MacBook Pro 16 2019 10.15.4 Kernel Panic / Reboot When Plugged In -- Help!

@albertoatl: I have the same problem with my MBP 16' that I bought end of March this year. Even though all recommended resets were made (SMC and NVRAM) and MacOS was reinstalled clean and absolutely no software was installed it panics 5-12 times each day just using mail and safari. It is a nightmare and the device cannot be used for my business purposes at all.

Meanwhile I attach each and every panic (crash) log file to the ticket Apple opened for me.

Unfortunately I cannot give you any solutions so far but just the feeling that you are not alone. ts is so sad to deal with these major issues for such a long time.

I also gave up and returned my 16” MacBook because it wouldn’t get past the login page. I am thinking of rebuying the 16” or a new version of MacBook Pro once the issue gets resolved

I am also currently working on my 2014 MacBook Pro for the time being and it’s pretty slow

I also have the issue of the original thread question and I have Catalina 10.15.5. Not sure if they just haven't fixed the problem but my 2019 MacBook Pro 16" constantly turns off every time my computer goes to sleep even for a little bit.

I want to provide an update for those that haven't seen. I was someone with a new 16" that had this problem. I believe that 10.15.5 fully fixed it for me. Did it also fix for others? I am guessing so because, pre-update, there were multiple updates to this post daily. Since then, it's died down, so I take that to mean that, like me, most people saw it resolve.

Resounding no. I have 10.15.5 + the 10.15.5 supplemental update. Still experience 1+ kernel panic per day with reboot. Happens consistently if the machine falls asleep while connected to an external monitor via usbc (or, also, USBC dock that connects to an external monitor over hdmi). I also purchased a 2nd duplicate 16" MBP of exact same specs and tried it after apple support failed to address the problem. This machine also has the same issue. I have tried both with my migrated data and apps, as well as blank slate just with macos no files or apps added. It's clearly a firmware or HW eng problem, not an isolated incident.

Same here. My computer says up to date ... some week it behaves and i only get 3 or 4 panics, some weeks it doesnt i get 3 a day . So yeah. It is not fixed yet .

I noticed that it panic less if i dont unplug it .

Ah, @techitype. Sorry to hear that. Your issue seems to be the "connected to external monitor" version of this issue. I don't have an external monitor. Mine seems to be working fine. I hope they address it (because what if I want an external monitor one day!!?)

Hey there sorry for being blunt! But maybe you should read the entire thread!! It has nothing to do with 3rd party apps. I had this out of the box no external monitor connected and no 3rd party apps installed! Like many have tested it here. Apple needs to hurry up and fix this iso waiting for their new new OS to roll out!

Huh, maybe it's time to reach out for Macrumors, or some other media and ask for a post in their blog. Looks like Apple kind of ignores the issue. There must have been some "quiet" updates, that did fix it for Some users ( like me ). Bit apparently - the issue is still there for a lot of folks.

I had this issue too for several month until about two weeks ago. Meanwhile it is completely gone after a clean installation of MacOS 10.15.5. I did several clean installations before and they did not help at all....

Then I read this article on a German portal for IT ("heise.de") which has a good reputation. This article can be summarized as follows: Is is intended by Apple that the firmware of the device is updated when ever you install or update MacOS. But Heise found out that the firmware update often fails while the OS update succeeds and users do not get any message or alert about the failure of the firmware update. The result of the tests they did was that a significant number of devices have this problem: old firmware and new MacOS.

I know that it is a lot of work to reinstall MacOS and all the software required but I recommend not to give up. I tested my device without any additional software installed and only used safari and mail and I did not connect any hardware except the original charger. This was to exclude external programs or devices to cause the kernel panic.

So if the built-in hardware test is successful (press "D" at startup and run the hardware diagnosis) and the SMC-reset also does not solve your problem I can just recommend to try re-installing MacOS until your firmware was also successfully updated.

Its a shame that Apple does not fix this issue but they seem to be focused on rather developing new stuff than fixing the issues. For me personally I decided not to buy a Macbook again as Windows in my opinion is at least as stable as MacOS if not even better and the premium prices for Apple devices are by far not justified in my opinion. At least the Apple support is friendly but unfortunately not sufficiently competent to solve this kind problem.

Good luck trying!

I just wrestled with Apple about mine and was granted a return. My machine is going back. I'll have to find another laptop and was going to avoid the MBP 16 inch. Your post cinches it for me - definitely avoiding the 16" MBP.

The last straw for me was completely resetting my MBP (i.e. wipe hard disk, reinstall OS, reset PRAM, reset SMC) and having more kernel panics then I had before. I'm convinced that there is something in the OS code (starting with 10.15.4) that is not playing nice with the hardware. Hardware diagnostics and disk diagnostics were all fine on the machine that is being returned to Apple.

Typically your best bet is to look at the Kernal Panic to see what exactly is being affected, whether it be applications, specific drivers, etc.

I noticed that whenever I leave anything plugged in (other than having the MBP charging) for extended periods of time, the computer will crash. I tested this out with my iPod Classic attached to my MBP 16” and sure enough, it crashed, but this was the only instance of it ever crashing ever since the 10.15.4 update (currently 10.15.6).

After much testing on my behalf, this crash only seems to occur when something other than the charging cable is plugged in and the device goes to sleep for a certain period of time. I recommend disabling Power Nap entirely when connected to Power at the bare minimum.

I purchased and returned Refurbished MBP 16inch with 2.4GHz, 64GB, 5500M 8G, 1TB HDD on June, because it crashed everyday every time from the day I purchased.

But I re-purchased Refurbished MBP 16inch with 2.4GHz, 32GB, 5500M 8G, 512GB HDD again and I had no problem for 3 weeks now.

I am using it with an external 4k monitor. PowerNap is enabled and xboxOne controller, mouse, and headset usb are connected all the time. I found that sometimes it doesn’t go to sleep well so I try to make it sleep using sleep button on the menu bar twice. It’s 10.15.6.

I wonder if 64RAM size affects to the crashes.

Same Kernel Panic and Sleep issues here with my 16" Macbook Pro that I purchased in December of 2019. Apple final asked me to bring in for repair. The replaced the entire Logic Board. I have now gone 3 weeks without an issue. Looks like this model has a Logic Board issue and it's not software related.

10.15.6 installed with power nap on, both in batt and on charging. Switched those on after installing 10.15.6 a week or two ago. No KP until today. Opened up my MBP and there was one again.

Apple this is below your standards. FIX ths F....... Problem!