Apple Diagnostic M1 MBP Freezing

It's not just an issue with Diagnostics crashing. I've personally experienced an odd issue regarding Bluetooth immediately after updating to 11.3.1. This is the initial reason that prompted me to run Diagnostics in the first place. I posted the contents below elsewhere but feel it's appropriate here as well:

Specifically in my case, after my M1 MBA was "successfully" updated to 11.3.1, I turned off Bluetooth to test something. When I went to re-enable it, it asked me for my admin password (very odd, never seen this) to enable it. Once I entered it and enabled Bluetooth again, I could not disable Bluetooth any more...reboots/shutdowns didn't help. I then decided to run Diagnostics (accessed differently on M1's). Diagnostics opened and allowed me to begin running it. The progress bar came up and the system immediately froze. No trackpad click, nothing. This required me to force-shutdown (press & HOLD the power button until shutdown). No amount of trying would get Diagnostics to complete...it always froze immediately in the same way described above.

I wiped the SSD and reinstalled 11.3.1 from scratch which then fixed the Bluetooth issue but Diagnostics was still freezing. What good is diagnostics if it crashes/freezes?

I made a Genius Bar reservation where they verified the issue. (Some content omitted below due to perhaps embarrassing someone)

I left the MBA with them to repair it which they did (it took two days). I verified Diagnostics was working correctly when I picked up the repaired MBA.

After getting the MBA back, I initially tested the MBA but then wiped the SDD & reinstalled 11.3.1 from scratch because I wanted to start with a perfectly clean slate because of the initial Bluetooth issue. The install went well and I had my MBA back up but did zero setting up on it. I shut it down to run Diagnostics which now ran fine but was now reporting a possible problem with the power supply. I shut down, disconnected the power supply and then restarted diagnostics...again with a reported possible power supply problem.

The MBA ran 100% fine otherwise. Because the OS was just cleanly installed, I again wiped the SSD, then reinstalled 11.3.1 from scratch to test. After it was finished, I again ran Diagnostics which now completed without any issues. The MBA is back to normal now but this makes me think that the 11.3.1 update is somehow corrupting the firmware or causing some kind of issue with how Diagnostics is performing. The firmware is updated (if an update is required) when the OS is updated...this was also verified by another different Genius in the Apple Store.

Apple Diagnostics and Apple Hardware Test before it had a habit of running the memory test without allowing ANYTHING, including screen updates, to intervene. So I would be cautious about saying it had died until several minutes have gone by.

Also, it is important that you disconnect most peripherals and connect the power adapter before the diagnostic starts.

susannpeter wrote:

So I gave the notebook to the dealer wich sent it to apple. They have changed the logic board and the Touch-ID. Yesterday I have installed 11.4, but the problem still exists. So I have contacted the support again and I'm still waiting a solution.

This is a very clear indication that the issue is NOT hardware related but software related...with the actual macOS/firmware update process which is causing the issue.

Please continue to persue the issue with Apple. However, I would not go so far as to have them changing hardware because the issue is clearly on the software/update side. The more they hear of this issue. the quicker they will do something to correct it.

I took mine in for "repair" (actually only performed a firmware revive) about one month ago but the issue remains with every macOS update that is installed. Still waiting for the update that actually fixes it becuase whatever is done as of now, is only a temporary fix that will last only until the next macOS update (unless the update finally corrects it).

susannpeter wrote:

I think ist is hardware related, because in my case the changed the logic board, which is very expensive. Inclusive the M1-processor (This is hardware). Afterwards they have put on 11.1. I see this because I have saved it with timeline ,after I have got the computer back from apple. It had take nearly three weeks before I got it back.

On Wednesday it was updated on 11.4. ,when I tried today the diagnostics it doesn't work and stuck.

Maybe the software update is damaging parts of the hardware.

Best regards

Doubtful that software is damaging the hardware in some way.

