Level 1

19 points

Catalina 10.15.4 Supplemental Update Has Issues

The 8 April 2020 Supplemental Update for Catalina 10.15.4 brought the system down for a few hours. Since the screen only showed a white apple on the screen for the whole time I shut it down and restarted it. I got a thick white circle with a thick white line through it in the middle of the screen, the same size as the apple usually is. Repeated shut downs did nothing. Could not go to safe mode without the circle and line so I went to Recovery Mode, ran the Disk Utilities First Aid and then rebooted again. My screen came up and I was able to sign in. I had a notice that the update was available for installation. I am not going to do that since it appears it is not going to work on my iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017). Is this a temporary issue or should I ignore all further updates?

iMac 27" 5K, 10.15

Posted on Apr 8, 2020 7:42 PM

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Jayseph

Level 1

51 points

Posted on Apr 11, 2020 7:13 AM

I am not sure how many people this long post will help, but hopefully it will help some:

I was unsure why my MacBook Pro would install this supplemental update without a hitch, but my one month old iMac would not. Every time I rebooted my iMac, even after a Time Machine restore that seemed to work, I would get the circle/slash symbol and not be able to boot up my machine. After texting Apple Support last night, they advised that I should bring my computer in as it seems like there is a hardware failure. I didn’t see how in the world that would be possible with just a software update and a brand new machine.

This morning, I called Apple Support and talked to someone who was really great. She was very helpful as I discussed the issue. And then we tried something different. I removed all external hard drives and my CD-ROM drive and then booted up my machine. I was shocked to see that it booted up just fine. No dreaded circle/slash symbol. When my machine was back up, I then installed the supplemental update, this time without any issues.

There is one issue that is still there and that is if there are any externals attached when rebooting my machine, it will give me the slash/circle symbol and not boot up properly, but when they are disconnected everything is fine. Obviously, this is annoying and something that needs to be fixed, but at least I know that it is not a hardware issue with my computer and I don’t need it serviced.

Catalina has been a nightmare of an OS. I am hoping that these issues are finally taken care of and that there is a stable system put into place soon.

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69 replies

viloGP2

Level 1

4 points

Apr 10, 2020 12:19 AM in response to tim01

I have a similar issue, after installation of the update on my MBP 16’’ 2019, the system get unstable, having kernel panics several times when I plugged the power usb-c cable. Tried to reset SMC and NVRAM but nothing work. Now I have a 20% battery left without possibility of charge, so cannot reinstall MacOS...

tim01 Author

Level 1

19 points

Apr 10, 2020 11:02 AM in response to David Bisi

If I decide to try the update again I'll pull the plug, too. But right now I am happy that I have the iMac back up and running and can pay bills and do all those other things I have to do with the iMac. I was even looking at refurbished ones today thinking I may have to find a backup since I am worried that my 2017 iMac is not functioning correctly. I never deleted the Relocated items folder. Your note got me to do some more research on the Relocated Files issue. Found a thread here that added some additional information about Catalina Issues, https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251165043. Thanks for the additional info.

Apr 10, 2020 11:31 AM in response to tim01

Regarding the Relocated Items... I understand that the files in that folder "couldn't be moved to their new location". What I don't get is why they keep re-spawning when I delete the Relocated Items folder? How can they be thereto move again on an update? I thought that maybe an app keeps creating these files but the PDF that's put into the folder is not very helpful in trying to figure that out, and the file names themselves are generic sounding. So I've treated it as just another Catalina mystery and keep deleting them after updates.

tim01 Author

Level 1

19 points

Apr 10, 2020 12:39 PM in response to David Bisi

I used Spotlight to get to my Relocated items folder and found seven of them. Date indicates I started creating those folders in Oct 2019. Didn't know I had more then one of those folders. So I guess I should delete all of them? Seems like I'm walking on egg shells working on this iMac thinking it will go belly up anytime due to the hard crashes the latest update attempts generated.

hi5arp

Level 1

8 points

Apr 11, 2020 8:15 AM in response to Jayseph

Every one has different issue. My MAC book is also a month old, and I faced issue, which i already mentioned.

Curious to know what you meant by External HDD, how you removed it? Do you have another HDD other than the imbibed macbook one? As I have a GB SSD, so didn't need right now, an another one externally.

But even if not, i faced an another issue, by all means.

