MacBook Pro bricked after failed Big Sur update 😵 ⚰️

Just for info sharing, it was reported that unplugging the IO board (the one with the SD-Card, HDMI and USB port) allows Big Sur 11.0.x to further boot an "bricked" MacBook Pro Late 2013 - to finish its Big Sur 11.0.x OS install.

Once done, connecting an USB or Thunderbolt LAN adapter gets the MacBook Pro back connected to the Internet (because the unplugged IO board incl. also WiFi and BT - so not working so far anymore) and then allows Mac OSX Updater to search and update to latest Big Sur 11.1.x (Apple reported to avoid the "brick" issue with).

Once Big Sur 11.1.x update has finished, reconnecting the IO Board, the "brick" issue is solved without any hardware replacement needed.

So, wondering if it ever was/ is a bricked hardware, while this seems (at least for some) that it was/ is just Big Sur 11.0.x stuck the IO Board and therefore from booting, but Big Sur 11.1x update solve it quickly (by getting this installed with the method described above).

May this is helpful info (if not known by Apple Genius Bar Experts) and offers another way to "repair" an "bricked" MacBook Pro Late 2013 (or Mid 2014) by lower costs for the value of the users affected.

Mine needed to get re-soldered I brought it to UBreakIFix they kept it for 3 weeks, might have changed I/O connector?

from their record it was a GPU/Power IC motherboard issue.

The OSX update 11.0.1 fried my laptop and I had no choice but to get it repaired elsewhere.. Apple wanted 830$

these guys charged me 349$ plus taxes.. reasonable yes.. should I have gone through that? no.. Apple didn't vet this properly Mine too was a Mid-2015 MacBook Pro 2.8 Ghz i7 quad core with the integrated iris graphics card not dual graphics card model..

I've turned the page, but I won't forget it..

Dear all: After 2 months of being without my 13" Mid 2014 MacBook Pro which was bricked by Big Sur, today I received a beautiful new MacBook Pro! This came after many, many calls to support, a trip to the Apple store, and two trips to a local authorized repair store. It was anything but painless, and I received contrasting information from different senior support staff. After being told that I would get mine repaired locally, I was told by another senior advisor that no parts were available for my machine, and I'd just have to buy a new Mac, since it was so old. I finally got another senior advisor to listen, and he took over my case, read the documents and realized that I did qualify for a replacement. Whew!

If you have a 2013 or 2014 Macbook Pro, I suggest you keep trying, talk to a senior advisor and ask them to look up their internal documents that do show major damage from Big Sur to these units. If you can just get someone to listen, you do have a chance of getting some help.

Yes, Genius Bar.

Thanks for everyone replying on this community thread.

My Macbook Pro was seen by the local Genius store and they recommended a logic board replacement at $500 my cost.

I filled out an online form to the San Jose Better Business Bureau and Apple corporate just replied with a form letter advising it was out of warranty.

I contacted Apple support and asked for a senior support person. They found the documents related to this issue and we are working through a solution. I will update this once resolved.

Hey cpharada59, what year is your Macbook Pro? I am exactly in the same situation as you now. Went to Genius Bar today and they told me that the logic board needs to be replaced for $578 which I should pay. I just called Apple support and talked to senior support person, and he simply told me that they cannot cover this repair cause, since he does not find any documented problems in their system for 2015 Macbook Pro's (mine is 2015). He said that he only finds documents for 2013 or 2014 macbook pros. Also he mentioned that if Apple determines that other model were affected later on, they will reimburse me for the repair.

Yes, this occurred in the US. But, neither the Apple Store or the authorized repair store could tell me why my Mac was stuck on a gray screen - just that it was toast and would need a logic board replacement. Apple had planned to start with the I/O board, and if needed replace the logic board. Apparently they are all out of replacement parts for these old units, and is (if you're persistent and lucky) replacing the computers.

So glad your 2018 is fixed at Apple's expense. I'm not sure I would go through the hassle of updating your 2013 MBP. It took 2 months of haranguing to receive my replacement. At least, it might be worth calling support to see what they suggest. Best of luck!

nuoptik wrote:

Hi Guys and Gals.

I saw that there was an update to Big Sur today so clicked update. It all downloaded fine and I clicked all the items to go ahead. It said it'd be a while so i stepped away from the computer. When i returned the screen was black - no status bar, no nothing, but I could tell the LED was on. Nothing would wake it up so I eventually held the power button to force a shutdown.

Sounds like you shut down will the install was still in progress...

How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

Restore from back up

💻 MacBook Pro 13-inch, Mid 2014.

The same problem as many other people. 

My option, how to go beyond the black screen - at the very moment when the screen backlight turns on, you need to disconnect the MagSafe power connector. It doesn't always work (not every time), but it works after 10-20 power-up attempts. I also disconnect all external devices from USB / Thunderbolt. Possibly connecting / disconnecting MagSafe is causing some changes in the I/O board (some restart?).

My attempts to solve this problem (with stuck black screen) have so far been unsuccessful: 

• I tried to install Big Sur on top of the installed one;

1. from Recovery; 
2. from Internet Recovery;
3. from a bootable USB disk created on another Mac;

• I formatted the disk to HFS+ and tried to install Big Sur on a completely cleaned disk;
• I tried to install OS X Mavericks (using Internet Recovery with "Shift") and tried to install old EFI / SMC firmware from https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201518#mbp but it didn't installed.

