able to claim that they shaved of a sliver of a millimeter from a new laptop and introduced some super unpractical keyboard and usb-c ports, than to provide the (more) solid products that they used to, and listen to their customers that use their products for work... Given that they have 200B available, taking 1B and investing in quality control and sane development should be a no-brainer... But hey, why bother, we have an effective monopoly...

That is annoying.
Tough to make a good suggestions, but here is what I personally would do. Stop when problem solved:
1. Backup all my stuff which I need to keep. Many ways possible (TimeMachine, disk duplication software or simple copy manually).
2. Reinstall latest version of OSX "in place" = over existing system. Simply download Mojave installer from App store and run it. It should not cause any loss of data, but you never know. This often fixes any stuff which did not correctly install. My first "go to" in case of any not-obvious issues. Usually helps.
3. Reinstall "clean" by booting to Recovery, wiping the disk with system and installing fresh copy of macOS. You will loose data and applications, so make sure your backup WORKS and you have ALL you need.
4. Take the computer, walk in Apple store and ask for replacement. Tell them what you do and they should be happy to do it.

If fresh clean install of macOS does not fix the problems, there is hardware problem and that should be fixed by Apple in warranty. They may look at it and try to find reason - and possibly fix it. That is fine, most fixes involve mainboard replacement, so-basically new computer anyway. But if it is relatively new (May 2019) they may simply replace the machine.

 

[Honza1]

thanks for the suggestion. That is indeed a possibility,
however the fact that this barrage of (now 6 and counting) reboots after the update to 10.14.6 and not having seen this issue after buying this (overly expensive) machine a month or two ago strongly suggests a software issue.

We'll see how things evolve over the coming days, before wasting my further time on "geniuses"...

It is utterly frustrating that these days Apple is led by a marketing department that is more concerned about being able to claim that they shaved of a sliver of a millimeter from a new laptop and introduced some super unpractical keyboard and usb-c ports, than to provide the (more) solid products that they used to, and listen to their customers that use their products for work... Given that they have 200B available, taking 1B and investing in quality control and sane development should be a no-brainer... But hey, why bother, we have an effective monopoly...

You seem to be really eager to blame Apple and their quality control and... I learned from few cases when I did the same and had to eventually apologize for my own stupidity. Are you really sure nothing else changed? Like a new software installation? Recent experience: I just "recreated" what I assumed was hardware/system bug on a completely replaced system by Apple. Apple fixed (unrelated) failure of my MBP by mainboard replacement and put new macOS on it. I moved on it with my apps and documents and all worked just fine. Until I started a specific small software. And the bug is back! So, is this Apple hardware again? Apple system? Or crappy software from unrelated source which is breaking the stuff? When I get chance, I will prove this and let Apple and the programmer know, but in this case it is NOT Apple for sure. Yet the bug is known and typically assigned to macOS.

These devices are VERY complex now. We ask them to do way too much complex stuff which may not even have been considered in design. Everyone wants something else. Every idiot becomes software engineer, designs crappy apps and tries to make money with no regard to system stability. Pointing finger on the largest target is easy. It may not be correct.

It is ONLY a computer. Bugs and hardware issues are typically rare but happen at all price categories. Your experience is not common. Either something went wrong during your setup is somehow unique. Fix it, get it fixed or replaced by Apple, or buy $600 Windows machine.

PS: FYI... I and probably many other agree with lots of your venting in the last paragraph. But it just damages your health ;-)