Apr 12, 2020 3:13 AM in response to tim01

Bricked my 2018 MBP 13. Unfortunately I'm also one of those affected by this update. Not sure what happened, but update happened automatically (as I foolishly have this option turned on) and now MBP is completely borked. No power, no fans. Completely unresponsive. Tried all the usual tips & tricks for an unresponsive Mac. Nothing. Dead.

Cornish1

Level 1

4 points

Apr 12, 2020 6:08 AM in response to tim01

I have a neighbours 2013 MacBook Pro (A1502) that has coincidentally had issues since this update.

If I reset SMC it will power on but usually only remains on for a few seconds, just about long enough to get to the login screen but never long enough to type in the password. Oddly it stays on longer if I boot with Shift key down but again shuts down before I'm able to enter login password fully.

Battery is good/charged & power adaptor connected with green led.

Have tried booting from external & all the key combo startups known to man (https://www.idownloadblog.com/2016/05/23/mac-startup-key-combinations/) but stuck - even target disk mode only stays awake for a few seconds.

Any suggestions ? Thanks, Tim

MrAnykey

Level 1

4 points

Apr 12, 2020 9:03 AM in response to Cornish1

I also have a MacBook Air 2013 with auto update on. Thursday morning (04/09/20) booted up to a changed desktop background. Where I had not made the background change! I transferred a 3gb video file from an external drive to the MacBook Air via usb. After editing the video file for a couple hours I come back from a break to find a black screen. The laptop booted up a few times afterward And stayed on for a few minutes each time (enough to get logged on and back to work) but then black screen. I have tried all the boot combo keys and nothing.

bo6340

Level 1

4 points

Apr 12, 2020 10:21 AM in response to tim01

2018 15” MBP became unresponsive today while updating to 10.15.4. The last thing I saw before the MBP went quiet and the screen went black was, “about 14 minutes remaining”. Apple Help quoted $815 to ship it to them for a diagnostic and repair. I explained it was working before the update—CSR elevated me to a senior who is starting with a new charger and cable. I explained several times that I charge it from two LG UltraFine 5k usb-c displays.

2017 iMac seems ok so far. Deadlines 😓

Cornish1

Level 1

4 points

Apr 12, 2020 10:49 AM in response to 7thworld

Indeed ...

My own MacBook Pro (13" Mid 2012) updated without complaint but my neighbours A1502 (2013) model is decidedly less than thrilled ... hoping for an official response from Apple before too long ...

Apr 13, 2020 7:11 AM in response to tim01

Just to add that this update bricked by 2019 13" rMBP. Awaiting a UPS mail-in box to send it in for repair. There is a remedy on MacRumours involving DFU mode and Apple Configurator but I don't have another USB C mac in the house!

bo6340

Level 1

4 points

Apr 13, 2020 8:03 AM in response to bo6340

**Update**

Revived the MPB 2018 15" using the "Revive the firmware on the Apple T2 Chip" with the Apple Configurator 2 which can be downloaded from the App store. The method I used was: connect the bricked MBP to an iMac via USB-C cable and followed the instructions on the link below under the section, "Revive the firmware on the Apple T2 Chip".

https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-configurator-2/revive-or-restore-mac-firmware-apdebea5be51/mac

gregg280

Level 1

8 points

Apr 13, 2020 11:15 AM in response to tim01

I did the update to my 2018 Mac mini, shut it down and unplugged it due to incoming storms last night. This morning it is a brick. No light, sounds, totally dead. I have to work from home and all Apple support did was have me try to zap the PRAM. I’ve been scouring the internet for help and I’m finding a lot of folks with the same problem. With everyone working from home due to COVID-19, Apple needs to fix this now! Tim Cook, please get on this!

Apr 14, 2020 2:51 PM in response to tim01

I updated my MacBook Pro 2018 and it turned itself off, and is now bricked. (The power button doesn't respond at all, either with or without any other keys pressed. The battery is fully-charged and the laptop is connected to mains power.)

Abaskalo

Level 1

4 points

Apr 26, 2020 9:10 PM in response to tim01

My 2019 16-inch MBP reboots randomly from sleep mode. I'll shut the laptop and go to open it again a bit later, seeing that I have to sign in after a full re-boot. This happened to me 3 times today. I keep getting messages like "an error has occurred" and it asks me to send apple a report of what happened. Also, I'm pretty sure this auto-installed on my computer because I never would have done this voluntarily with so many known issues.

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Catalina 10.15.4 Supplemental Update Has Issues