Now I try not to turn off or restart the MBP, so as not to spend half an hour trying to turn it on. 😅

Hope Apple engineers will release an update that fixes the problem! 😰

I wanted to give you a quite exciting update on my story, last updated here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252034110?answerId=252034110021#252034110021

I've had a case open with senior Apple support. They've been REALLY good, scheduling callbacks, calling me to update me on progress, hand-holding me through the process.

They were trying to get my logic board replaced on my now-bricked late-2013 Retina MacBook Pro. At no cost. They wanted to do this replacement for me.

But my two local Apple-approved service centres both said that they couldn't source the parts so they couldn't do the repair.

So the support guy said he wasn't going to make me travel far, so instead he was going to give me a like-for-like replacement. Not as in a 2013-MacBook for a 2013-MacBook, but the 2020 equivalent MacBook!!!

I kid you not. Here's a screen grab of the replacement message:

The courier are coming today to pick up the old one, and once it's been checked over they are going to ship me a new MacBook.

So, if you can get to the right person, be patient, go through all the diagnostic steps, remain calm and polite and do what Apple tell you, it seems that Apple ARE repairing or replacing old MacBooks that have been bricked by this update.

Hi People,

Is everyone replying in here referring to their devices being "bricked?" I am sorry if this has happened for anyone.

After releasing the update, Apple has now offered some Support Articles in regards to updating to Big Sur and what it would entail. Unfortunately, it may be too late for some or all of you for them to help, but read them to see if there is any other recourse besides taking your devices in for repair, or replacing them altogether.

Look here for the Apple Support Articles that concern updating to Big Sur. Please note that some, if not most, are dated after the update was seeded to the public: https://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&q=big%20sur&product=&doctype=SITE_HELP,PRODUCT_HELP,LEGACY,HOWTO_ARTICLES,TROUBLESHOOTING_ARTICLES&currentPage=1&includeArchived=false&locale=en_US&src=support_searchbox_main&type=organic

I hope this helps some/most of you and I wish you good luck!

I tried to edit my post above, but was prevented from doing so. Here is the above post, plus what I had added to it after having posted it.

Hi People,

Is everyone replying in here referring to their devices being "bricked?" I am sorry if this has happened for anyone.

After releasing the update, Apple has now offered some Support Articles in regards to updating to Big Sur and what it would entail. Unfortunately, it may be too late for some or all of you for them to help, but read them to see if there is any other recourse besides taking your devices in for repair, or replacing them altogether.

Look here for the Apple Support Articles that concern updating to Big Sur. Please note that some, if not most, are dated after the update was seeded to the public: https://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&q=big%20sur&product=&doctype=SITE_HELP,PRODUCT_HELP,LEGACY,HOWTO_ARTICLES,TROUBLESHOOTING_ARTICLES&currentPage=1&includeArchived=false&locale=en_US&src=support_searchbox_main&type=organic

There were a few things to consider prior to making this major update, which had not been mentioned, had been but it had been several months prior to the release, or just after the release was made public. There is a major change to how Time Machine will work, most notably that its filing system is changed to APFS from HFS+. There is a Support article in regards to that change, but again, it is either newly added, or was added months prior to the release of Big Sur. I will tell you that I am erasing/reformatting my Time Machine drive into APFS prior to doing my update: starting fresh backups.

One also had to considered, whether there were any 32-Bit Apps or 32-Bit scraps still hanging on, even after having had Catalina. Those items can either allow the update to carry on, but render 32-Bit permanently unusable once Big Sur is installed. The other problem that can or may occur, is failure of the update to continue.

One other thing to do for yourself, and this is something that I personally choose to do, please do not leave a major update unattended for any length of time in which your device can go into sleep mode. I know it is sometimes necessary to take a washroom break or get some food. The thing that I always do for major updates or when transferring large files from one drive to another is, I go into System Preferences>Energy Saver, and uncheck any boxes that would allow my computer to go into sleep mode during the process. One box in there to uncheck is, "Prevent Computer From Sleeping When Display Is Off." Once you are done doing the update, just go back and put your preference back in place. As I said, these are things I do on a personal level.

I implore you to please check the Apple Support articles in the link provided, and see if anything in there will get you back on track and/or your device "unbricked."

I hope this helps some/most of you and I wish you good luck!

Thanks for the update! We would also be grateful if you continue to post updates here regarding repairing your MBP.

Also, please tell me if the following is true: 

- during the update, you had an SD card inserted and / or an external device was connected (HDD / SSD / Thunderbolt Apple Display); 

- during the update, you had a firmware password set (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204455); 

- whether you installed Big Sur 11.0.1 RC1 or Big Sur 11.0.1 RC2 earlier, or you updated your MBP to the release version available on the Mac App Store;

GlasgowRoss wrote:

Apple's official response is pathetic!

You left out the part where Apple said, and I quote, "This article will be updated as more information becomes available."

Apple does not monitor this forum. If you really want to help Apple solve this issue, then you need to contact them directly.

Click on the link below and fill out the form. The more people that report this to Apple directly, the more specific information they will have, and the more resources they will give to quickly solve this issue.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html