M1 MacBook Pro crashes and restarts a few times a day

Ross_impress wrote:

No antivirus running, I did a clean install, so nothing from my old MacBook used on the new one. I'm using cleanmymac. …

RED FLAG there! “CleanMyMac” is notorious for causing problems with macOS: it tends to delete needed files, in the name of “cleaning”, that, eventually, cause all sorts of macOS problems!

… But as I read before, I'm using a hub (not powered) for my external screen and external harddisks.

Hubs—especially «not powered» hubs—have been causing many problems in Bug Sur, and especially for M1 Macs.

Thareesh wrote:

I have an M1 MacBook Air. I was working on HTML pages. I had VS Code and Safari open. It was barely consuming any CPU and RAM. When I restarted VS Code, MacOS became unresponsive and there was purple screen for a second or so and then my laptop rebooted. I didn't a single device connected to my laptop too.

Have you ever checked «VS Code» for compatibility with both Big Sur and M1?

Y’all can check your applications for compatibility with some of the latest versions of macOS (including Big Sur). (I think it indicates compatibility with M1, but I’m not certain I’m remembering correctly.)

gotfrap and AMXBOX:

Each of you start your own topic, follow the instructions in this user tip, Writing an Effective Apple Support Communities Question - Apple Community, and download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the Etrecheck's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:

Also click and read the About info to further permit full disk access.

Copy the report

and use the Additional Text button to include the report in your reply.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what might be causing the problem.

in your monitors settings, set the DP from 1.4 to 1.2 - this resolved it for me

The latest update is macOS Big Sur 11.2.1.

jbmandeville wrote:

Yep, I have the exact same problem. I have a 13" M1 Pro with 8Gb. I get crashes several times per day with no rhyme or reason. I've tried uninstalling several background apps. I've reinstalled the OS and had an Apple Store do a clean installation. The problem persists. I don't know if this is an M1 or a Big Sur issue, but it's a big Apple screwup for sure.

After you «had an Apple Store do a clean installation», how long did you test, in that «clean» state, before reinstalling/restoring your third-party software?

If and only if «The problem persists» in the «clean» state—without any third-party software, utilities, extensions, etc.—then «it's a big Apple screwup for sure.»

Otherwise, «it's [NOT] a big Apple screwup for sure.»

jbmandeville wrote:

I'm sorry but a Mac without any 3rd party software is what mort people call **useless**. …

It’s a test, not a stipulation on how one should run their system, in general.

… I'm not sure what your point is. …

The point is that if the system passes the test, then one knows, unequivocally, that there is some third-party software at fault.

… While I expected some 3rd party software to crash with an M1, it's A TOTAL SCREWUP for an OS to allow constant hard crashes irrespective of the reason. I thought Mac build OS X on top of unix for exactly that reason: stability. …

You are correct that the more usual expectation is that the third-part software, itself, will «crash».

However, the less usual or even the unusual never has a zero probability of occurring.

Yes. The macOS is built on a version of UNIX.

However. Apple has permitted users to install various Kernel, System, and User Extensions, etc., which, if they misbehave, will, all too commonly, take down the entire system!

Apple has been warning that they may disallow such from running on their systems, at some point.

By your sentiment, they should have already disallowed such!

That would, almost certainly, have prevented this!

Perhaps Apple has been too lenient!

However, really, no one should ever upgrade (not just update) their Operating System (OS) without checking the compatibility of their software and add-on hardware, for the new OS.

Note: the distinction between OS updates vs. upgrades is an important one:

• Updates can only have compatible OS changes.
• Upgrade can, and often do, have incompatible OS changes. In fact, this is almost the only reason for upgrades!

… Now I've got a poorly functioning Windows machine, basically. A hard crash brings everything down, not just one app. Bad look.

Fortunately, you can solve the problem by upgrading or getting rid of the misbehaving third-party software.

It is too bad that you didn’t check on the compatibility of your software and add-on hardware, with the new OS, before upgrading.

(… the School of Hard Knocks …)

Hello Mac users ,

I started having this issue twice , moment i start using air pods and other devices with bluetooth enabled . Seems Big Sur has some issue related to kernel panic with multiple bluetooth connections . as i mentioned it happened twice so i did below PoC working fine so far till Bigsur fixes this .

