If Zoom is crashing your Mac

Thanks.

So far it appears that everyone affected is using 2018 or 2019 macs.

Your mac has both discrete and integrated gpu. In your case it may be worth turning off automatic switching and see if that helps. Your mac will use only the AMD GPU in that case.

I can’t check right now but I think it’s in System Preferences->Energy Saver.

To build on top of my previous answer, turning off "Automatic graphics switching" seems to have remedied the issue for me.

If anyone else has this issue, try unchecking that option under

System Preferences > Energy Saver > Automatic graphics switching

Update: I got my machine to stop crashing during zoom meetings by adjust the energy saving setting in system preferences. I changed the sleep time, turned off put hard drive to sleep when possible (or something to that effect) and I now move the mouse around a bit ever so often. No crashes since this change. Sucky workaround but it works!

There have been several reports that the last 10.14.6 Supplemental Update fixes or at least alleviates the problem.

Some people reported that merely adding a usb webcam (even if still they use the iSight camera for the videoconference) makes the problem go away.

Another workaround is to grab an older mac if you have one lying around - since the problem only affects the newer macs with T2 chips.

Yes the reason that Catalina fixes it @Dave is because it is upgrading the BridgeOS version which is the reason for the kernel panic... Mr. Macintosh wrote up a great article about it today. https://mrmacintosh.com/10-14-6-update-causes-kernel-panic-when-using-facetime-camera/

This seems very similar to this issue: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250524925

Update from Apple: The engineers are aware of this exact issue, they have numerous reports and are currently working on a fix. It is most likely a software bug which most likely will be fixed with an update, but the senior advisor does not have detailed information about that. He also said he does not know if the fix is going to be released as a Mojave Supplemental Update or if it gets included into Catalina.

If your work depends on it, you can buy a cheap USB webcam to use in the meantime until Apple has fixed this issue. Less than ideal but it works since a USB webcam does not go through the T2 chip. I'm using a Logitech C270, it is plug'n'play (no drivers necessary).

Judging from the symptoms (kernel panic during video calls since the update to 10.14.6) it seems you're facing the same problem. Comparing your crash logs with those of other users may help verify that this is indeed the case. The fact that so many of us have started seeing this problem after the update to 10.14.6 and while using different applications for video calling (FaceTime, Skype etc), suggests that the issue is not app-specific, nor hardware related, but rather macOS-related.

You can try using a different video calling app than you usually do (e.g. Skype instead of FaceTime) to see if the problem persists. You can also run the built-in Apple diagnostics to check for hardware problems.

I don't think Apple engineers follow these discussions. Therefore once you've convinced yourself that this is a macOS-related problem, it would make sense to file a bug report.

"We found it not only influences ZOOM but also Facetime, Skype and other Camera involving Apps, we are still working with Apple to fix it but currently as a workaround, please turn off your video when joining ZOOM meetings or use external camera by USB."

In my experimentation, I found that plugging in an external USB camera but not even using it in Zoom, continuing to use the built-in camera, would prevent the crash. After five minute meeting of no problem, meeting still running, unplugging USB camera, 30-45 seconds later, computer restarts. Repeated three times, same result.

Anyone else care to try that?

I've had a ticket open with Zoom for a few months for an "early adopter" laptop with this problem, and it does seem to be a problem with the 2018-19 MacBook Pros with the T2 chip and its interaction with the built-in "Facetime HD" webcam. It's happening with many different video meeting apps (including Facetime) now for different people, so I think Zoom is right to send this ball to Apple's court. Letting Apple blame other app vendors has only prolonged the problem.

If anyone is still being told by Apple that this is a problem with Zoom or other vendor, I'd be interested to know.

For several of us, that update seemed to help until we restarted again. Be sure to do that before getting comfy with the fix.

An external USB webcam plugged in, not even necessarily used for your meeting, also seems to "fix" it.

Can confirm that booting from an external hard drive with MacOS Catalina beta without installing it on the laptop resolves the problem on MacOS Mojave. I had several Facetime video calls in the last days which lasted over an hour and my MacBook Pro 15" 2019 didn't crash at all. Annoying fix but it works.

Hayley1greatlife wrote:

No as I need someone to help me. I used Skype instead with an client and it also crashed. I Would of I never brought Mac book pro knowing I would have issues. I need to find someone technical to assist me as I don’t know how

Please start a new post of your own, and in that post include several of your panic reports. More than 1 helps show if there is a pattern

Look for the Kernel Panic reports at:

Finder -> Go -> Go to Folder -> /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports

<http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2546>

<http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT200553>

The panic report should have ".panic" in the file name.

You can use the "Additional Text" box when you Reply

When you start your own new post, all the attention go to help you. When you post in someone else's thread, the attention can be divided and there can be confusion about which post a reply is speaking to.