“MacBook Pro Problems - A critical software update is required for your Mac, but a network issue was encountered while installing this update. Your Mac can't be used until this update is installed.”

There appears to be a flaw the design of the MacBook Pro Touch

Bar and Touch ID. There are multiple articles online and videos of customers

complaining about MacBook Pro Touch Bar and Touch ID users recently began running

into an issue where the machine will not power power-on displaying below error.

Unfortunately, I’m one of those customers and there is no easy fix.

“MacBook

Pro Problems - A critical software update is required for your Mac, but a

network issue was encountered while installing this update. Your Mac can't be

used until this update is installed.”

Some MacBook Pro Touch Bar and Touch ID users have reported

being able to resolve the issue by reinstalling macOS using the utilities in

macOS Recovery, but that was unfortunately not the case for me. Neither connecting

the laptop to a wired network using the Apple USB Ethernet Adapter even at the

apple store, nor reinstalling macOS resolves the issue. Resetting the NVRAM

(nonvolatile random-access memory) and SMC System Management Controller on the

MacBook Pro also doesn't fix the issue. This problem is often traced back only

to MacBook Pro Touch Bar and Touch ID. Apple Genius Bar also went through the

same process to no avail. Running Apple Diagnostics return reference code

ADP000, which indicate "No issues found" with the hardware. Customers

show not be subjected to this unreasonable or undue burden especially is they

are expected to pay for the repairs.

Apple introduced the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and as

part of the assembly, it contains a sapphire Touch ID sensor. This also

included what it has dubbed the T1 chipset. The new chipset, debuting on the

MacBook Pro implements Apple's secure enclave, independent of macOS and the

Intel processor contained within. It appears by design that the Touch Bar runs

independent of macOS, as the bar is used to turn on the computer and authenticate

a user. With the addition of its SMC role which requires early activity, the

role of the T1 chip in Secure Boot makes it clear that it loads its own

firmware well before the EFI firmware and enforces set security policy. In the

unlikely event that a T1 firmware update goes wrong, a T1-equipped Mac is

unable to start the normal EFI boot process and has to undergo a special

recovery procedure.

Several components in the new MacBook Pro appear to be

governed by the secure enclave in the T1. As a result, it is possible that a

failure of any of the related components would necessitate repairs. This places

the customers at an unreasonable burden if having to pay for the repairs or

have to purchase Apple care plus in the event this issue arises.

By design, the MacBook Pro Mac performs a variety of

initializations and checks on the hardware side loading the actual operating

system. When you press the Power (Touch ID) button (on power-on) to boot up the

MacBook Pro, it goes though the (Power-On Self-Test) routine which initializes

some hardware interfaces and verifies that sufficient memory is available and

in a good state. It doesn’t go straight to into loading the EFI firmware but

appears to perform these basic hardware checks and initializes some key components

of its hardware.

Normally, the code run for POST has been stored in a Mac’s

hardware, in what Apple still refers to as BootROM (SecureROM), although most

of the rest of that, EFI, has now moved out onto local disk storage and is no

longer ‘flashed’ to a ROM as such. EFI firmware is still ‘flashed’ in MacPro5,1

model, apparently, which explains why they cannot undergo EFI firmware updates

in the same way as more recent models.

Recent MacBook Pro and some other models which have mute boots

neither emit sounds nor flash their displays as a result of POST problems. If

they can’t find a valid EFI firmware source, they should automatically recover

the EFI firmware, but without any sounds to provide a clue that is what is

taking place; instead, they display a white-on-black progress bar for the

firmware recovery process.

At the same time, custom chips are initializing too. All

recent models have a System Management Controller (SMC) which starts to control

cooling fans, battery charging, and other hardware features. These have their

own firmware, which doesn’t appear to be loaded from disk alongside EFI

firmware, and does seem still to be ‘flashed’ to ROM.

Apple’s most recent and

radical design incorporates SMC, internal SSD controller, Secure Boot

management and more in the T2 chip. In addition to its SMC role which requires

early activity, the role of the T2 in Secure Boot makes it clear that it loads

its own firmware well before the EFI firmware and enforces set security policy.

In the unlikely event that a T2 firmware update goes wrong, a T2-equipped Mac

is unable to start the normal EFI boot process and has to undergo a special

recovery procedure.