Frequent Kernel Panic Late 2016 MacBook Pro 13"
Hi - I'm having issues with frequent kernel panics. It started a year ago when my MacBook crashed and would reboot to a flashing folder with a question mark in the middle. It would seem it was an issue with not finding the boot drive. I used the Command and R key combination to bring up Disk Utility or restore options. I kept on getting back to the flashing folder. I called Apple Support and they said that I would need to bring the unit to a third party repair service since all Apple retail centers were closed due to COVID. I did bring it in to a repair center and they had the same problem. Essentially they told me they would need to send the unit to Apple for repair. I declined and decided to wait until local retail stores were open again.
Now that my local Apple stores are open I decided to try to boot up again to see if I could get to the disk utility screen. After countless attempts I was successful! Persistence paid off! I was able to save the kernel panic report but the system was very unstable. The system seemed to settle down after resetting NVRAM and SMC. I upgraded the OS from Catalina to Big Sur. After that the frequency of the kernel panics seemed to be random. They now occur overnight during which no programs were open.
I am attaching the first kernel panic (4/6/21) after I was able to get the unit running again and the kernel panic from last night (4/21/21). The question is whether this is a software issue? Is it a faulty SSD or logic board? Is there a firmware update for the SSD like the one Apple uses for the 2017 MackBook Pro 13"?
Thank you for any insights you may have.