Catalina installation damaged EFI firmware on MBP mid 2012

Catalina (the official version 10.5, not a beta) bricked my MacBook Air (13inch Mid-2012). I followed the instructions, left if while Catalina installed (it was plugged in to the power all the time), but when I returned my MacBook Air was dead. I can’ power it up. The only sign of life was the light on the Magsafe plug. Nothing on the screen and the caps lock key does not light ip. I took it into the Apple Store - they offered to see if replacing the logic board would fix it, if that worked I would be up for $AUD760.

You updated as anyone would and voilà computer turns into a nice decorative piece on your table. Go to apple and they tell you it's imposible software could damage your computer hardware, something was wrong before you updated and the installation uses a "lot of processing power from your computer that ignited the issue you never knew you had" isn't that just great and totally full of credibility? :) I love you apple. If I were you I will just pay for the board that might cost more then your computer actually does but hey it will be just brand new and ready to be used with Catalina :)

This is exactly what happened to my mid 2012 after the Catalina update. Contacted local Apple repair place to see if they could reflash the EFI but haven’t revived a response. Do you have any info on that process? Do you know which firmware release you flashed back to? Did you go back to Mojave or another earlier release?

Hi ! I did not forget you :)

I receive the solderless chip from macunlocks today, I manage to plug it onto the board and my boot like a charm. This is a chip that you plug onto a service port on the logic board.

I just reinstall mac os Maverick (old schooool) from internet recovery. I'm going to do some check before installing any EFI update.. For now i have a working mac for 500€ less than apple asked me

I have the same question ,My mac pro is 2015E, Catalina beta update to Catalina from App Store , during the update, the display was turn off about 30 minute, I think the update is error, then i turn off Mac forcely, then the efi is brocken, I go to the Gbar last week, they can`t find any hardware fault, but my mac LCD is blink, os crash random! All methods I try can`t repair includ OPT+CMD+R+P, SFT+CTR+O,Back to lower OS

Must be infuriating having Apple deny that this problem is caused by the software. Very reminiscent of apple telling me that they were not aware of anyone else having a problem with MBP keyboards. Just keep any receipts for hardware replacements.

Same issue here. I was quoted the price of 1350 USD by official authorized service here in Ukraine that Apple Support recommended. It is the quote for motherboard change, just because I "upgraded" to Catalina... Ridiculous. MBP 15 2017 here.

Guys, i finally bought an efi chip from macunlocks, and got it soldered by a local tech in my city, and my macbook is now fine... it costed me 100 euros, instead of 750 to change the logic board, all this happened because of an update my computer was supposed to handle.

This just happened to me! Ive justpdated my 2018 macbookpro to the new Catalina MacOS and the computer never restarted again. The only sign of life it's showing is the fan starting, running for 1 second and stopping.

How can I fix this?

I have had the same problem that you all have described: after Catalina installation, my iMac a1419 did not start, the computer was bricked. I sent the computer to the Apple support in my city and they have diagnosed that the motherboard has to be changed. Is it reasonable that a motherboard got broken because of an OS update?

Since then, I read lots of comments of Apple users throught the world complaining for the same reason and everything points to be an EFI corruption by the Catalina installer.

I have solved the issue changing the EFI chip. I have bought the microchip here: https://www.macunlocks.com/

Afterwards I have changed the chip desoldering the old one and soldering the new one. The bad news is that you need some soldering skills and of course, the appropiate tools. You can see the complete process for an iMac 27'' a1419 here: hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAFpI8tytEE

I hope this helps

@jaygrow my experience with this issue was Apple staff would try to be nice. But firmly tell you they don’t believe that software can damage hardware(bullshit) If it could, cupertino would have told them. But They won’t report to Cupertino. And all autopsy says death is deal to hardware not Catalina installation.

i ask you all:

how would Apple ever even be aware of this issue?

just post your support case number here. They don’t believe our words in the discussion group and this would probably be deleted

I’m back here with the update. It’s a blatant lie that it was a problem with my hardware, as I have installed OS Mojave successfully and everything works. Also Catalina in safe mode also worked, so I was very skeptical that it was a preexisting problem with my hardware. Apple certified authorized service center offered me to change top-case worth 800$ and 4-6 weeks + motherboard 650$-1350$ and 4-6 weeks to fix the issue, which I politely declined. I’m just frustrated with the Apple Customer Support which is unfortunately incompetent. Their US phone support also claimed that the link to my apple support issue crashes because of my wi-fi. Sorry??? MBP 15 2017 A1707.

