NEW MacBook Air (purchased in 2020) shuts down randomly

Hi - So my issue was resolved by Apple in November. I wanted to make sure it was working properly before I replied.

After bringing it in twice with no solution, they finally had a technician get involved. I recorded every shut down and restart and presented the documentation to apple. I also screen shared in with apple support to try and recreate the problem so they could get a feel of what was happening. They shipped it off to the technicians and replaced the logic board and touch ID start up button hardware.

Since then, I have not had any issues with the computer. It was a stressful year with the computer shutting down constantly and restarting, but I have no issues now.

The computer was under the one year apple warranty, plus I have the additional apple care.

Hi E - really appreciate it. I persisted (on your advice) and called again. I was able to reach someone live who got me an appointment with the genius bar. Once there, I explained all that was happening. I left the laptop with them to run diagnostics - and their report stated that there was nothing wrong. It was a little frustrating but it was all that could be done. I even brought my other work laptop with me and ran a zoom call onsite for 30 minutes with both machines. Somehow, I didn't create the same problematic situation. They had wiped my laptop clean and reinstalled Big Sur. It worked okay for a couple of days and when I went to teach my next virtual class...the hissing became so loud that no one on the virtual call could hear me. It didn't shut down, but it was very hot to the touch.

I called Apple Support again and they got me another appointment with the genius bar. I explained that I was a teacher and purchased my customized MacBook Air specifically for teaching virtually, editing videos and doing graphic design - all with guidance from an Apple Salesperson. He was very helpful. Unfortunately, this machine couldn't handle what I was putting it through. Very disappointing. When working with the technicians (all 3 of them - they were so rad...really trying to help) this past weekend and being as thorough as I could be, it was determined... that even if we sent this machine to be repaired or have parts replaced... it would continue to have the same problems. So they helped me trade in my MacBook Air 2020 (at full value) for a MacBook Pro with the M1 chip. It cost me a little bit more (my teacher discount is definitely helpful), but it should be able to handle my work.

I've had it now for a couple of days. Was on an hour long call this morning - no hissing :) I start teaching again tomorrow...that will be the real test - several hours on ZOOM. But i am very optimistic.

More than anything, I am so grateful and THRILLED with the level of service and empathy I received from all the folks who assisted me. I am a lifetime fan of Apple products... but it's the people who support their users that make people like me a loyal customer.

Best!

~ D

Hi, D

I completely understand your concerns and frustration! I was in your spot all last year.

If your computer is under the 1 year warranty or you have extended apple care, I suggest you keep calling and informing them about the problem. (Yes I know its a hassle) But I think if you make sure to clearly document and explain the reoccurring issue they have to investigate and see that it is a hardware issue.

I was in constant contact with them and let them know exactly was happening even with the support and advice they gave me. And because COVID has shifted how we get a computer to a technician, it may take some time. They sent my computer out and with in a week I had it back.

Since, the fix/replacement (Logic board and touch ID system) the computer has worked great! I have be multitasking, using all video and editing software just fine.

I hope this gives you a little hope. Best of luck!

-E

Hey there, and welcome to Apple Support Communities, relampago9!

From my understanding, your Mac is shutting down during use. I’d be happy to take a look at this with you!

If your Mac restarted because of a problem - Apple Support has some great steps if you see a message after restarting your Mac.  

If you do not see an error message, I’d recommend following the steps in: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support There are additional steps listed under “If the issue continues in safe mode” and “If the issue doesn’t continue in safe mode” that can help resolve this for you.

Let me know the results, and have a great day!

This is a physical issue with the device, you must make an appointment and send it in. I had mine replaced and since then, no issues. I had 3 over phone support calls with apple and in person visit. All covered under warrenty.

Mine finally shut down and never turned back on. The good thing is I backed it up the night before. I made an appointment with the Genius Bar and took it the next day. He tried restarting it the same way I did with all the tricks. It wouldn’t restart so he sent it off to get it fixed. It’s on its way back now. It was under warranty so there’s no charge. That was about the last day the Genius Bar was going to be open, he said all Apple stores are shutting down again even for repairs.

So the only way I have been able to avoid this issue is using a software called CleanMyMac X and on it you can clear the RAM, and essentially when I see that my mac is about to run out of useable RAM I clear it and avoid the kernel panics I have been experiencing. Not ideal but prevents from having to deal with these obnoxious reboots... it's a bit ridiculous that Apple has not addressed this issue, it's especially frustrating when we're talking about brand new computers.

Anyways hope that's helpful!