When you are marking the system sleep , ensure you turn off bluetooth so that when mac come up from sleep blutooth are automatically connected ....

this is working fine for me but request Apple to fix this issue . For information i have uploaded the report twice to apple

adyav wrote:

…

I formatted the SSD and reinstalled the OS. CVMServer crash happened on a clean system *before* installing any 3rd party apps.

And «with nothing attached to it[your MacBook]»?

…

Hardware intermittent errors are really a pain to diagnose and almost impossible to get repaired as apple's front end support is non technical and cannot infer any technical deductions beyond the ones documented in their runbook. They have no concept of kernel let alone what a crash does or to diagnose its signature.

This machine passes hardware diags however crashes occasionally - Its not a 100% "reproducible at will" event. I am not sure what are my next steps.

Yes. Intermittent errors are always the worst. They are the bane of troubleshooting!

The simpler you can make your system—hence the reason fo clean (“virgin”) Operating System (OS) tests—the easier it will be to track down.

(Incidentally, I don’t believe the CVMServer «runs in kernel mode»:

1. It wouldn’t show up, the way it does, within Activity Monitor.
2. It’s crash log would not be the form it is.

However, it could

1. cause a subsequent Kernel panic, under certain conditions, or
2. cause an error at the system “shell” (not kernel) level that could “kick” the user off (maybe even initiate a reboot).

The latter might appear as if it were a kernel panic level event, but will not result in such a report.

Actual kernel panics will always result in a kernel panic report.

You may want to get more familiar with the various Console logs. There’s a lot they can show about what is happening on your system, as you learn how to understand what they are showing.)

I recently bought a Anker 8 in 1 USB Hub. ( 1x HDMI, 2XUSB C, 1x Ethernet, 2xUSB 3, 1x SB Slot 1 x Micro SD Slot) Somewhat the only USB Hub with a USB C Pass through that I came across. Ref: https://www.anker.com/products/variant/powerexpand-8in1-usbc-pd-10gbps-data-hub/A83830A1

When ever I connect it to the computer and use it with 2x USB 3.0 Hard disk and/or USB C Hard disk it works well until it goes to sleep. if it does it auto restarts the computer and when I log in it say will sent a crash report to Apple.

if I have the hub connected along with another Thunderbolt 3 SSD, the Thunderbolt 3 SS will not log in stating unless I disconnect the hub it won't be recognized.

I think it is to do with the power required for this Anker 8-1 Hub and its internal design, as the thread here tell ones with video output the Mac gets confused event hough I don't use it. pretty strange. never faced any issued with any other pure USB C to USB A hubs.

carlmurr wrote:

It has been two weeks without one crash. The only reliable solution is to completely erase both parts of the hard disks and clean install . …

That is a reliable fix for many Big Sur issues people have been experiencing.

… Than restore from a backup

Unfortunately, fully restoring, after the aforementioned «clean install», can get one right back to the same old problems.

Sometimes, people are lucky, for whatever reason, and the old issues don’t recur.

It’s just that an indiscriminate «restore from a backup» is likely to «restore» the problems, as well.

The problem, samia64, seems to be software that is not fully compatible, that is either

1. running at the Kernel level (such as Driver code, such as for USB or Bluetooth devices), or
2. running on a System Server level, that brings down a critical Server, for the macOS.

The first will cause a Kernel Panic, that will cause a full reboot (and generate a Kernel Panic report).

The second may cause a secondary Kernel Panic, but usually causes some form of restart that may not even involve a full reboot.

The solution is to make sure all your software—especially the non-user visible parts—are fully compatible with Big Sur on M1 architectures.

iD0ntKn0w wrote:

Same happened to my new M1 MacBook Pro for the 3rd time in like 2 months now.

Very short purple flash on the screen then reboot.

Please fix!

What errors?

What error logs?

(At least you are not having the higher frequency of «reboot[s]» others are experiencing.)

Incidentally, the «very short purple flash on the screen» suggests a display issue. Maybe hardware, but may be software.

What version of Big Sur are you running?

What add-on hardware (such as an additional display) do you have connected, or have connected in the past (since any clean installs)?

Avoided using Migration Assistant and reinstalled apps de novo. All of my "data" is in the cloud so this didn't represent a problem. Having said that there probably is a software that triggers the problem when the machine goes to sleep but digging in and trying to find that might be problematic.

Have essentially resolved the problem but turning off the sleep mode ... totally not needed in this desktop anyway.

Would update to 11.1.