MacBook Pro bricked after failed Big Sur update 😵 ⚰️

No problem, here are some extra things.

• I believe at the time I was on 11.0.1 Public Beta, it was the first public beta made available, sorry I cannot remember the exact version.
• I did have an SD Card inserted, I also had an ethernet to USB device plugged in on the left hand IO.
• There was no firmware password set and filevault had been turned off as it had caused issues with installing big sur developer betas prior to this.
• I had been using 11.0.0 developer betas for a while with no issues whatsoever.
• I first saw these symptoms when updating to 11.0.1 Developer Release, it failed to update and showed the black screen, however recovery could still work and the OS could be restored with a bootable USB.
• I then successfully updated to the 11.0.1 public release, but after a power cycle, the device showed the black screen issue with recovery completely corrupt.

Heya guys.

my wife’s MacBook Pro was completely bricked when updating to Big Sur and it had a SD card Inserted at the Moment.

i see that a lot of people are confirming that they also had and SD card inserted at the moment.

I can’t relate. I was only doing updated on a 2019 MacBook Pro 15 inch. I spoke to support yesterday. I have AppleCare and an appointment Thursday. Entire hard drive other than Microsoft applications are on the cloud. Worse case scenario I need to restore from factory settings.

Thought I would have another go at some of the key combos and power up sequences (since its been sat powered down in the corner since yesterday, I know, I am clutching at straws here). Anyway, seems its not even charging now plugged into sockets I know are working and it was definitely charging yesterday !! Anyone else seen this ???

Hi, my MacBook Pro Late 2013 also bricked by Big Sur OSX update. Apple Phone support guided me on several key combination, but didn‘t solved the problem. My Mac still stands still, black screen, no fan noise, nothing. The only indicator of it is on/ off is the Apple logo. So, they made me an appointment at the local Apple Genius Bar which I went yesterday and the locals tried solving via LAN connected terminal tools which was not successful, too. So, they concluded the mainboard was bricked which could be only fixed by an replacement/ spare. Now, given it is (they call) it already vintage hardware, such spares are rarely available and repair costs to be discussed with Apple Care which I have contacted today twice. First in the morning, I have described the issue not knowing this is a worldwide reported problem (already in the media). They forwarded me to an Apple Care manager which explained he can‘t offer anything. Means, all costs on me. Then a colleague made me aware of this is a general problem described in the web and so I gave it another try, hoping Apple Care was made now aware in meanwhile too and may potentially has a quick fix or offer for those users affected. Again, Apple Care manager has no solution nor offer. This is super disappointing as obviously Apple Big Sur update bricked MacBooks worldwide, but Apple Care obviously don‘t care about so far. I hope they will change their mind and help us soon by more and more users reporting this issue.

Please, someone can try to change the internet connection before trying to switch on the MBP?? If you were updating using WLAN for example, try to just change the SSID of your network or the IP of the server or just disable IPv6 on the router... In my case this worked. Also give priority to 2.4 GHz WLAN over 5GHz. Try it!! Good luck!

I guess I'm lucky because Big Sur won't install on my MacBook Pro after several hours of working with Apple. They know there's a problem but apparently they don't have a clue. So rather than risk what happened after I installed Catalina on my iMac - made a mess of my computer.

I'm in the same((Macbook Pro Mid 2014. Black screen of death and nothing else. Official support says - You update OS on your own risk!!!!)) You hear that?))They broke my device and says that it is my problems because mbp is warranty out..... i'm in shock!

[Edited by Moderator]

I don't know about you guys, but my laptop suddenly came back to life apparently ! I had given it for repair and they were about to change the logic board (which was a no-no...) and called this morning : "eh... we don't really know why, but your MacBook Pro was able to restart this morning..." Would it be possible that Apple did something to the firmware remotely to stop the bad press from buzzing ??

Hi Guys,

I just got finished chatting with Apple Support here in Germany and am now writing through Big Sur on my mid-2014 MacBook Pro Retina 13".

What I've learned:

• The problem apparently is, as other people have mentioned here, an inserted SD card during the update.
• for troubleshooting everything needs to be unplugged, SD, USB, even the MagSafe power adapter (SMC reset only works with unplugged power)

What helped me:

• Turn off the device
• SMC reset (Shift-Cmd-Option-Power for 10 seconds)
• wait for a minute
• turn on again
• in my case I needed two tries because turning the device on first lead to the grey screen again, after the second SMC reset I got an Apple logo and a login screen in the Big Sur look
• if you get to the login screen plug the power back in
• in my case, after entering my password the progress bar kept climbing for about ten minutes and I finally was in the "after update screen".

I hope this works for many of you as well.

Good luck!

eickpa, kudos for sharing and congratulations that it worked for you.

I hope it works for others as well.

SMC reset is shift + ctrl + alt/option + power though (cmd does not work).

see "Den SMC deines Mac zurücksetzen - Apple Support"

For me unfortunately it did not work.

I tried again multiple times.

I already tried apple’s “fix” for my black screen, plus a lot of additional fixes. No dice. It doesn’t work, and I was told I need a logic board replacement by the Apple Store. It was fine prior to attempting to install Big Sur.

I'm having all sorts of problems with my 2018 iMac. The Big Sur download keeps falling over. If I request the update a couple of times, I eventually get the installer, but when I run it my iMac reboots and then sits with a black screen showing an Apple logo and a progress bar that doesn't move. I've tried updating three times, but each time I have had to boot in recovery mode and download Catalina.

This is a new experience. I've had Apple hardware since my first iMac in 2008 and I have never had problems like this.

Which MacBook is it? I had a MBP 15 inch mid 2010 and this happened to me, not sure if it's cause you updated but I think the display adapter or something isn't right. It would also be really dim. So it's maybe because of that

Depending on everyone's posts, this seems to be a huge issue. News companies like Forbes & TechSpot have reported about this, and so has MacRumors. I'm 100% sure that Apple is looking into this issue and it should be resolved during the next Big Sur Update.

For those whose MBPs are bricked, the only way out is to visit an Apple Genius Store. I advise that everyone with late-2013/mid-2014 MBPs DO NOT upgrade till this issue has been officially resolved by Apple.

https://www.engadget.com/macos-big-sur-bricks-old-macbook-pro-215433723.html

https://www.techspot.com/news/87610-caution-big-sur-macos-11-may-brick-2013.html

https://upnewsinfo.com/2020/11/16/a-large-number-of-mostly-late-2013-and-mid-2014-macbook-pro-users-are-reporting-that-macos-big-sur-update-is-bricking-their-computers-hartley-charlton/

https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/11/16/apples-macos-big-sur-may-be-bricking-older-macbook-pro-models

https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/15/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-macbook-pros/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/11/16/apples-new-big-sur-update-bricking-older-macs/?sh=623f2a34dca2

https://lifehacker.com/make-sure-macos-big-sur-doesnt-brick-your-older-macbook-1845683389

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25102026

https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/apple-macos-big-sur-update-is-bricking-some-older-macbook-pro-models-report-9020621.html

https://wccftech.com/macos-big-sur-bricking-older-macbook-pro-models/

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/jumlvn/macos_big_sur_update_bricking_some_older_macbook/

Here is the Google search: old mbps bricked by big sur

This post is just information, unfortunately there isn't a solution yet.

Cheers, Jack