10.15 Catalina....bricked my Mid 2014 13" Macbook Pro? Blinking file icon

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, alexscheppert.

If I understand your post correctly, after updating your Mac you see a flashing file with a question mark. I’d like to help.

It sounds like you've done some great troubleshooting so far. Make sure you've completed all the steps in this article:

If a flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac

Let us know if that resolves this issue for you. 

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Take care.

To those who've experienced this issue: please let Apple know today. These threads are not actively followed and the more users that report to Apple, probably the more likely that there will be some resolution.

I initiated a chat and was then called by a Senior Advisor. I reported the details of the update corrupting my firmware, and sent links to the relevant threads here. Be nice and don't expect a fix over the phone, but they need to be made aware of the number of users affected. For reference, here are the related threads I am following:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250716026

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250745000

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250719221

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250728927

Have a look around other discussions.

I’m not the only one affected by this.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250716026

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250745000

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250719221

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250728927

I’m bailing out of these discussions.

There are one or two people like you who cannot understand that all I, and other people have done, is try and upgrade to Catalina via Apple’s software update service and are left with a broken computer.

As I understand it, Catalina overwrites the EFI and clearly there is something awry there, especially with laptops.

That in itself is a problem that needs highlighting and was a fault hidden until now.

I have never had any problems before.

Apple decision-makers do not troll the forums looking for problems.

They get their input from Apple Store Genius Bar, Apple-Authorized Service Providers, Registered Developers, National Accounts, and the product feedback links here:

Product Feedback - Apple

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Apple is not here. Apple Support Communities is a User-to-User support forum. If other users can not help you think of a fix, No further help is likely to be forthcoming using this medium. There are no standard mechanisms for escalating problems to Apple Support from here, and Apple Engineering and Marketing Movers and Shakers do NOT monitor these forums looking for trends and outstanding issues.

DO NOT "wait for Apple to provide a fix". Unless and until a large number of users present their issues through standard problem-reporting channels, Apple does not know there is a problem, and is NOT working on a fix. Being selfish is the best policy, getting yours fixed helps everyone.

If advice supplied here does not provide resolution, You must take additional steps to resolve your issues. Contact Apple support directly through one of these methods:

• contact telephone support (free for 90 days with a new Mac, of for three years with AppleCare purchase)

• make an appointment at the genius bar at an Apple-owned store for hardware evaluation and advice (free anytime, but after five years parts may no longer be available).

• initiate an Online chat

• Visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider (there may be an "evaluation fee", but if they perform any service for a fee, ask for a rebate of the evaluation fee).

If you want to send your preferences directly to Apple use the feedback links:

Product Feedback - Apple

.

Hi

I found these when I was looking at possible solutions - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8553915

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250072626

but none of these are exactly similar to what is happening with Catalina.

With Catalina, there are stories of units getting bricked since July(the start of the beta program), and a new search tells me that it has only increased after I last looked. There might be something in this after all. @DPJ Your viewpoint please.

Is this what you meant by "Blinking file icon?"

Question mark

A folder with a question mark means that the selected startup disk isn't available or doesn't contain a Mac operating system. Learn how to resolve a flashing question mark.

With everything that you just listen as not working, it sounds like your Mac has developed a hardware problem. My suggestion it to call your local Apple Store and make an appointment for them to examine it. Afterwards they will will tell you what your alternatives are.

I had the same experience as the OP on my mid 2014 15” MacBook Pro and have followed the same troubleshooting. At the Apple Store was told that the logic board/SSD would need replacement (minimum cost $575.) As in the case of the OP, I had been running without issue prior to 10.15 update.

In my case though, I watched it happen: the update ran, advised of a pending restart, which happened after the usual countdown. I never got back to a chime, just a flashing question mark folder. So at restart the startup disk was corrupted or unable to be found.

I am pretty unhappy with the Genius Bar explanation is that the logic board and or SSD were already faulty and this only became symptomatic when “stressed” by the operating system upgrade. I had in fact done a clean install of Mohave a few months ago without issue.

Hoping for a Quality Program resolution. Longtime user here with bricked MBP

Well, I have been monitoring this issue and it's growing everyday, since the first week of October. Either a complete corrupted EFI with the computer doing absolutely nothing but a flashing folder with question mark or partial EFI corruption damage (non working Bluetooth/WiFi or CD-ROM on older models) The huge problem here is that apple can easily allegate that this is a hardware level problem with the computer before the upgrade but trust me everyone says their computer was working just fine before the issue and so did mine.