Macbook pro 16 2019 freezes randomly and restarts

Ok, here is the update from Apple Support as of May 20 2020. They know the problem exists. They did not even get me through system reinstall as this will not help. Their engineers are working on the fix this in the next Catalina update. 15.5? When? Who knows..

Currently they recommend the following to suppress potential side effects for now:

1. Reset NVRAM (press and hold Option + Cmd + R + P on the shutdown device, it will automatically start. Wait for the Apple logo to show for the second time and then release buttons).
2. Disable checkbox for Putting Hard Discs to Sleep when possible (in the Energy Saving).
3. Unplug (!!!!!??) device when putting closing the lid :)
4. Automatic graphic switching does not relate to the problem - you can leave it on.
5. Power Nap is optional for the problem (but my personal experience shows that disabling Power Nap helps to fix another reboot panic error).

And the top advice from them: "Consider completely switching off your MBP when you are not using it." For sure, that is exactly how we are supposed to use laptops :(

My advice to everyone having this issue:

1. Raise your case with the Apple ASAP while you can call them, so they'll have you on the profile.
2. It will take you only a couple of days to get to the point where they'll advise you to wait for the update.
3. Wait for the Catalina update.
4. If the problem persists - you can reach them quicker as you have the case with confirmed problem and decide on the refund etc.

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It is worth noting that this post is about the following issue:

panic(cpu 6 caller 0xffffff7f881fc97b): GPU Panic: mux-regs 5 3 7f 1f 0 0 severity 3 WS-ready 0 switch-state 0 IG FBs 0 EG FBs 1:0 power-state 0 3D idle HDA idle system-state 2 power-level 5:0 power-retry 0:0 connect-change 0 : PowerPlay Failed Resume.

Hi thanks for that !! thats my issue, i get multiple reboot loops before i get to the login screen with powerplay failed resume or initialise.

My plan was to wait for the official 10.15.5, i am on 10.15.5 beta 4 at the moment and getting the same issue.

Cheers

Mark

My 16" started consistently restarting when I reach the login screen after reboot (i.e. it's not usable) 3 days after I got it. It also restarts on sleep and keeps going in a restart cycle with the lid closed until the battery drains. It gets super hot when doing this.

1.5 hours over two calls with Apple Support. SMC reset, PRAM reset, and a clean Catalina install (erasing the hard drive first) didn't help.

Unfortunately I didn't buy directly from Apple so I couldn't return for refund.

The only way I can boot my laptop is by connecting the power cord on the right and a random USB-c dongle or display on the left (???).

I can't even boot into recovery or safe mode without the two thunderbolt ports occupied.

log show --predicate 'eventMessage contains "Previous shutdown cause"' --last 24h

Filtering the log data using "composedMessage CONTAINS "Previous shutdown cause""

Skipping info and debug messages, pass --info and/or --debug to include.

Timestamp Thread Type Activity PID TTL

2020-05-19 20:49:00.156418-0700 0xc9 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSMC) Previous shutdown cause: -20

2020-05-20 17:51:59.157815-0700 0xc9 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSMC) Previous shutdown cause: -11

2020-05-20 17:55:28.782318-0700 0xc8 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSMC) Previous shutdown cause: -20

2020-05-20 17:58:58.321862-0700 0xc9 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSMC) Previous shutdown cause: -20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Log - Default: 4, Info: 0, Debug: 0, Error: 0, Fault: 0

Activity - Create: 0, Transition: 0, Actions: 0

Replying to my previous post (my mac reboots as soon as I reach the Catalina login screen).

I installed Windows 10 via bootcamp. No problems starting. No crashes when sleeping (closing the lid and re-opening).

All my thunderbolt3 ports work (at least as USB-c ports, I don't own any thunderbolt3 accessories).

I'm pretty sure this is a software issue. Rumor is it may be fixed in 10.15.5 https://mrmacintosh.com/10-15-4-update-wake-from-sleep-kernel-panic-in-16-mbpro-2019/

looks like the latest beta build which installed this morning has resolved it for me.

its still obviously very early, so ill update this thread next week ether way.

so looks like not hardware as some people have mentioned.

many thanks

Mark

Hi yes your correct :( it seems ok all day yesterday but this morning its back to normal with reboot loops.

i am going to do the same as you and wait for final release.

Then pursue apple for a replacement or refund.

I get my fixed Mac 16 yesterday, so far it works well for more than 12 hours, no more abnormal shutdown when awaking from sleep.

So my suggestion is if you are experiencing the same error:

1) GPU Panic .... PowerPlay Failed Resum

2) kernel: (AppleSMC) Previous shutdown cause: -20

don't waste your time to call Apple Support, they will tell you do a lots of test, such as Reset SMC, PRVM, reinstall, bilabial... It's no use at all. Just to Apple Genius Bar and they will change you the Logic Board. Then this problem has high possibility to be fixed.

