It appears Monterey 12.0.1 has been installed but during startup recurring kernel panics prevent startup so it never starts up. Computer is for all intents and purposes, bricked.
iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 12.0
After using Software Update in System Preferences to download Monterey and going through the install process the computer apparently installed the update but would not complete the restart. I did a hard restart twice attempting to tweak the restart but after several hours with no progress I decided to erase the drive with Disk Utility and install Monterey with an installer I'd previously download from the App Store. This installation and restart went smoothly and I restored my stuff from Time Machine during the set up process.
Yes, happened to me. Had to take to a local store to get fixed for £90. I need to know how to claim this back from Apple.
Good luck with that. Let us know if you have success.
Monterey update kernel panic