From my experience (posted earlier in this thread):

"I left the MBA with them to repair it which they did (it took two days). I verified Diagnostics was working correctly when I picked up the repaired MBA.

After getting the MBA back, I initially tested the MBA but then wiped the SDD & reinstalled 11.3.1 from scratch because I wanted to start with a perfectly clean slate because of the initial Bluetooth issue. The install went well and I had my MBA back up but did zero setting up on it. I shut it down to run Diagnostics which now ran fine but was now reporting a possible problem with the power supply. I shut down, disconnected the power supply and then restarted diagnostics...again with a reported possible power supply problem.

The MBA ran 100% fine otherwise. Because the OS was just cleanly installed, I again wiped the SSD, then reinstalled 11.3.1 from scratch to test. After it was finished, I again ran Diagnostics which now completed without any issues. The MBA is back to normal now but this makes me think that the 11.3.1 update is somehow corrupting the firmware or causing some kind of issue with how Diagnostics is performing. The firmware is updated (if an update is required) when the OS is updated...this was also verified by another different Genius in the Apple Store."

As above, I was able to fix mine with multiple Big Sur 11.3.1 updates. This doesn't seem to work with Big Sur11.4. Also, Apple fixed mine by "reviving" the firmware. That fix had nothing to do with bad hardware. If the hardware were damaged, it would not be fixable without replacing the hardware. Apple was able to fix mine via reviving the firmware as I also was able to by re-installing Big Sur 11.3.1 multiple times.

Revive a Mac:

https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-configurator-2/revive-or-restore-a-mac-with-apple-silicon-apdd5f3c75ad/mac

This is software related, not hardware.

AppleM1 wrote:

I can confirm it is broken in Big Sur 11.4.

The update has also removed my camera- it does not work in Photo Booth and is showing as not installed in System Information. This is why I was trying to run Diagnostics. Anyone got that problem after installing 11.4?

No camera issues here but I did have a very odd Bluetooth issue immediately after installing 11.3.1as I've posted about earlier in this thread:

Specifically in my case, after my M1 MBA was "successfully" updated to 11.3.1, I turned off Bluetooth to test something. When I went to re-enable it, it asked me for my admin password (very odd, never seen this) to enable it. Once I entered it and enabled Bluetooth again, I could not disable Bluetooth any more...reboots/shutdowns didn't help. I then decided to run Diagnostics (accessed differently on M1's). Diagnostics opened and allowed me to begin running it. The progress bar came up and the system immediately froze. No trackpad click, nothing. This required me to force-shutdown (press & HOLD the power button until shutdown). No amount of trying would get Diagnostics to complete...it always froze immediately in the same way described above.

I wiped the SSD and reinstalled 11.3.1 from scratch which then fixed the Bluetooth issue but Diagnostics was still freezing. What good is diagnostics if it crashes/freezes?

IMO, the updates (at least 11.3.1 & 11.4 in my personal experience) are causing very odd hardware issues that don't really exist on the hardware-end...this may be what happened in your case. I would try and re-install Big Sur (from scratch if possible). It may in reality resolve your camera issue...it resolved my odd Bluetooth issue but Diagnostics is still broken.

Something in these recent updates is messing things up (at the low-level software and/or firmware end) in different ways for different people.

As it is now, you can not trust Diagnostics to properly diagnose anything...especially if it crashes immediately.

I spoke today with Apple support.

They told me that it is a known bug and they will fix it with a small priority.

As I wrote before they are able to make a diagnosis from their side. Only the user himself cannot do this at the moment.

It will be fixed, but perhaps not in the next update.

Best regards Peter

Seems as though this issue has been resolved as of June 16, 2021 (at least on my end and in my testing since then). Diangnostics will now run correctly and complete as it should. The issue seems to have been the diagnostics code that was actually downloaded and run when Diagnostics was initiated. Diagnostics now works just fine on Big Sur 11.4 where previous to June 16, 2021, it has never completed correctly. Sorry to say that those that have had hardware replaced to correct this software issue have probably had this done needlessly.

