Level 1

15 points

MacBook Pro 16 - frequent kernel panics

I just got a brand new MBP 16 which I've had for 5 days now, and in the last day I noticed it started kernel panicking after being asleep for at least an hour. It's generated the reports as attached below, with similar but not identical error messages.

So far, it seems to happen without fail assuming the machine is plugged in to AC and left alone for at least an hour. The logs suggest a GPU issue, so I closed the only app using the dGPU (Photos - curating album), ensured it was using the iGPU, but it still happened with a similar graphics message.

It's a a clean setup (no migration assistant), and I've moved over very little of my data yet and only installed a few major apps (Slack, Spotify, MS Office, unopened Adobe CC Photography suite). Hardware check came back clean, as did disk utility first aid, and resetting the NVRAM accomplished nothing. No external devices (HD's, monitors, etc) are connected.

Catalina 10.15.4, i9 2.3, Radeon Pro 5500M, 32GB RAM.

Any ideas of how to proceed or at least rule out hardware? Thanks!

MacBook Pro 16", macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 4, 2020 5:11 AM

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26 replies

DPJ

Level 4

1,374 points

Apr 22, 2020 6:36 AM in response to topspin

Just make sure that all your stuff on your 2012 MacBook in terms of apps are 64 bit only. If you're moving files such as documents and pictures that's. If you were planning on dumping everything at one time from 2012 to your new 16" MBP I would be cautious of doing that as you may have a corrupt file/s that may cause instability. Not everyone knows if they have a corrupt file if they haven't cleaned out or erased the drive in a long time. Otherwise congrats on your success so far. You shouldn't have any more kernel panics. It's not really something that happens over time. If it's going to happen it will happen right away.

topspin

Level 1

8 points

Apr 22, 2020 6:40 AM in response to DPJ

I was thinking about doing a Super Duper (Disk image utility) backup of my 2012 MBP and a full restore to my new 16" MBP. But at this point, I am going to stick with my Time Machine Restore. This way, I won't be moving any legacy 32 bit apps. Things are looking good. :)

Benjamin_97 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 22, 2020 7:12 AM in response to topspin

Great to hear, hope you have continued success! If you have the time and patience you could consider a staggered data transfer, otherwise may as well go ahead - I've not yet had a bad experience with time machine. I wish I could port everything across, but as it stands I'm in a state of flux driven by the computer issues and proceeding to make a complete mess of managing the data between my old laptop and new.

Apr 22, 2020 7:57 AM in response to topspin

A brute-force restore of everything moves the old OS as well.

When you use Migration Assistant from your older Mac or its backups, you have the option of moving just your files or your files and Apps. The disadvantage is that it wants to create a new Account (with the old name ) to store the files.

Benjamin_97 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 27, 2020 7:07 AM in response to justinfromclayton

Sorry to hear that. My laptop drained itself almost completely overnight recently too, a new outlet for the existing issues (usually it panics before it has a chance to die on me). Thanks for your comment - I called back Apple Support expecting for them to say they'd replace the laptop, but instead they said the same thing as you except without any of the suggested workarounds. Hopefully a fix for this "known issue" should come soon, I kinda need confidence in this laptop before I can move all my stuff to it. Super odd that 10.15.4 introduced such kernel panic issues, wonder if they made some under-the-hood changes to the way kernel extensions are handled or simply bungled a fix for ostensibly unrelated issues.

Apr 27, 2020 2:27 PM in response to Benjamin_97

I have confidence that it will be fixed, but still a disappointing experience to be sure (especially for a product at a premium price tag!) So far, I haven’t experienced any more issues since I followed the work around suggested above. Will update again after software update or if something relevant occurs. Good luck!

xMarston

Level 1

4 points

Apr 5, 2020 3:22 AM in response to Benjamin_97

Mine does the same, it is a brand new MBP16" 5 days old too so I guess it is a software problem.

Apr 5, 2020 3:50 AM in response to Benjamin_97

maybe I should follow that too on my 13 inch MBP 😜

hope it works for me as I also experience this on my 13 inch MacBook Pro

Apr 7, 2020 5:57 AM in response to leroydouglas

the disabling power nap amazingly worked for my 13-inch MacBook Pro! Thank you for the suggestion!

Apr 30, 2020 10:43 AM in response to leroydouglas

I tried this solution a few days ago and after several kernel panics a day I am down to zero. Thank you!

Apr 26, 2020 2:56 PM in response to Benjamin_97

I returned my old MacBook Pro and exchanged it for a new one at the store I purchased from. Still have issues. My laptop battery drained to 0% on a full charge overnight in the laptop bag. Then the next day it restarted right as it was going into sleep mode while I happened to be watching. There was no error message upon restarting this time though. It appears it may not be a hardware problem after all. I called back to Apple and talked to a higher level tech. This time it seems they do have this issue more documented. They confirmed it is not a hardware issue and that instead is an issue with 10.15.4 update and advised to disable power nap and prevent computer from sleeping automatically in energy options until the next software update is released that should correct this problem. They also suggest using shutdown instead of sleep until the fix is applied.

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MacBook Pro 16 - frequent kernel panics