An update ~ last post: April 26th, when I exchanged my MacBook Air 2020 (Intel chip) for a MacBook Pro 2020 (M1 chip)

I have been using my new Pro non-stop and giving it an intense work out. I teach and have meetings on Zoom for several hours a day. I work in Photoshop, Premier and iMovie almost regularly - sometimes while on Zoom. So far, I haven't had any issues with overheating or shutting down. I did have to pay about $300 more (includes the warranty and my educator's discount).

While I am grateful that I finally seem to have a reliable machine, it is frustrating that I went through the trouble of customizing a MacBook Air 2020 with the guidance of an Apple sales rep. I was very specific about everything I need to be able to do on my device. To have it fail like that was extremely disappointing, especially because Apples are so darn expensive.

I am pulling for everyone else on this thread - I hope that you find solutions for your situations.

Cheers all!

~ D

Sounds defective to me. Since you have it under warranty, then you should get it fixed. It will be free!

Hi Brenden. I've had this issue since I bought my new Air 2020 a couple of months ago. Maybe once every 10 days. Just freezes for 10 seconds, wooosh, and then black. Does not restart itself, but restarts if you hit the "touch id" button as normal. No report whatsoever upon restart. It's like the machine doesn't even know that it crashed. Surely there must be somewhere you can point us to get diagnostics for Apple? The "woosh" is entirely unique to this situation so somebody at Apple knows what triggers the woosh, right? Safe mode, however, is not a good diagnostic tool for something that happens rarely. We can't all live our lives in safe mode, and even if we do, what next? What does it crashing or not crashing in safe mode tell us to do next? Thanks. This is an incredibly terrible situation for those of us doing mission critical projects with our brand new machines. Allan

Happening to my M1 MacBook Air too.

Been though the whole support system and BS 11.2.2 seemed to have fixed it but now it's back.

I've done all the Safe mode, reload OS and even factory re-set stuff but it's come back again.

They're suggesting bringing it into a Store but not practical during lockdown.

Perversely, I'm glad that I'm not alone so they're hopefully working on it.

I use my MB Air 2020 for my school and other stuff. It has done dis to me twice!

The first time happened on January 31, 2021 on macOS Big Sur 11.1 where the Battery level will display more than 20%, then shut off and wouldn't turn on when unplugged, and then the battery now jumps all the way to 1% and the date and time will show the incorrect date and time, it took me two attempts to log in because the first time, there was no sound on start up, the screen was completely blank after logging in, the second time showed a black screen with keyboard brightness, and after that, it said "You shut down your computer system because of a problem", and dat's when the battery jumped ALL the way to 1% and was showing the incorrect time.

Second Time happened on Friday, April 23, at 9:15 PM when I was trying to help my friend on schoolwork, it restarted on it's own upon waking up. There were no problems logging in, but I was greeted with "Your computer was restarted because of a problem"

I'm having the same issue with a 2 month old M1 MacBook Air.

It crash restarts after it has been in Sleep Mode for a few hours.

The rest of time it works ok, apart from one thing.

I've noticed occasional odd behaviour with Mail open.

Sometimes clicking on the Yellow "reduce to Dock" button does nothing.

I have to close Mail and then open it again to fix it.

The Mail thing seems to only happen when the MacBook Air has been on for a while, but hasn't moved into Sleep mode for hours.

None of this happened until I updated Big Sur to 11.3.1.

But, from what I've now read online, it seems I must have been lucky (before 11.3.1.

The crashes while in Sleep mode seems to be a well documented problem.

I've sent the crash reports to Apple.

I've tried safe mode, reinstalling 11.3.1.

I have NO third party Apps apart from Microsoft Office, HP printer stuff and ClamXAV.

Come on Apple, get it together please.

Same exact thing happened to my Macbook Air 2020. Randomly freezing and shutting down with the whoosh sound. It also wouldn't install the Big Sur upgrade. The technician tells me the logic board is failing ($600 repair), and that this is a common issue with this model. It is just a few months out of warranty, so Apple refuses to pay for it, and the senior advisor I talked to does not acknowledge that this is a common problem (said the technician probably "mis-spoke"). I hope they recognize that this product is defective and issue a recall, but I won't be buying another mac anytime soon. It shouldn't be a common thing for a >$1000 computer to fail in less than 2 years!

I bought my 13-inch MacBook Air in August 2020 and recently, like in the past week or 2, it started having the same problem. It randomly shuts down. I try restarting it but I think it just decides to restart on its own, sometimes with the cover closed. I did all the steps I read about to fix it and it still does the same thing, sometimes several times a night, sometimes not for a day or two. I've never had a problem with a Mac laptop before, this is discouraging.