My mid 2012 MacBook Pro (A1286/EMC 2556) was bricked by the Catalina upgrade. After the install the machine was super unstable rebooting randomly constantly - prior to the upgrade it was running Mojave perfectly. I tried to get into recovery mode with Command-R (to clean the drive and reinstall Mojave) but it wasn't working...system would just boot on default drive which is the SSD that had Catalina installed. Frustrated, I finally took the SSD out and erased and put it back in to see if that would force a boot into recovery mode. Nope. Now I have a completely bricked machine. Called Apple Support yesterday with very low expectations that they could solve this problem, but was hoping that they'd at least acknowledge it (After I explain the theory that this is an EFI corruption). The service agent said he wasn't aware of the this EFI issue and that there weren't any known issues in their support system - malarky! All he could do is provide a list of local certified service providers, who I've already called already and none of them do board level repairs. So as a last attempted to revive this still very viable laptop, I have purchased and EMC 2256 EFI chip and a solder kit and going to attempt to do replace the EFI BIOS chip myself. Will update the forum in a couple weeks once I get the part and attempt the repair.

There's nothing new under the sun Smalllk. They bricked two of my MBP's Mid 2012 with updates that they suggested that I should apply via the App Store! When I went to report these issues at an Apple Store during an appointment with the Genius Bar I was told that my machine had water damage. My machine has never been around water for any water damage to have transpired. I am the only one that utilizes any of my machines. To add insult of injury it happened with more than one MBP Mid 2012 model of the same type/specs! They refuse to acknowledge that this is an ongoing issue and I'm starting to think that this is being done purposely so that we can purchase new hardware. When it came to my MBP the power malfunctioned after a firmware update that was pushed to my PRAM. The computer wouldn't start nor would it charge the battery. I got no chimes or anything indicative of a boot. I refuse to allow them to render my machines inoperable.

*Since this time I have halted installing or updating my MBP's or IMACS in any way. At this time for the health of my machines I cannot trust Apple to perform updates while there's no Apple Technician to witness any issues that may transpire. It's my word against theirs if I do the updating myself. In every instance that these types of issues have transpired I've been told that I caused the damage to my machines. I've been utilizing these machines for years without any issues until it came to updates and upgrades. To be on the safe side bring all of your machines to the Apple Store and allow them to process any upgrades or updates.

I remain on 10.11.6 forever! I have some work arounds for security. My IMAC can only go up to High Sierra; however, the updates are what got me not the actual OS install. I'm afraid that after your computer is out of warranty and the models have reached end of life they can brick machines at random and at will and they don't have to support you or acknowledge their error. This is also transpiring with IPHONES my battery only remains charged on my IPHONE 6s for about 24hrs. When I first got this phone it would remain charged for a minimum of at least 5 days depending on the usage. I'd like to add that I took full advantage of the battery replacement program that was offered. This was due to the fact that this was their excuse for throttling older IPHONES when newer versions hit the market. They're saying that my battery levels are fine when I know better I use the phone everyday.

*They'll attempt to make this your fault no matter how user savvy you may be.

I attempted to update my Mac Mini (Late 2012) with Catalina and received EFI firmware error. I called apple support, and we attempted various reinstall methods. After a few failed attempts, we scheduled a Genius Bar appointment. A couple of things. The hard drive was replaced June of 2019. This device basically is seldom used. Fast forward,  dropped off my mini, explained the problem, provided screenshots. Twenty-four hours later, I received a call from an Apple representative, who explained to me the hard drive was bad and they could replace it for another $200, oh, and the 2019 replacement drive should have been an SSD drive, you know, no moving parts. With that being said, I vented my frustration and shared that I would be picking up my device. So I travel to BestBuy, purchase and have installed a SSD drive, installed original OS, no problem. Upgraded to Catalina and you guessed it, EFI error again. So of course my frustration level is high, but on top of that, I also tested the June 2019 SATA drive and it WORKS! So, I purchased a 2.5" USB3.0 hard drive enclosure and am using the SATA drive as a portable travel drive. To say the least I am EXTREMELY disappointed in Apple. They should own up to this problem and provide a FIX. DISAPPOINTED AND DISGUSTED IN DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA.