Macbook pro 16 2019 freezes randomly and restarts

I finally called Apple Support about this problem, having suffered the freezing and other GPU problems since the first day. After putting me on hold and checking with her supervisor, she did confirm this is a known problem with the MacBook Pro 16 Inch models. She did remote into my MacBook to verify the model and hardware configuration (specifically looking at the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB GPU). She created an appointment at my local Apple Store and I will be given a new computer (not refurb). I did ask if Apple has identified the specific problem, and she told they have and all new models have the issue resolved.

It seems this was/is a hardware problem (not software) and replacing the computer is the only solution.

I will be replacing my Space Gray MacBook Pro 16 Inch tomorrow at the Apple Store. I hope this will resolve the problem.

I suggest others contact Apple Support and get their computer replaced.

Good Luck…

My model config is…

Space Gray

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9

32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4

1TB Macintosh HD

AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

Darn it ... took too long to post: reposting.

Interestingly I too have a Space Grey MacBook Pro that was "custom".

My specs are: i9 2.3ghz, 32gb Ram, 1TB storage, AMD 5500m 4gb

It took 4 days to troubleshoot but I believe I have a reproducible way to test the Intel 630 UHD GPU issues people are having.

1. Download Geekbench 5 (I used version 5.1.0)
2. Select "Later" when the dialog pops up about paying for it. You'll be testing in "Tryout Mode"
3. Look the the left of the program and you'll select the "Compute" Benchmark
4. Select Compute API: METAL (OpenCL doesn't error out but Metal does.)
5. Select Computer Device: Intel UHD 630 Graphics
6. Open the Console Log app BEFORE YOU run the GEEKBENCH 5 test
7. Select "Errors and Faults" from the Console log app. It should be at the top.
8. Start the GeekBench test.
9. Watch all the red dots proliferate the Console Log app. Most of them will be IntelAccel errors. Many times you will likely see the internal GPU restarting as evidenced by the attached screenshot. Look for signalHardwareError in your logs.

Here is my video of the whole thing. https://youtu.be/Rxh3wATgPOA

During my 7 minute video I try to select the "About the Mac" it takes almost 3 minutes for the window to render while the test is running. You can see in the Activity Monitor in the video it showing as unresponsive.

I truly hope this helps folks - and I wish you all luck. I love Apple and their products. This is obviously something they need to admit and get ahead of because this is turning into something that appears to be a real issue.

My laptop is currently at Apple repair awaiting a logicboard (MLB).

Edited because I hit post too quickly.

This is hardware folks. Apple just got back to me... my laptop is awaiting a part in order to fix this GPU panic problem. The hardware has been confirmed defective. Your best course of action is to get it to Apple to fix. There will not be a software fix for this according to my Apple engineer.

The only work around at this state is safe mode. That is the only consistent way to prevent this from occurring because it prevents the software that enables the AMD to occur. This is why the OS is hobbled in safe mode. Its a short term fix and forget about running Adobe products, etc that use the AMD GPU in safe mode. Safe mode will only allow you to do the bare minimum with your computer.

Don't try the standby hacks as they don't work when plugged in. Disabling graphics switching doesn't work as well... only for a short time, but you will eventually tickle the problem and it will panic at some point. This has consistently happened to me when its plugged in. I also know when its going to occur as I have iStat menus and I watch it flip the "I" to "A" in my menu and not too long after that the freeze/GPU panic/reboot occurs with the usual error.

The bottom line is that this is a hardware issue and the longer you wait to get this to Apple, the longer you will delay getting this fixed.

If people are getting their hardware back and it still panics, then Apple has a much bigger issue and it just may be good to get a refund by doing a chargeback on your credit card. Their 15 day policy means nothing to your credit card company. So you have that as an option. For the guy who is on his 3rd, I would most certainly do this and consider another company laptop for now. This is not worth it IMHO. They get 1 fix for me. After that, its chargeback time if I see this happen again.

I hope everyone can get this fixed because this is really bad.

I've got gfxCardStatus installed, and it's helpfully identified where the problem is.

Seems like Catalina's got a bug when switching between the integrated and discrete GPU. At first I thought my AMD Radeon R9 M370X was acting up, as I was getting kernel panics when running software that switched to it, like iMovie or Chrome with video. But checking the Console.app, the error happens whenever a context switch request is made, even if gfxCardStatus prevents the switch from happening. HOWEVER, no kernel panics if I use gfxCardStatus to keep the machine locked to EITHER the integrated or the discrete GPU. Panics only happen during the switch.

kIOReturnNotReady is thrown if the DMA command has not been prepared, which points to a bug in Catalina's GPU switching code.

