"BAD MAGIC! (flag set in iBoot panic header)" — Catalina freezing all the time!

I have the same issue. Happened within the first week of owning my new 16" MBP. I asked an Apple tech at the store about the error (BAD MAGIC! (flag set in iBoot panic header), no macOS panic log available) and he said he'd never heard of it.

Just happened again for the 2nd time. Computer is less than 2 months old. Very disappointing.

Same issue here on a new 16 inch MacBook Pro. Random reboots about four times a day, mainly when the machine is idle. And, the machine freezes about once a day when it is in use. Hardware check shows no issues.

Error message: BAD MAGIC! (flag set in iBoot panic header), no macOS panic log available

Extremely frustrating…

Same issue here. I'm noticing the issue AFTER I use my laptop not plugged in and then plug it into two LG Ultrafine 5K monitors. The 16" MacBook Pro freezes and the only way to get it unfrozen is to hard power off or pull the Thunderbolt cables for the monitors from the laptop and then the fans run super fast for a second before powering down. Then the computer restarts and I get the BAD MAGIC! prompt.

Download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply. How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report

IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:

ALSO:

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the root of the problem.

Whole story is here mark my words, I did a lot of research on this. The issue is due to Apple placing a non x86 command set ARM based T2 chip in between intel processor and SSD. (This happened in 2018. Any unit bought after this date is a candidate of this hardware/software error.) To conduct the command translation, they wrote the Bridge OS. Before Catalina I was getting Bridge OS kernel panics with my macbook pro and imac pro. With Catalina it has turned to “ BAD MAGIC” error.

I have files I keep to replicate the issue in front of geniuses. Because there is no console log when this happens. They take your macbook pro or imac pro in and say it is ok.

PROBABLE SOLUTIONS WHICH MAY WORK FOR SOME PEOPLE (NONE WORKED FOR ME BY THE WAY =0 )

——-TURN OFF ANY SECURTIY MEASURES THAT NECESSITATES THE USE OF T2 CHIP (SECURE BOOT, DISK ENCRYPTION ETC) from recovery screen before starting mac os.

——-reset the T2 controller: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295#t2"

——"Another recommendation was to reflash the T2 controller firmware: https://help.apple.com/configurator/mac/2.7.1/?lang=en#/apdebea5be51"

———T2 chip query (to check whether replacement logic board is the same faulty batch or not)

Here is the method to find it:

1. Open Terminal

2. cd /usr/libexec

3. 

For short info: 

./remotectl list

<your UUID> localbridge iBridge2,3 J680AP 3.6 (16P6571/16.16.6571.0.0,0) -

For all the details: 

./remotectl dumpstate

I set a camera everytime I worked with the computer and showed the geniuses the videos of kernel panics. Apple support knows the bad magic error yet they make you run thru all the protocol they are given by Apple. Do not give up. Some are really rude. Push push push. I made the apple store prepare reports that the computer cannot be fixed (stamped and signed)

Both of my machines got their logic boards replaced (memory also for imac pro, for macbook pro memory and ssd is on the logic board) I got them replaced. But the issue is on going. There are reddit users reporting problems with 16” macbook pros...

Get your money back if you can, there is definitely something wrong with the hardware. Had it been software, they would have solved it since High Sierra. I am having the issue since High Sierra, Mojave and now Catalina. This issue is very serious but turns out that it will be addressed just like the iphone 6s battery-gate. It took them years to admit... Please write to me and I will try my best to help. Good luck everyone.

Please try the following, may ir may not work.

TURN OFF ANY SECURTIY MEASURES THAT NECESSITATES THE USE OF T2 CHIP (SECURE BOOT, DISK ENCRYPTION ETC) from recovery screen before starting mac os.

https://support.apple.com/en-me/HT208330

——-reset the T2 controller: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295#t2"

——"Another recommendation was to reflash the T2 controller firmware: https://help.apple.com/configurator/mac/2.7.1/?lang=en#/apdebea5be51"

———T2 chip query (to check whether replacement logic board is the same faulty batch or not)

I tested it. I flashed T2 as per Apple’s directions for imac pro and the macbook pro.

https://help.apple.com/configurator/mac/2.7.1/?lang=en#/apdebea5be51

Then I disabled the secure boot, file vault encryption, sleep wake functions...

It always comes back. Seems to work for a while though.

I cannot believe Apple is not acting on this. I got disappointed and do not think I am going to invest my money on its computer line for a long time.

Today i was within the apple-support chat in Germany and also in the US.

They all told me that i have to check the hardware with an Technican on-side. Also both did not found any internally documented cases related to the "BAD-Magic" issue.

Also they told me to fill in an bug report on: https://www.apple.com/feedback/

So maybe if someone have time to fill it in too, this would bring some more attention on this.