Regardless, the issue has now been resolved (as I said, at least on my end).

susannpeter wrote:

In my case I had contact to a technian on Monday. I tried the offline version of diagnostics and it was freezing. He had the same issue with his own MacBook.

Then he activated something at the servers side and I could do online diagnostics.

That sounds to me then like it's the actual Diagnostics application that is being downloaded immediately before running it itself that is crashing. Maybe the download is not completing/closing itself correctly and is what is crashing.

If the Diagnostics app is being downloaded every time it's initiated, that's also not a very dependable way to diagnose something since it would be impossible to run it when there is no internet connection available at all. You would think the Diagnostics application would reside on the Mac itself in the recovery partition so you could diagnose issues without an internet connection. I've also noticed that the version of the Diagnostics app itself has stayed at v1.0. Maybe the techs have access to a newer version that is not available to us mere mortals.

Once again, there is this blind assumption by tech companies that everyone has high speed Wi-Fi internet readily available to them at all times.

Please return and let us know what your tech has to say about the matter.

That result is intended to NEVER occur. The fact that it IS occurring on your computer indicates that your computer is broken.

We have no body of accumulated knowledge to offer on this subject. You are the first to post here about it.

Whether you feel this is caused by the most recent software update or not, you need to contact support for guidance about how to proceed, AND to let them know this has happened to you.

I read in this link about other with the same problem Apple Diagnostics Freezing on M1 MBA : mac (reddit.com)

It's is possible to update the firmware using another mac connected directly to it as in this link Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon with Apple Configurator 2 - Suporte da Apple. But I think is too risky to do it myself. So I sent to the store and they did the firmware update as I wrote above. But after updating to Big Sur 11.4 the problem returned (only in offline mode now)

winterdesign wrote:

I read in this link about other with the same problem Apple Diagnostics Freezing on M1 MBA : mac (reddit.com)

It's is possible to update the firmware using another mac connected directly to it as in this link Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon with Apple Configurator 2 - Suporte da Apple. But I think is too risky to do it myself. So I sent to the store and they did the firmware update as I wrote above. But after updating to Big Sur 11.4 the problem returned (only in offline mode now)

In my post elsewhere in this thread, I mentioned my experience with this issue. I took mine in to the Apple Store where I am assuming they simply revived the firmware (the repair description didn't state this, it's just my personal assumption) and it worked just fine when I tested it in the store before taking it home. Once I updated Big Sur in the process of reinstalling macOS, Diagnostics simply began crashing again after the reinstall.

So until Apple corrects this issue on their end, no amount of taking it back to the store for "repair" nor reviving the firmware will clear the issue so it's pointless to even do so and is simply a waste of one's time. The next OS update or reinstall will break it again...unless it's the corrected update which actually solves the issue. It's clear that 11.3.1/11.4 are not those updates.

As for even reviving the firmware yourself, you need another *compatible* Mac to even perform the revive...of which I don't have (a MBP Late 2011does not qualify) so that's not even an option for most users.

We'll just have to wait it out until Apple decides to correct this.

I have a problem with the battery of my macbook pro m1 (big Sur 11.2.3). So I called to support and the Apple Diagnostic

was freezing too. I sent the mac to Apple support store. They updated the firmware and fixed the Apple Diagnostic.

But after updating to 11.4 its freezing again. And my the battery health now is in 95% (100% to 95% in less than one month)

I think ist is hardware related, because in my case the changed the logic board, which is very expensive. Inclusive the M1-processor (This is hardware). Afterwards they have put on 11.1. I see this because I have saved it with timeline ,after I have got the computer back from apple. It had take nearly three weeks before I got it back.

On Wednesday it was updated on 11.4. ,when I tried today the diagnostics it doesn't work and stuck.

Maybe the software update is damaging parts of the hardware.

Best regards