Hopefully someone at Apple will read this and fix the glaring bug.

So just an update on my progress. I’ve posted his prior but I want to give everyone a refresh just in case you don’t hear back from me due to the issue being resolved. I’ll keep you all updated if the issue seems resolved after I use my MacBook for a month or so. 

I purchased my 2019 16” MacBook Pro on 12/08/2019. Immediately after buying it, the MacBook had issues. MacOS would freeze completely, the mouse cursor couldn’t even move during the freeze for about 10-20 seconds. Then the fans would start going full speed and get very loud for about 5 seconds. Then the system would automatically shut down or reboot. I then got curious about this reoccurring issue so I posted here on 12/12/19 about having this issue. 

For my first time around, Apple had me do the following:

1. Reinstall MacOS and restore from a time machine backup. The issue still occurred. 
2. Reinstall MacOS and don’t restore from a time machine backup. Manually reinstall applications as needed. The issue still occurred. 
3. Drive two hours to have a Genius review the MacBook. He suggested that I again reinstall MacOS but couldn’t diagnose the issue. He pushed the possibility of it being hardware related. He asked that I mail in my laptop for repair if the issue happens after another reinstall. 
4. Reformatted the Macintosh HD and reinstalled MacOS from a USB flash drive mounted with the most recent MacOS Catalina image I downloaded from the MacOS App Stored, which is signed by Apple. The issue is still occurring. 
5. Apple sent in a repair request to send my device out for repair. It took three business days for me to get it repaired and receive it back. According to their repair notes included with the repaired MacBook, they only “reinstalled MacOS” which I find humorous because I’ve done this multiple times already per their instructions!

I then had the issue again following the first repair. I called Apple and they actually collected console logs this time from the MacBook. I was getting “Panic” logs saying “Bad Magic” during these unexpected shutdowns and reboots. 

They sent the device out for repair again on 04/01/2020. It took four business days (should have only been three but UPS had a technical issue) and I got it back today, 04/04/2020. They replaced the Logic Board (item #605-06150) and the Touch ID Board (item #605-06552) due to a “Kernel Freeze” symptom. They also clean installed MacOS and it shows that my device passed hardware testing. 

So I’ll be testing this repaired device for a month or so and will see if the issue happens again. If it happens again, I’ll probably get a full replacement or ask for a refund from Apple due to their Warranty terms. 

I’ll keep you all updated if the issue seems resolved or if I have any issues after a month. 

Just an update on my progress. My prior MacBook would unexpectedly freeze for 10 seconds, then the fans would go 100% for 5 seconds, and the machine would then power off or restart. I would check the logs after this issue and get a "bad magic" kernel panic. They sent me a brand new replacement. This issue seems to be resolved with a brand new replacement. This is a hardware issue (unless you're having panics due to the most recent version of Catalina). If you're having kernel panics, bad magic issues, or unexpected shut downs/reboots, then I'd recommend to get a replacement as soon as possible. This is the only way to resolve this issue.

I spent countless hours troubleshooting the issue with Apple and sending it out for repair twice. The first repair, they only reinstalled MacOS and updated my T2 firmware. This didn't resolve it. The second repair, they replaced my Touch ID Board and Logic Board. This also didn't resolve the issue. I then requested a new replacement (since I'm still within my warranty). They approved this and were able to send me this brand new replacement. This replacement does NOT have any issues and now the issue is resolved.

Please keep in mind that Apple (US) will only send a replacement after a certain number of repair attempts (usually 2-3 attempts), if you're past the 14-day return date. So please make sure to get started on the repair process and after the second/third repair, ask for a replacement. This is the only way to resolve the issue. It was the only way for me to resolve the unexpected shutdowns and reboots with "Bad Magic" kernel panics. I have read prior that this is the only way others have fully resolved this issue. I hope you all have the same success as me!

I just wanted to post an update on my progress just in case anyone is wondering. I've responded to myself each time I posted so you can easily click back through my old posts by clicking the "in response to BretFromApple" at the top of my posts.

Apple sent me a brand new replacement and this resolved my issue. This was the only thing that could have resolved my issue. Some people report going through two or more replacements until finally getting one that works without issues. Don't spend your time trying to fix this issue yourself if you had the same issue as me. Please contact Apple and start the repair process to get closer to getting a replacement. The good part is that once you get a replacement, you get 14 days (in the US) to return the product. So you'll know within 14 days if your new MacBook is having the same issues and just get another replacement. You can keep doing this until you get one that works (if that's even needed). This is my first replacement and works great.

My prior MacBook would unexpectedly freeze for around 10 seconds, then the fans would spin at 100% for around 5 seconds, and the machine would then power off or restart. I would check the logs after this issue and get a "bad magic" kernel panic or some sort of other similar kernel panic.