I did one report for MacOs and one for my device, MacBook Pro 13" also i linked this disscussion page, where everything is well documented.

The US-Support flagged my casenumber and will document this internally. So maybe we will get some more attention if more people will open support-cases.

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos_release_notes/macos_catalina_10_15_3_beta_2_release_notes

Anybody try 10.15.3 to see if the crashes stop?

Can anybody summarize what works and what doesn't work in regards to addressing these crashes?

Especially useful to know are what very lengthy steps like reinstalling the OS that doesn't work.

I just tried the full reset of the SMC: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295#t2 and that didn't help.

Update

Unfortunately, the issue happened again and again! Its a pity that macbook and apple has become such a bad product. I called up apple and in Netherlands they do a free replacement if the device is within 14 days old.

My last macbook pro which was a 2013 model in the span of 6.5 years has never done a reset more than like 3 times. Just look at the log below. I showed this info to the apple guys and they were like please return this macbook. They are giving me a new one now ! :)

How to reproduce this problem ?

1. Open Safari and open netflix on that
2. Start streaming a movie on that
3. The issue happens almost instantaneously

My replacement iMac Pro is running the exact same version. iBridge2,1   J137AP   4.2 (17P3050/17.16.13050.0.0,0) Mine had gotten into an infinite boot loop after numerous kernel panics.

You could try the following:

Revive T2 

firmware in Mac computers in Apple Configurator

Revive firmware in Mac computers in Apple Configurator

Just happened to me last night. 1st time (Only time-So far). My post is ^ 1 er 2 above your's.

Also a 2019 16" Macbook Pro.

I hope it's not as bad as this thread makes it sound :/ I don't seem to have as much trouble as others, yet anyway.

Maybe I'm being naive ??

...but I chatted with Apple last night. They had me do a SMC Re-set. The tech seemed to know what prob I was talking about right away....and was confident in the fix. Here's the instruction link >> https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

My only concern is this thread....if a permanent fix was as easy as that....why all the trouble ?

There's folks on here having to have their computers rebuilt ... maybe I'm being led down the primrose path ? I'm not sure ?

..but it hasn't happened to me again/since.

I have a customer getting similar issues. Every time the 2017 iMac Pro is restarted we get a message that the computer was restarted after a crash and get the following error report to send to Apple... (please see additional text)

This happened in macOS 10.13 and persists in 10.14. Happens in safe mode as well. We aren't seeing crashes, this only happens on restart, not after a hard reboot so I think it is something that isn't closing down properly on restart. The AFPS boot volume had corruption as reported by Disk Utility which required booting in recovery mode to repair before upgrading to macOS 10.14.

Interestingly enough, I found this issue when I noticed the machine acting up after a 10G copper network connection was added using only Cat6 cable. The connection was at 10G and no errors showed but network access was problematic and the machine beach-balled until lockup. Forcing the connection to 1G resolved the performance issues but not the Bridge OS issue.

I'm experiencing a similar situation to others in this thread:

Macbook Pro 16," delivered March 4th. Have had four "Bad magic" crashes. Computer froze, fans went to max, then computer turned off each time. The console log shows error 210 for each crash:

{"caused_by":"macos","macos_version":"Mac OS X 10.15.3 (19D76)","os_version":"Bridge OS 4.2 (17P3050)","macos_system_state":"running","incident_id":"E22A32A0-8C64-4CCB-B8C0-86252265A7EE","timestamp":"2020-03-14 13:25:20.57 +0000","bug_type":"210"}

I'm using an external monitor, which may or may not be related. When connected to the monitor, the computer runs hot as discussed in another support thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250878229 . I can live with the heat and fan noise, but not with the crashes.

As a secondary issue, the machine also doesn't successfully wake from sleep sometimes, especially if it has been sleeping overnight. Has to be restarted in those cases, too.

I've already contacted Apple and am asking for a replacement, as I'm still within the 14 day grace period. Will let others know if the replacement unit functions normally.

I think you may find that apple has no choice as to the butterfly keyboard replacements when an issue in their correct function is reported. Even 2019 macbooks with butterfly keyboards are instantly under recall on sale.

I've checked my T2's firmware and it is the newest available for my macbook pro 2019 16".

I joined this discussion as my brand new machine has suffered from the bad magic crash numerous times for several boards, although that is not why I am returning it.

The latest macbook pro 2019 16" appear to have a large number of affected units that freeze the moment the GPU switches, so basically opening apps or starting a video render. Work lost. Nothing to do with sleep. Hardware fault in Nov '19 batch, all replacement boards from same batch since apple are still in denial mode. Fifth full unit replacement will supposedly be from a 2020 build date. Otherwise I refund and build a hackintosh.

But bad magic and other mentioned bugs are all the things I have experienced since purchasing this decrepit piece of engineering in November 2019.