I still can't 100% confirm the change of Logic Board will fix the problem. Because someone report replacing Logic Board didn't fix this problem. But it seems like it fixed my laptop. And when I get back my laptop, the MacOS version is 10.15.1 ! I don't want to upgrade to the latest 10.15.4 now, so I disabled the Auto Upgrade function immediately when I first login into the system. Because both the system version down to 10.15.1 and Logic Board was replaced, I am not sure which one resolved the problem.

I will continue to watch.

Glad to know yours was fixed as well. Mine is working fine for more than 30 hours.

What's your current MacOS version? This may help to diagnose the issue whether it is caused by software or hardware.

Random freezing occurs without any third-party software. Because they are random, which can happen often, then they may not happen for several days. Prior to returning my device, I noticed that it could freeze when checking the hash of the huge file (but not every time).

But my stable laptop works properly under any load with any software.

mhil, have you upgraded to 10.15.5 beta 5?

I had 43 crash-free days but now it is crashing each night between 9 and 10. No software or OS updates were installed, just the same 10.15.4 with the supplement installed last month. Happens when, mousing over a webpage in Safari. Different panic message than before. Fortunately, that's all I use this $3000+ paperweight for as I have gone to the dark side and bought a HP workstation and new monitors for actual work. Fool me once was the 15" with the defective screen and twice-replaced keyboard, fool me twice was this 16" sorry excuse for a laptop. I should have just asked for a refund in November when the first one I received (after pre-ordering) wouldn't even load the OS. MacBook used to be a premium product, now it's for suckers, and Apple Care? ...an expensive, bad joke.

Crashes happend to me even if I work 100% time with Adobe Indesign which use only dedicated graphics,

gfxcardstatus doesnt help

My MBP16 is now in the service for 2 times (logic board replcmnt), but no hope for results

apple service assistent told me that final (notBeta) 10.15.5 should come in June and solves exactly this issue,

...but no real hope, this could happend to win Vista, not the macbook,..

[Edited by Moderator]

ryanfromjst wrote:

After reading many of the posts in this thread, it does seem to be pointing to software issues.

I agree that most of these issues appear to be software issues, e.g. mine don't happen when running Windows.

My concern is: do all 16 MBPs suffer from these reboots? If not, then it seems like there is a hardware issue with a subset of the machines. It's not clear whether the supposed fix in 10.15.5 will introduce software that hides underperforming/faulty hardware, or whether there's an edge case that we happen to be hitting that other 16" MBP owners aren't hitting. I think it's damaged hardware because my issues (reboot loop) persist after a clean install (format) of 10.15.4 and SMC reset. If it were a software issue I imagine a lot more brand new 16" MBPs would start crashing.

IMO it would be good to benchmark TB3 performance on all 4 ports on 10.15.4 vs 10.15.5 (power input, power output, SSD read/write, network IO); unfortunately I don't have the tooling to do anything besides power. If Apple is indeed applying a band-aid on machines with faulty hardware then I imagine performance would drop.

Unfortunately you have it backwards. If it’s software, then everyone will have the problem. If it’s hardware, then only a subset will have it.

People who have gotten faulty hardware who have gotten full replacements no longer have the problem. I am one of these people. I have have no panics (Powerplay failed xxx) and I have the same software as you.

This highly points towards hardware. Apple knows this is a serious problem and if it was software only, a fix would have been issued in March. Apple is actually attempting a work around in software for those that have the anomaly.

Will they have a work around? I don’t know. I hope that for those of you who have this issue that a software work around is indeed possible. But it’s still a work around (if it’s fixable that way at all).

Your best course of action is to get it replaced. If you have AppleCare, you certainly bought the right to have it fixed and not wait for a work around. Your warranty should do that as well. Read your AppleCare contract for details as I believe you have rights with this.

good luck.

I am not angry and so on. But, if it doesn't get fixed in the next MacOS update, everyone should simply make a thread with his issue. Maybe they will pay attention to that. I tried to reach out to the bloggers about this issue, to make people acknowledged, but he told that's an interesting issue and he has never heard of it. When I sent him this thread he simply ignored.

So, let's make threads on the forum and whatever, return it or require a replacement instantly. I think there should be Apple workers on these forums. Someone should do something.

I believe it. Same here, never restored anything from a backup, SMC reset and full OS reinstall with every release. Many have had the same experience, some of us with multiple replacements. Hope you are the one to get a resolution. Please keep us in the loop!

Interestingly, my unit had been fine for 5 weeks and on 5/22 the problem resurfaced and it happened again on 5/23 but not since.