I spent around two to three months working with Apple and I went through two repairs where the issue was not resolved and it kept shutting down or rebooting. During these repairs, they reinstalled MacOS, updated my T2 firmware, replaced my Touch ID Board, and replaced my Logic Board. This didn't resolve the issue.

My prior MacBook must have been a lemon because this brand new one has absolutely no issues at all. I've had it now for almost a month and have used it extensively for production. This new MacBook is how my first MacBook should have been but I somehow ended up with a lemon on my first purchase.

Anyways, I hope you all get this issue resolved like I did! This will be my last post on this forum unless I come across the same issue in the future with this new MacBook, which is very unlikely. Good luck all!

My MBP 16" had issues with USB ports back in March, and I couldn't even charge the computer. I sent it to Apple, and they changed the logic board. When I got my MBP back it started to restart every time it went to sleep. I talked to Apple multiple times over the phone about this issue, and they gave me very basic instructions (resetting PRAM and SMC blah blah) and work arounds (disabling power nap, graphic switching, etc). Nothing worked for me, and I wasn't convinced that it was a software issue since I had the same problem on 10.15.15, 10.15.16 BETA, 11 Beta (Big Sur). I basically told the customer rep to set up the repair even if they end up doing nothing since this is a "known software issue". I got my MBP back today with new logic board installed, and I haven't had a single restart so far. Mine was consistently getting GPU Panic, so if yours have the same issue, set up a repair even if they tell you that they might not do anything.

I HAD exactly the same issue with my 2019 MacBook Pro 16, Intel i9 2.3GHz, 1 TB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB, AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB.

Stuttering while typing, watching videos, simply scrolling a web page...

Switching to the dedicated graphics card makes it much better but drastically reduces battery life.

Then I found https://chromeisbad.com. I had Chrome installed on my system but was only using Safari. I followed the steps to completely uninstall Chrome and the stuttering problem immediately went away.

This is unbelievable. We all were blaming Apple for bad graphic card drivers, returning hardware and so on...

The problem is caused by Googles keystone stuff which is always active even if you are not using chrome.

Give it a try and please report here if that helps you too.

I'm so happy my MacBook is running smooth now!

I used to get the full-on freezes occasionally, but that seems fixed after I reset NVRAM and SMC.

I am still getting occasional freezes a few times an hour on the integrated GPU only. Just got one now while viewing this thread in Firefox. The screen freezes for 5-10 seconds, but audio continues to play in the background. On longer freezes, I notice that closing the lid and reopening seems to "fix" it.

I tried running with the discrete GPU all day yesterday and experience zero freezes, which really makes me think something is up with the integrated GPU or its driver.

Some folks have thought this may have something to do with graphics card switching, but I installed gfxCardStatus to monitor the card currently in use and haven't seen a correlation between freezing and switching.

Firefox 71.0

macOS 10.15.2

2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 / 32GB RAM / 1 TB HD / AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 4 GB / Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

I think there is really an hardware pb with this issue.

I was facing it starting from the first hour, and at least 1 or 2 times a day. (complete freeze, touchbar and sound working, force restart mandatory)

After a few days, I have returned the computer and bought a new one.

No issue after a full day on the new one.

Only difference, i still haven't updated catalina (still on 10.15.1)

AGS turned off only works for a certain amount of time unless you have it locked to your Intel GPU. Turning off my AGS makes it AMD and its just a matter of time until something tickles it and it resets.

I have noticed that keeping it on the Intel and not having it go to AMD prevents the panic from happening. Things I have tried was to prevent the computer from going to sleep (Energy saver) and turning off the screen saver (set to none), and do not use any apps that require the AMD. This stabilized the computer and no further panics occurred.

As an experiment, I tried to launch Adobe Illustrator and sure enough, within 5 seconds, I get the freeze, high fan, black screen, reboot. Same panic occurs - GPU panic Powerplay failed to resume. So this is definitely is centered around the AMD GPU getting switched on. This may possibly why people get into the boot loop as something launches in your login that turns on the AMD GPU... thats just a hypothesis. I think if someone can somehow prevent the computer from auto opening applications on boot, they may get bast the boot loop. Its just a thought.

Some things I noticed...

The GPU heat had nothing to do with this. It was around 90-100f (fahrenheit NOT celcius). That's the average for the entire machine chips (thank you iStat menus). I also noticed that this didn't happen to me until AFTER 10.15.2 update was installed. This did not happen to me with 10.15.1. I'm not sure if there is a correlation. If anyone has this problem and has 10.15.1, please chime in as I'm hoping that is not a red herring.

