If Zoom is crashing your Mac

Hi,

I'm experiencing the same issue with my 1 ½ month old MacBook Pro 15" 2019. After updating to 10.14.6 using Skype/FaceTime is a gamble at which time the laptop crashes and restarts. While this happens the trackpad turns rock solid.

I contacted the apple support which suggested to turn off the automatic graphics switching. However this resulted (in my subjective opinion) in faster crashing of my laptop. Very disappointing for a 2,500 $ laptop... I really hope there is a fix in the very near future!

I'm now using my MacBook Pro early 2011 for FaceTime/Skype again as this machine is running without any issues.

Another update:

All of the apps mentioned here: Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, even Slack calls - they all work fine when video is disabled. It's the moment the camera is turned on and streamed outwards that the crashes happen. Usually within about 30-45 seconds. Receiving streaming video is fine, it's broadcasting where the issue lies.

This is ABSOLUTELY not a 3rd party software issue, let alone one from a singular piece of software (ie. working with just Zoom to fix a problem might not cut it).

Someone from Apple's support suggested me to install high sierra on an external hard drive (don't know how, can't even download previous OS from apple), and if the problem persists, I should take my MBP (15, 2019, base model) in again. If there's no problem with HS, I should wait for Catalina, beacuse there is where the devs time focus is at.

Catalina release is expected to be next month.

Which is exactly why I did the following tests:

1. Let the camera roll (via FaceTime, without actually calling anybody) a few times for almost 40 to 50 minutes at a time. No problem.
2. Set up long-duration FaceTime calls with my iPad (apparently you can call your own devices; very handy for this kind of troubleshooting). No problem there either.

As users we don't have a mechanistic explanation for the problem. We can only use empiricism. Sure, there's a chance that if my tests and actual calls had lasted one more second, I could have observed the problem again.

Also, let's not overlook the fact that while the symptoms may be more or less the same among our computers, the causes may be different. Only experts with access to the crash logs could possibly determine the actual cause(s). This means that everyone whose machine faces the problem has to contact Support to provide them with the kernel panic logs. I don't think Apple engineers are following the discussion we're having here.

After almost a month of continuous contacts with Apple support (with re-installations, partitions, various tests, various suggestions, etc.), today I have been called and confirmed that it is a software problem of which Apple is aware. Maybe there will be an update to fix this problem before Catalina, maybe not.

I applied the supplemental update yesterday. I had a half hour Google Hangout without issue this morning. Haven't tested with ZOOM or Skype yet. I have a Skype call this evening. Will update afterwards.

Pleased that the update solved your camera issues. It very much has not solved the issue for me, nor for others contributing to this conversation. The only way I can prevent my 2018 MacBook Pro from crashing when using video services (Zoom, Skype, etc.) is by using an external USB camera. This in spite of the supplemental update being installed and having restarted several times.

Dear –_--I0O—O0I--_–:

I hope I did not misspell your name. At least I didn't have to pronounce it.

My big question to you is, have you restarted again since installing the update?

Many of us were initially pleased that the supplemental update seemed to solve the problem, but after one or

two restarts, it was back. Please try that and let us know.

THx

I have the same problem too. I'm using Zoom.us.app and after a few minutes, everything on screen freezes for a few seconds, and then it goes black and the fans whirl really fast for a second. Then my computer proceeds to restart. I thought it was the Zoom.us.app, but since other have been having issues with FaceTime, I guess it's beyond Zoom.

I'm also on Mojave 10.14.6. Maybe from now on I'll have to join my business meetings with the camera turned off and see if that helps until Apple fixes the issue.

Yep, because I also blamed T2.

I have 2012, 2014 and 2018 models. Issue was reproduced on all of them.

Pre-T2 just have this issue extremely rarely. Actually I observed it one time on 2012 (10 mins) and one time on 2014 (40 mins)

On T2 equipped it was reproduced dozens of times, 1 to 40 minutes usually to crash. But I had a meetings 40 to 90 minutes without crash.

Based on this data and on my analyze of few dozens crash logs, I think that new update introduced some purely probabilistic race condition defect. And T2-enabled MBPs just have much higher probability to enter this state.

We have had over 20+ laptops in our organization that have crashed ever since updating to 10.14.6 - We use Zoom,however, the problem affects Google Chat, Skype, and Facetime. Most of the models were new 15" T2 MacBook Pros. I sent one to the Apple store who blamed 3rd party software. The laptop was sent out for further extensive testing.

Earlier I commented that the patch that was released about 2 weeks ago fixed the problem. This is not correct. Was in a Google Hangout meeting this AM and computer froze and rebooted. I went back into the meeting and turned the camera off and there was no problem. Going out to buy a usb camera this morning.

@smlawsky@mac.com:

You are not experiencing the problem this whole thread is about, nothing here will help you. This a problem limited to 2018 and 2019 15" MacBook Pros which have the NEW T2 chip which no older models had, not even 2017.

Also, the symptom of this problem is not freezing up, this problem with the T2 chip makes the laptop spontaneously go black and then restart. The workaround mentioned here about Catalina will not help you. I have the same model MBP as you, and I have about 25 of them in the fleet I manage, no freezing issues. Do an in-place macOS reinstall if you haven't.

Everything else you write about Apple getting sloppy is correct, no argument there, but it's not germane to to this topic.

Cheers--

Not saying it's a fix but using an external camera get it working

I’ve disabled my iSight camera in case this should happen to me.

I never have had a use for it.

So, disabling iSight might be the way to go about this for many, should that be an option.