MacBook Pro bricked after failed Big Sur update 😵 ⚰️

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 ??

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

It only kind of worked for me : I could get back to my desktop... but WIFI seems gone altogether ! Can't do anything to go back on the net to try to get a fix. As a matter of fact, I had a Transcend SD card plugged-in when I did the update :/

It sounds like you interrupted the install process, and now it's checking - bit by bit - what has been completed so that it can install the balance of the OS.

My install froze almost right before it finished installing. I left it overnight and in the morning it was in the same place. So I rebooted and it took a while to find where it left off at, but then it finished the install and now everything is fine.

First of all just because the screen is 'black' doesn't mean your computer is bricked, or that it's not installing code in the background. I'm seeing a lot of people who come across the black screen and they suddenly panic, and reboot or interrupt the install process in other ways. You're only making things worse.

Big Sur is not just an upgrade to 10.x.x, it is a completely rewritten set of code for a whole new generation of Macs to come, so it's going to take some time to install it. Installing on a external hard drive might be the quickest way to get your Mac back up and running, and then you can go back and figure out what is wrong with the current install that you're having problems with.

Hi My Apple8MyPC,

Thanks for letting me know that my Macbook Pro is not bricked and the suggestion that I install to an external hard drive. I have a hard drive plugged into a Macbook pro (not bricked) with a black/grey screen. As you are an expert, can you advise what I do next to install to the external hard drive?

Also, you appear to have ignored your own expert advice on all these non-bricked machines and interrupted your install before it was finished.

My laptop has been broken by an Apple recommended software upgrade, which is something I have never come across in over 30 years of Microsoft and Apple updates. Apple really need to step up to the plate and sort it out. Hiding behind the word "vintage", which now appears to be corporate policy is not acceptable.

Yes GlasgowRoss, I ignored my own advice because as a responsible computer user I actually have a backup of my system. If anything would have happened I simply would have reinstalled the backup, and the computer would be back up and running, so I wasn't worried. Did you have a backup of your computer system before you installed Big Sur?

I agree with you that Apple should step up, and I feel that they are working on a solution. These things take some time to sort out, that's just the nature of weeding through code.

I am sorry but Apple has not. ;)

Apple „updated“ this page on November 17th, yes. But if you compare the site to for example international versions of it, or you archive.org, you will find that this particular site was already there before the final version of macOS Big Sur was even released.

Apple just added the information regarding the black screen for the M1 chip on November 17th, but the update is not related to the problem some people are describing. This behavior happened prior and can also probably happen in the future with different updates.

Hi,

Yes I have a back up of my system. But I have no way of restoring it due to my entirely unresponsive computer. A bit like my response to install from an external HDD.

The affected machines are totally BRICKED despite your suggestion otherwise.

I reset my MacBookPro 2010 4 GB ram because it was getting slow. It asked for reinstalling the software.. So I clicked yes. It said the software will be updated (Nothing wrong with it..I thought)

So I let it.. A couple of hours later I realised, it had a black screen and was non responsive. Tried pressing the on / off button, nothing happened. It's been like that since then. Then I read about the Big Sur Update and the issues.

Now I am left with a dead machine. I had nothing attached to it.

☹️

Restoring from a HD, and booting up from a HD, are two totally separate things. Are you saying that you have no access to System Preferences?

Also, a "bricked" machine cannot be repaired.

A non-responsive machine is not necessarily bricked.