Apple Engineering is still looking for me. My bets are on software as this is getting super widespread. But we will see...

I made a little headway on this. This is not a guarantee fix as I have only tested this for an hour or so and I have not gotten any reboots or panics and am able to fully utilize the AMD graphics card, dynamically switch, etc. I have forced sleep and wake up, closed/opened the cover, and so far so good. I can't get it to panic, but this really needs to tried over a few days. I would really like others to try. Here is my history...

I noticed that this does not happen in safe mode. So I needed to find the difference. I looked at the normal login's kexts that are loaded which seem to be associated with AMD. I opened terminal and did a sudo kextstat | grep AMD. It gave me the following:

com.apple.kext.AMDSupport

com.apple.kext.AMDRadeonX6000Framebuffer

com.apple.kext.AMDRadeonServiceManager.kext

com.apple.kext.AMDRadeonX6000HWServices

com.apple.kext.AMDRadeonX6000

com.apple.kext.AMDRadeonX6100HWLibs

But when I boot in safe mode, it only lists:

com.apple.kext.AMDSupport

com.apple.kext.AMDRadeonX6000Framebuffer

So I started to assume that it had to be software and one of the kexts that are not in safe mode must be the culprit. I didn't want to touch the AMDRadeonX6000* named kexts at first as I felt they were core. You can't really unload any of them except for com.apple.kext.AMDRadeonX6100HWLibs, which if unloaded, it just doesn't allow the AMD GPU to activate and it will hang any application that attempts to use. So I decided to try com.apple.kext.AMDRadeonServiceManager.kext. Again it won't allow you to unload it because of interdependencies, but you can certainly disable it.

To disable it, you need to boot into recovery mode (reboot and hold down the Command-r). Once in recovery mode, open disk utility and mount your main disk It may ask you to type in your password to decrypt it. Mine is called "Mac OS". Exit disk utility and then under the Utilities menu, select terminal. Once in terminal, type "cd /Volumes/Mac OS/System/Library/Extensions" and hit enter. Remember "Mac OS" is the name of my drive, yours may differ. Once you have done this, type "mv ./AMDRadeonServiceManager.kext ./AMDRadeonServiceManager.kext.orig". This essentially renames that file to prevent it from loading. Once done, exit the terminal and restart the computer.

So far, its appearing that the AMDRadeonServiceManager.kext is the problem. I honestly don't know the impact on the system having it disabled, but at this stage I haven't had any reboots. I think I need more time to be sure this temporarily fixes it. You can put it back to normal by following the above but type in "mv ./AMDRadeonServiceManager.kext.orig ./AMDRadeonServiceManager.kext" instead.

If others want to try, please do so and report back. This may not be the issue nor a fix. So YMMV. Do this purely at your own risk and I am not responsible if you mistype something and prevent your system from booting. Only do this if you are comfortable in terminal and using UNIX commands.

I'll report back in the next day to see if my system has stabilized.

Something that I didn't mentioned in my previous post is that in addition to disabling the Automatic Graphic Switch I also have my Touch Bar configured as Expanded Strip, showing the old function keys statically instead of showing dynamic content (App Controls).

I decided to share this because few days ago I decided to switch back to the default Touch Bar configuration with App Controls that change depending on the app or activity that you are doing and few hours after enabling it my laptop fans went crazy and the whole system got unresponsive so I had to reboot it using the power button, as soon as it booted again I changed my Touch Bar config back to Expanded Strip and everything is working again.

So if I have Automatic Graphic Switching turned on or my Touch Bar set to App Controls my system is almost un usable having to manually reboot at least 2 or 3 times per days.

Another thing that I noticed while testing with Automatic Graphic Switch turned on today is when the Intel graphic card is in use even basic system are bit laggy, like switching between spaces or get in / out of full screen, everything works great when the AMD 5500M 8GB is in use (I left the automatic graphic switch turned off)

I am running the latest OS version 10.15.3 (19D76).

ondrejc,

Even though you purchased two weeks ago, it is likely the model you have was part of the original shipment and sitting in inventory. There is no way to know for sure, but your best bet is to call Apple, get a support case and have it replaced (with a new computer, not refurb). Or you take it back for a refund/exchange if you are still within return period. But, I would be concerned if the store replaces it with an older (un-repaired unit).

I don't have a good answer for you. Call Apple and see what they say. No point exchanging for another defective unit.....

The GOOD NEWS IS...Apple is finally acknowledging the problem.....

No more guessing. It is a hardware problem with no software fix. You need to have it replaced with a FIXED unit.

Good luck and let us know what Apple is saying. I am curious is we are all being told the same thing.